Day 34 - Monday, April 4
Title: THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE
Scripture: Psalm 35
Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.
Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”

Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the angel of the Lord chase them.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
But as for me, when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own heart.
I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.

But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.

Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among [h]many people.

Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”

This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.   
O Lord, do not be far from me.
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.

Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.

Poetry & Poet: 
The Collar
by George Herbert

I struck the board, and cried, "No more; 
                 I will abroad! 
What? shall I ever sigh and pine? 
My lines and life are free, free as the road, 
Loose as the wind, as large as store. 
          Shall I be still in suit? 
Have I no harvest but a thorn 
To let me blood, and not restore 
What I have lost with cordial fruit? 
          Sure there was wine 
Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn 
    Before my tears did drown it. 
      Is the year only lost to me? 
          Have I no bays to crown it, 
No flowers, no garlands gay? All blasted? 
                  All wasted? 
Not so, my heart; but there is fruit, 
            And thou hast hands. 
Recover all thy sigh-blown age 
On double pleasures: leave thy cold dispute 
Of what is fit and not. Forsake thy cage, 
             Thy rope of sands, 
Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee 
Good cable, to enforce and draw, 
          And be thy law, 
While thou didst wink and wouldst not see. 
          Away! take heed; 
          I will abroad. 
Call in thy death's-head there; tie up thy fears; 
          He that forbears 
         To suit and serve his need 
          Deserves his load." 
But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild 
          At every word, 
Methought I heard one calling, Child! 
         And I replied My Lord. 

THEY HATED ME WITHOUT CAUSE

Seemingly unprovoked hatred towards others usually raises the ire of onlookers who are aware of the situation, but it certainly cuts most deeply into the heart of any individual who has been treated unfairly. In Psalm 35, David begins by pleading with the Lord to defend him with the weapons of warfare that will mitigate or eliminate this unwarranted persecution. Scholars speculate that this Psalm was composed during the time that David was pursued by King Saul, and the specific appeals to confuse the machinations of his enemies line up with this period of pursuit and harassment. While much of the psalm reveals his desire for the destruction of his mortal enemies, David realizes that he is helpless in his own strength to change the situation.

On the first encounter with our art work for today's devotional, you may have thought, as I had, that the piece before us is a sculpture. On further examination, one discovers that in fact what we are viewing is a photograph of a living human being, covered in the ashes of repentance, wearing the sack cloth so often associated with acts of contrition. It appears, due to the symmetry of the sack cloth clothing and the small sack cloth lunch bag, that what has been captured here is an intentional performance piece designed to grab the attention of all those who pass by Ponte San Angleo ("Bridge of Angels") in Rome. Similar to the imprecatory Psalm selected for today's devotional, this striking work of art reveals the power believers acquire when they humble themselves, and let God fight their––to our eyes––unsurmountable battles. This destitute pilgrim by the wayside appears to peacefully accept that his greatest strength lies in his very weakness.

In George Herbert's poem entitled  "The Collar," the speaker begins with an angry act and cry, proclaiming his imminent departure and desire to leave the constraints of his current circumstances.  The titular collar represents the speaker's religious vocation, the vestments worn by a priest, and it also carries with it the frustration expressed throughout the poem of possibly having made the wrong choice in pursuing a religious vocation. We are told that he is "free as the road," while simultaneously admonishing himself to "[f[orsake [his] cage," the flimsy "rope of sands" that binds him to his calling. In a final twist at the conclusion of the poem, the speaker, recognizing the instability of his present state of mind, hears the voice of the One who called him into life in the first place: "Child!" His response shows he has returned to the Source of his only lasting happiness. The musical duo Poor Bishop Hooper provide a spare, emotionally resonant musical version of Psalm 35 that too places us in the position of the helpless child who needs the hands of the Lord to free us from the persecution of our enemies. May we also realize that sometimes the biggest enemy is ourself, and always allow God to clear any difficult path before us.

Prayer
May we be humble enough to leave the victory over our hardships up to you, Lord. Please allow us to see the ways in which we are intentionally or inadvertently causing turmoil in the lives of those around us. Help us to be an encouragement to the people we encounter every day.
Amen

Dr. Marc Malandra
Professor of English
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.