Psalm 35:1 Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Live Without Guile
It would be wonderful, would it not, if everyone was in your corner and pulling for your success? But that is not always the case. It is wonderful to have those who wish us well around us, but as we advance in life, we find that there is a lot of conflict. It is one thing for people to do wrong by us. It is another thing entirely for us to do wrong by other people.
In Psalm 35 David is, as he often is in the psalms, talking about problems in general, people in particular, and enemies most specifically. This psalm begins by saying, “Plead my cause O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.” Then he specifies how he hopes that is done.
In verse 7 he says, “For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit.” David’s contention was that he had enemies, but it was not because of anything he had done which was wrong. In verse 11 he describes these people as false witnesses telling things they do now know or, worse yet, telling things they know that are not true.
He goes on to say, “They reward me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, I humbled my soul… and behaved myself as though he had been my friend.” Then in verse 24 he says, “Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.”
Notice the elements in this psalm. This is a case in a court of law. The defendant is David. Many times in the psalms, David is asking for God’s help and mercy because of problems that he has created for himself. But in this particular psalm, David seems to be asking for God’s deliverance from problems for which he had not asked. He was living in innocence. He was asking God to defend Him.
The advocate is God. He says, “Plead my cause, O LORD.” The accusation is characterized as without cause, the witnesses are characterized as false, and the judge is characterized as the Lord God.
Here is the challenge for us: live your life without guile. You are bound to win a case when God is both your advocate and your judge. God is always our Judge and the One Who knows us and our problems. It is wonderful when God is not just my Judge, but also my advocate, pleading my cause.
David was asking for the ability to do right by those who were doing him wrong. Even when people do you wrong, you can bear that with a clean conscience. Live without guile, and trust God to be your advocate and judge.