Contend with those who contend with me

Psalm 35:1-16 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
² Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up for my help.
³ Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
⁴ Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷ For without cause they hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
⁸ Let destruction come upon him unawares,
And let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹ And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord;
It shall exult in His salvation.
¹⁰ All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him,
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
¹¹ Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
¹² They repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
¹³ But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
¹⁴ I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
¹⁵ But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth.

The psalmist says:  Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.  Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up for my help.  Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”   In Colossians 2:15 it says:  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.  Jesus has already contended with, disarmed and defeated our enemies. In John 19:30, on the cross He said:  “It is finished!”   Our victory has already been assured and accomplished. In John 16:33 Jesus says:  “These things I have spoken to you, thatin Me you may have peace.In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,I have overcome the world.”  Romans 8:31-39 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says:  “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Yet the psalmist says:  Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the Lord driving them on.  Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.  For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.  Let destruction come upon him unawares, And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; It shall exult in His salvation.  All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”  Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know.  They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul.  But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.  I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing.  Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth.   The world may indeed repay us with evil for good. Romans 12:21 instructs us though saying:  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.   Ephesians 6:10-18 says:  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.   Our struggles, our battles, the true enemies we face are not people, but the spirits behind those people. We need to remember that it is those very principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, that Jesus disarmed and defeated on the cross.   We need to stand firm in the truth that it is finished. We need to stand in the righteousness of Christ. We need to walk in peace because of the gospel; the good news. In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  We stand in faith against the lies, the accusations and deception of the enemy. Because we are saved, we can say like the psalmist: In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:11)  We have the word of God; all of His promises and we have the Spirit of God in us and praying for us.  If God be for us who can be against us? We overcome evil with good. We overcome evil with God.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, I thank You that the battles of my days do not affect the outcome of Your ways. I thank You that the victory is already won. It is assured, accomplished. It is finished! May I have the confidence to stand and to walk, to overcome in faith. You are my salvation. In You I stand.  Amen.