“Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). That’s what Jesus told us, and I suppose it’s easy to think we are obeying Him when we simply overlook the rude words or petty slights, the “microagressions” that make up most of the conflict in our daily lives. But what if you were living in Mariupol, Ukraine, being bombed and starved by the Russian army? What if you had deadly enemies who really were trying to kill you? Could you love them?

That’s the situation David faced time and time again. From Goliath to Saul to Absalom, he had real enemies, people who fought against him (verse 1), who pursued him (verse 3), and who devised evil against him (verse 4). And yet, he refused to take vengeance on Saul, even when it would have been so easy to assassinate him (I Samuel 24:4 and 26:12). In fact, David mourned and grieved (Psalm 35:13-14), not only over Saul (II Samuel 1:19-25), but also over his own son Absalom who staged a coup against him (II Samuel 18:33).

And because David had such love for his enemies, instead of trying to take justice into his own hands, he kept on looking to God to protect him and vindicate him. He kept on praying to God: “Rescue my soul” (verse 17). “Stir up Thyself, and awake to my right, And to my cause, my God and my Lord” (verse 23). And because David had such confidence in God’s justice, even when he had a golden opportunity to kill Saul, he wouldn’t do it. Instead, he told Saul, “May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me upon you; but my hand shall not be against you” (I Samuel 24:12).

And didn’t great David’s greater Son do the same thing? When His own people surrounded Him, smiting Him and slandering Him (verse 15), how did He respond? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). In fact, Jesus laid down His life for a world full of sinners precisely because of His great love for us.

And what is the result of a life filled with this kind of confidence in God and with love even for those who have hurt us most deeply? Well, just as Jesus endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2), so all those who are filled with His selfless, unconditional love even for our enemies can have the same kind of joy that David describes in verse 27 – for we can be sure that God will not only do justice for us, but also that He delights to bless His servants, no matter what the current circumstances of our lives may be.

May God fill us with the Spirit of Christ today, a Spirit that rejects revenge because it is genuinely concerned for the good of others – even those who cause us the most pain. For that kind of unconditional, self-sacrificial love is the only pathway to true joy.

Psalm 35 (NASB)

A Psalm of David . Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of buckler and shield, And rise up for my help.
3 Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4 Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the LORD driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him unawares; And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; It shall exult in His salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like Thee, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together; The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long wilt Thou look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions.
18 I will give Thee thanks in the great congregation; I will praise Thee among a mighty throng.
19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Neither let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 And they opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 Thou hast seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Thyself, and awake to my right, And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Thy righteousness; And do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26 Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.
27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness And Thy praise all day long.