Psalm 35:1-28

God rescues His children from the worst possible circumstances and disappointment.  We live in a world that is under the curse of sin.  Sin surrounds us on every side as it infects the hearts of men all around us.  Were it not for the grace and power of God we would drown in the sea of sin the surrounds us; but God is a rescuer.  He sees our plight and is filled with mercy and compassion and He delivers of from evil.  We should always feel free to plead with the Lord for rescue.  It is foolish and prideful to think and acts as if we are capable of handling things on our own.  God is pleased and honored when we cry out to Him because it demonstrates our dependence upon Him.  We may be attacked from a wide variety of different sources for many different reasons, but the one thing that is always consistent is the grace of God and His ability to rescue us from their traps when we call out to Him.  However, when He does rescue us, we must be faithful to praise His holy name.

CALL TO THE LORD WHEN PERSECUTED BY STRANGERS: There are times when we face persecution that we have brought upon ourselves.  However the fact that we live in a sinful world means that there will be times when we are persecuted without cause by men who we do not even know.  They have no reason to seek revenge upon on us but they seethe with hatred just the same.  When this happens we are free to take this concern to the Lord and ask for Him to reveal their treacherous hearts and put them to shame.  God is able to make the like chaff in the wind and simply blow them away.  God is faithful to defend us but He is pleased when we ask Him to do so.  However, we must also be faithful to recognize His deliverance and praise Him for the rescue that He so faithfully gives us.

CALL TO THE LORD WHEN BETRAYED BY OUR FRIENDS: Without a doubt the most difficult trial we face from men is betrayal by the people who are close to us.  When we have been kind and loving to men and have helped them during their times of distress, only to have them turn on us and take pleasure in our pain; it is heartbreaking.  David remembers calling out to the Lord in mourning and fasting for the deliverance of his friends he viewed these people and treated them as if they were members of his own family.  He was loyal to them and assumed that they were loyal to him but when the tables were turned and David was in need of help these men turned their back on him or, even worse, took great pleasure in his problems.  David’s only resource is rescue from God.  He calls out and asks God to have mercy upon him and to exact justice on his betrayers and then promises to praise the Lord for His deliverance.


CALL TO THE LORD WHEN ATTACKED BY THE WICKED: Because of the sinful world in which we live there are simply wicked people who are all around us.  They are full of hatred and they have no problem making up lies, plotting and making false accusations against us.  Their minds are full of evil plans, their bodies are dedicated to violence, their eyes are covered in darkness, their hearts are full of hatred and their mouths are full of deceit.  In this reality David once again calls out to the Lord for vindication.  He reminds God of His own righteousness and asks God to save Him from the attacks of these wicked men and then asks God to bless those who are faithful to support him in his time of need so that they can all gather together and lift their voices with praise and thanksgiving before the Lord.   

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