Psalm 35
1Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me. 2Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. 3Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.” 4May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded. 5May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away. 6May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues. 7For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul. 8May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created. 9Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation. 10All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?” 11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about. 12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. 13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. 14I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother. 15But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing. 16Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me. 17How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. 18Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. 19Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice. 20For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land. 21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!” 22O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me. 23Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord! 24Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me. 25Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!” 26May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach. 27May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.” 28Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.