Psalm 35

The people of God would like to live at peace with all men. Yet there may be those who contend against the Lord and His church. Sometimes it is out of the ranks of the enemies of faith that the Lord is pleased to draw new servants. Saul of Tarsus dedicated himself to persecuting followers of Christ, but it was not very long before the voice of Jesus reached his own ear. God knows how to turn an enemy into a friend, but He also knows how to send forth his frightening justice upon those who do not obey they gospel and who persecute the church.

We cannot presume to be lords of the vengeance of God. This He reserves for Himself. When we are under the attack of the wicked, we do ask that God, in the mysterious comforts of His presence, would somehow speak to our weary souls with this word of assurance: “I am your salvation!”

Christ faced vicious enemies. He also assured His followers that there would be people who would presume that they were serving Him by trying to murder them. Saul was one such man. He was zealous for the God of Israel, but his zeal was misinformed. It is not wrong to ask God to stop men like that. We cannot presume to understand what the Lord will ultimately do to those who hate Him and His people. Some will find that they once were blind, but now they see. Others will be hardened in their unbelief and murderous disobedience.

To fight formidable foes we need God's help from heaven. Those who love their rituals more than God would turn away every true convert they could convince, leaving each one twice as fit for hell as a result of that bad influence. We cannot be dispassionate about this great evil. Our care for the young and the weak and our desire to see all men everywhere come to the Lord, demands that we care about manipulative errors that turn people away from the truth they have just professed. This battle for people is not just about flesh and blood. We need the Lord's angelic allies to send away those men and angels who would deceive the church and destroy those who have just left a life of idolatry.

Adversaries of all kinds spread their net for Jesus and His church. If they will not repent of their deadly works, they will be punished by the Lord Himself. The Lord knows how to stop vicious oppressors, and even how to leave a man in his own hardness of heart forever.
One day we will see the Lord's perfect justice. Even now there are occasions where agents of justice bring a taste of the vengeance of God upon those who murder and steal. When we see someone rescued from the clutches of an evil oppressor, we should rejoice in that moment of salvation. The Lord's glory shines brightly not only when weak people are rescued from a life of godlessness, but also when wicked people are prevented from accomplishing their evil designs.

If God never intervened, if it were an unrighteous thing for God to judge and to restrain evil, what kind of world would this be? Even the taste of justice we have in this age seems to offend the sensibilities of some, but the godly long to see the problem of sin addressed in a much fuller way.

The cross is a place of shocking justice. Sin demanded punishment, and Jesus took that for us. His death was not a partial payment for our sins, but the full wrath that the elect deserved. Justice that should have been put on us was poured out on Him, and blessing that should have been His has now been lavished on us. Justice and mercy kiss in one outrageous act of public reckoning. In Christ we are counted as righteous sons of the living God.
This was a costly atonement. Jesus faced the worst and most unjustified attacks and humiliations ever known to man. All other men have guilt of their own. He had none. Malicious witnesses spoke lies against Him. Friends He had greatly blessed returned Him evil for good. He healed great numbers of sick people, but where were they all when His great day of suffering came? He gave Himself in prayer for the sake of His followers, but they could not even watch with Him for one hour, though He asked them specifically for this help.

Jesus became an object of scornful entertainment to the proud. He had given Himself so completely to others in His life, but now a strange crowd took what little they could grab of His dignity just to laugh at Him. This did not happen accidentally. Leading men had taken counsel together in order to bring about the arrest of Jesus. Men who had nothing of His righteousness had considered themselves to be far superior to Him. Now they were goading Him to come down from the cross if He was the Son of God.

There has to be a price to pay for treating God this way. But then this was why Christ died for us. He knew there was a debt for which only He had the spiritual capital within Himself to give. But for those who refuse to take refuge in His mercy, the overwhelming charge against them remains. For those who reject the love of God, there is no other sacrifice for sin that can take away guilt.

The Father has rescued His Son from those who hoped to destroy Him forever. Now Christ has taken His place at the head of a mighty throng of worshipers who will give eternal thanks to God. It is our delight to be numbered in that glorious assembly.

There is a day of reckoning coming for those who hate Jesus and His church. God has seen their actions, heard their taunts, and known their evil intentions. He will vindicate His Son. But those who delight in the righteousness of Christ, will rejoice in the Lord forever. They have loved the provision of God's grace in His Son, and they will receive the greatest desire of their hearts, for they love the One who saved them, and He will be theirs forever.