#DailyDevotion If You Are Innocent, Appeal To The LORD’s Righteousness
Psalm 35 24O LORD, since You are righteous, give me justice; O my God, keep them from gloating over me. 25Don’t let them think, “Aha! That’s what we want,” or say, “We have ruined him!” 26May those who gloat over my trouble be altogether ashamed and disgraced; may those who boast against me be covered with shame and disgrace.
David appeals to the LORD’s righteousness in this situation to give him justice. The LORD’s righteousness is holy, right and good. It cannot be manipulated. Indeed, the LORD’s righteousness would take care of the problem of the unrighteous in His own time and way. We should still appeal to it when asking the LORD for help so He may be glorified when He acts.
Part of the justice David wants is for his enemies to not gloat over him and his situation. On the one hand they may already be gloating and he wants that to cease. On the other hand, he may not have experienced the evil they are wanting to perpetrate on him so he wants the LORD to prevent that evil from even occurring so they have no reason to gloat.
David’s enemies are real. Thankfully, I haven’t had any real enemies in a while, at least not that I know of. But as a pastor, I have experienced this, particularly in my early ministry of ungodly opposition and enemies in the Church who wanted me to fail. Your enemies may be in the work environment or maybe your neighborhood. Maybe they exist in your school or some other organization to which you belong. These words and this psalm help us to pray what we are experiencing and ask the LORD for help in a manner which is pleasing to Him, as He gave us these words to pray.
Jesus prayed this psalm. He had His enemies from the people who should have believed in Him and rejoiced at His coming. They were fearful they would lose what they had if they believed in Him. Because of their fear, they sought to find a way to put Jesus to death. Ultimately, they did find a way to put Jesus to death. Jesus experienced their gloating over Him while He hung on the cross suffering for them, so that they could be saved.
Since many did not repent of their sin after His resurrection but doubled down in persecuting those who followed Jesus with imprisonment and death, they and their children who followed them, experienced the shame and disgrace at the hands of the Romans some forty years later. The LORD is patient in wanting people to repent and be saved. But if they will not, what they have done will eventually come down upon them.
27But those who are pleased when I receive justice should shout and be glad and keep on saying, “Great is the LORD, Who delights to see His servant happy.” 28Then my tongue will tell how righteous You are and praise You all day long.
We indeed were pleased to see Jesus risen from the dead. In His resurrection, He received justice. He calls us to say with Him, “Great is the LORD, Who delights to see His servant happy.” When the LORD delivers us, we too, will have our tongues tell how righteous the LORD is and praise Him all day long. We praise Him now as we see the justice given to Jesus. We will praise Him all the more as we see justice given us when our enemies are no more.
Heavenly Father, by Your righteousness You raised our innocent Jesus Christ from the dead, vindicating Him. In that same righteousness, turn back our enemies who seek us harm for no cause, that we may praise you now and for all eternity. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.