No Room for Personal Vengeance

Scripture:
May those who seek my life
    be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
    be turned back in dismay.
May they be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away;
may their path be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause
    and without cause dug a pit for me,
may ruin overtake them by surprise—
    may the net they hid entangle them,
    may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

Psalm 35:4-8

Observation: David calls for God to contend against and defeat his enemies, specifically those enemies that have plotted against him ... those that plotted to kill him, and pursued him attempting to trap and destroy him, for absolutely no reason. David seeks God's vengeance upon those enemies that have wickedly deceived and moved against David without cause, and prays for their ruin and their own destruction.

David had external enemy nations who warred against him, but they did so openly and in the context of national conflicts. However, two people plotted and pursued David during his life - Saul and Absalom. In the case of Saul, David expressly refused his opportunity to kill him at least twice, declared no one should lay a hand on God's anointed, and eventually killed the servant who confessed to killing Saul out of mercy over his wounds. In the case of Absalom, David actively desired to see his son survive their conflict, and mourned his death to the point of needing correction from his officials about the morale of his men.

Therefore, it is interesting that David openly lamented and actively refused to participate in vengeance against his lying, conniving enemies who pursued him, yet prayed to God for their downfall and death. This may seem at odds, however it is consistent with one of God's commands to the extreme, and that is that vengeance belongs only to the Lord.

Application: I know I have nothing to be vengeful about, or more precisely, that any feeling I have is wrong because any correction or action toward others is not mine to claim. The Lord is responsible for all actions toward others. If David could live with that in the midst of his very life and all authority being taken away by traitors closest to him, I can certainly live with that in the midst of relative strangers simply slandering me.

Prayer: Lord, I don't want to just be okay with the idea that vengeance is yours, I want to live without any further thought of this ever in my mind or heart. Please remove it from me. Give me a soft heart of love that can't even take the time to consider anger or any other negative thought. I wish to move forward in only love. Amen.