PSALM 35:1-14 Like Chaff before the Wind
PSALM 35:1-14
v. 5 "Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away!"
It seems like a harsh prayer surrounded by mean-spirited desires: "Lord, let them be like chaff, like dust in the wind! Let their way be dark and slippery! Let destruction come upon them when they do not know it!" Are these requests fitting for Christians to pray? Does God want us to follow David's example? Didn't Jesus teach us to love our enemies and pray for them, not against them?
Yes, he did. But Jesus also could speak words of judgment, even a form of cursing. He pronounced seven "woes" upon the Pharisees (Matt. 23) and told the citizens of Capernaum (his own town!) that they would perish in hell for their unbelief (Matt. 11:23). When hardening in rebellion became clear, then Jesus issued judgment. Time and circumstance make all the difference.
David, God's anointed king, was unjustly despised by enemies who wanted to kill him. Though David had only shown concern and love for these people (vv. 12-14), their response was to hate him even more. And they were powerful. Only God could deal with them and right this terrible wrong—and that's what David prays for! He asks the LORD for justice, not personal revenge.
Truth is, there are some who will never turn from their hatred of God, Christ, and you, his follower. Jesus was hated by many in his day. He even quoted this psalm about himself, "They hated me without a cause," and warned his disciples, "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20, 25). We should expect to suffer for Christ, to be mistreated by hateful people.
What should be our response? Do good to them. Be kind to them. Give them no reason for their hate and no cause to blame you or dishonour the name of the Lord. And then, like Jesus and David, entrust your cause and your protection to your God who has promised to fight your fight.
If you live free from persecution right now, thank God. And pray for your brothers and sisters who are hounded in many places by lethal enemies. They might need the angel of the LORD to drive their adversaries away.
There is a time to pray for conversion. There is a time to pray for judgment too, just as we pray for the return of Christ, who will judge the living and the dead. Come, Lord Jesus! Maranatha!
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