“Let them be like chaff before the wind”
[Psalms 35:1-8]
Yesterday, during the presbytery meeting, there were opinions from several pastors, including me, about the sermons of one of the two evangelists who wanted to be licensed to preach. In his preaching, he spoke about a spiritual battle, and the words of Ephesians 6:12 that he quoted during his preaching made me to think. The thought is that whether my fight (“our struggle”) is against flesh and blood or against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. In other words, I wondered if my fight was a fight against flesh or a spiritual fight. But for some reason, I thought that I was paying more attention and spend more energy to the fight against the flesh rather than the spiritual battle. This is the proof that I am not spiritually awake.
In the article under the heading ‘Christian Life Spiritual Battle, Pastor Nam-Jun Kim said like this about us who are spiritually blind: ‘Night blindness, in other words, is called a night-blind person, and is a disease that we cannot see things in a dark place. … It makes me sad that some of Christ's warriors who fought in spiritual battles show signs of night blindness. Our adversaries are the rulers of this dark world (Eph. 6:12). If we become prisoners of darkness and are trapped in the darkness, like a night blind patient who cannot even make a single step, there is no fighting odds. It is impossible to discern the age and understand the will of God in the darkness that cannot even discern who the enemy is and who our forces are (Internet). I wonder how many of us are recklessly fighting this hopeless spiritual battle. Eventually, we fall down, tumble and become passive in the consciousness of defeat, and often seem to give up in discouragement. But we have hope. This is because the Emmanuel Lord is with us and is working in our spiritual battle for us. I want to think about our God who works in our spiritual battle in two ways based on on Psalms 35:1-8 so that we can win our spiritual battle by His gracious work and help.
First, the God who works in our spiritual battle is the God who fights for us.
Look at Psalms 35:1 – “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me.” In the midst of suffering by vicious enemies, the psalmist David asked God to fight for him (Park). Then who are the enemies of David? This is how David describe them in Psalms 35: Those who seek his life (v. 4), those who robe him (v. 10), “Malicious witnesses” (v. 11), “Like godless jesters” (v. 16), “my enemies” (v. 19), “those who hate me” (v. 19), those who rejoice at his distress (v. 26). It is reckless that David himself fought himself against these vicious enemies. Knowing that, he relied on God and asked Him to fight his enemies for him. Apostle Paul said not to take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath (Rom. 12:19). The reason is because God will repay our enemy. Why did David absolutely depend on God and ask Him to fight for him? The text teaches us two things:
(1) It is because God is our sure shield.
Look at Psalms 35:2 – “Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help.” Here, “shield” refers to a large shield to protect the whole body and “buckler” refers to a small shield to protect the head (Park). David was able to feel safe because God, who was his unconquerable commander, defended and protected His beloved servant David. We are same. We can feel secure when we, like David, rely entirely on God and ask Him to fight our enemies for us.
(2) The reason why David relied on God and asked Him to fight for him was because God was an attacker who can surely bring victory to David.
Look at Psalms 35:3 – “Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’” In verse 2, David speaks of the “shield” and “buckler” used in defense, and in verse 3 he speaks of “the spear”, an offensive weapon used to fight on the battlefield. In fighting instead for His people, God took this spear, an offensive weapon, and blocked the way for those who pursued David. The God of David described here, our God, is like a fully armed soldier, preparing shields and spears. One thing is certain, there was no mistake at all because God was surely armed and fought in fighting for David (Park). Eventually, God saved David because God wanted him to confess that ‘God is my salvation.’ We should pray to God, like David “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me” (v. 1) as we trust God who is our sure shield and brings a sure victory to us.
Second, the God who works in our spiritual battle is the God who destroys our enemies.
Look at Psalms 35:8 – “Let destruction come upon him unawares, And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall.” Our God fights on our behalf and delivers (saves) us out of the hands of our enemies. One thing we shouldn't forget then is the fact that God destroys our enemies for our salvation. In other words, when our God gives us the grace of salvation, at the same time, He also manifests His justice. Our salvation is the destruction of our enemies. So how does God's justice (holy) appear to our enemies? We can think of it in four ways:
(1) Our just God causes our enemies to fail.
Look at Psalms 35:4 – “Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.” The lesson this word teaches us is that our enemies are those who seek our lives and those who want to harm us. But our God is God who protects us and fights our enemies on our behalf. Therefore, God makes those who seek our lives and harms us to be ashamed and to be turned back and humiliated.
(2) Our just God makes our enemies like chaff before the wind.
Look at Psalms 35:5 – “Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the LORD driving them on.” How is the chaff before the wind? The chaff have no choice but to fly because they are light. This reminds us of Psalms 1:4 – “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.” The wicked will not stand in the judgment (v. 5) (Park).
(3) Our just God makes our enemies’s way slippery.
Look at Psalms 35:6 – “Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.” When we look at Psalms 73, the psalmist Asaph said he was envious of the arrogant as he saw the prosperity of the wicked (v. 3). So his feet had almost slipped (v. 2). But he confesses the truth that he realized only when he entered the sanctuary of God (v. 17): “Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin” (v. 18).
(4) Eventually, our just God destroys our enemies.
Look at Psalms 35:8 – “Let destruction come upon him unawares, And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall.” Eventually, God causes our enemies to slip and to be swept away completely (73:19).
We Christians who are spiritually night blind, struggle so recklessly with their blood or with their emotions and powers rather than asking God to fight for us as we relying entirely on God. Also, they don’t want God's justice that the grace of God's salvation is the destruction of the wicked. As a result, they cling onto a fight that is without odds as they become prisoners of darkness. However, the true believers like David, whose spiritual eyes are opened, asks the Lord to fight for them because they trust God completely. They rely on God who protects them as a shield and enjoy a sense of security. We must become this kind of Christians. Therefore, we must experience God's salvation through God’s destruction of our enemies.
Desire to be trained as a man of prayer who pray to God of salvation and expect and wait upon Him who fights on my behalf and who makes my enemies like the chaff in the wind.
James Kim
(Thanks to God's uplifting salvation grace for victory in spiritual battles)