Psalms 35:24 says, “Judge me, O
LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.”
The wicked of this world will slander.
But the LORD Jehovah whose name is Jesus Christ will judge those that trust in him
according to His righteousness. If you have turned from your sins to Jesus you
are given positionally the righteousness of Christ. You are a saint and
therefore God has good things to say about you.
To judge is a word than means to
discern between the truth and a lie. And to judge is also a word that can mean
to hand out punishment or reward for someone’s actions. When we hear the word
judge we mostly think of someone being punished for the wrong that they do.
Isaiah chapter 30:18, “And
therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore
will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of
judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.”
There is no one and no government that
can judge with perfect justice. But Jesus Christ of the Jews does. It is
interesting to see the word wait and judgment used together in this verse of
Isaiah. The judgment of God is always perfect and his timing on judgment is
perfect. Therefore the Christians wait’s on Jesus for that judgment even amidst
slander. The Lord is waiting because He is gracious. The final judgment of this
world and against the wicked nations of this world is coming. It hasn’t come
yet because God is waiting. The Christian should learn to wait too on Christ
for His judgment. God is waiting for men to repent. The Christian should wait
amidst slander and endure persecution for the sake of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Revelation 6:9-10 says, “And when he
had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were
slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they
cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O LORD, holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Revelation 19:11 says of Jesus
Christ, “And I saw heaven opened, and
behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ”
Governments should judge justly. But
they do not always. Sometimes it is the government that is doing the
persecution and the slander. Therefore in Psalms 35 what is being taught is for
the Christian to look to Christ for judgment amidst persecution and slander.
Psalms 35:24 says, “Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let
them not rejoice over me.”
God is holy. And God does judge sin.
But when you think of the judgment of God the first thing that should come to
mind is the gospel of Jesus Christ because Jesus was judged on the cross of
Calvary for the sins of the world. Whosoever repents of their sins and accepts
Christ’s judgment on the Cross for the sins of the world receives the
righteousness of Christ. Psalms 35:24 says, “Judge me, O LORD my God,
according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.”
If you have been judged according to
Christ’s righteousness instead of your own sinfulness then your enemies cannot
rejoice over you. This is a wonderful truth for Christians to understand
especially when those that smite with the tongue slander the name and the
witness of Christ, slander His Word, and slander the Christian. The Christian is a saint. The Christian has
repented of sins and trusted in Christ of Nazareth of the Bible.
Psalms 35:25 says, “Let them not
say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have
swallowed him up.”
In these next several verses in Psalms
chapter 35 we are going to see the phrase, “Let them” used several
times. Once again this reminds us that God is in control. Second Thessalonians
2:7 says, “he who now letteth will let.” Jesus is the Almighty God. Romans
8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Therefore
God is in control both in circumstances in which you have control and in
circumstances which are beyond your control.
The phrase, “we have
swallowed him up” mean means to devour with greediness. It can be translated to
destroy. Job 2:3 says, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man,
one that feareth God and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his
integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
Slander is of the devil. The word
devil means slanderer. The kind of slander being talked about in Psalms chapter
35 is much more than just mild name calling. But it is a smiting with the
tongue that result’s in great destruction in a person’s life.
It is the kind of slander that Jesus
Christ himself faced which resulted in his crucifixion. Matthew chapter 27:11-22, “And Jesus
stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the
King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused
of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto
him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he
answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. Now at
that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom
they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore
when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I
release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that
for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his
wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I
have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded
the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor
answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto
you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with
Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.”
Because of slander Jesus was delivered
to be crucified. And instead a murder was given freedom. Of course Jesus came
to die for sinful men including murderers. But this is slander. You can expect
great opposition from the forces of evil at times if you are serving Christ,
especially in these last days. Slander may even result in you being looked down
upon in society, cast in prison, and delivered unto to death.
Concerning those that slander Psalms
35:26 says, “Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that
rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify
themselves against me.”
God is in control. God lets and does
not let. Notice in these verses the words: ashamed, confusion, hurt, and
dishonor. In a way you could say this
verse teaches the principle of reaping what you sow. Because God is in control
because, Christ judge’s righteous judgment there will be punishment given unto
those whom slander.
Those whom smite with the tongue will
reap the consequences of: shame, confusion, hurt, and dishonor. Jesus was
slandered and delivered unto death. But He rose from the grave and was
glorified because Christ is righteous. First Peter 4:14-17 says, “If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of
God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he
is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evildoer, or as a busy body in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For
the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first
begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
Sometimes those that slander do not
see the consequences of their sins. How sad it is for them because they will
die without Christ having never repented of their sins or believed on the name
of the only begotten Son of God and therefore when they stand at the judgment
seat of Christ they will find only: shame, confusion, hurt, and dishonor when
they are judged and then cast in hell forever.
Psalms 35:27-28 says, “Let them
shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say
continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity
of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy
praise all the day long.”
Notice how opposite the Christian
should be from those that slander and those that smite with the tongue and
those that devour. The follower of Christ magnifies Jesus and speaks of the
righteousness of Christ and praises the name of God.
The word magnify is a word that means
“to
twine together” “to grow” “to become great.” Once again in this verse we also see the word
let. Jesus Christ is going to be magnified. This is the will of the God the
Father and God the Spirit. Despite the slanders, despite those that smite with
the tongue, despite those that devour, and even despite the failures of
Christians, Christ will be glorified, the truth of the Word of God will spread,
the gospel will be preached. This is the righteous cause. There are two choices
for men in life they can be slanderers or they can speak of the righteousness
of Christ.
If you have never turned from your
sins to Jesus of Nazareth then do so today and receive the righteousness of
Christ through his judgment on the cross of Calvary. “Judge me, O
LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.” (Psalms 35:24)
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Copyright; 2012 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved