Psalm 35
What is the church to do when its enemies slander it? What are the people of God to do when their foes hem them in seeking to do them harm?
We are to entrust justice and vengeance to our Righteous God (see Romans 12.19).
This is what is termed an imprecatory Psalm. That is a prayer or song calling for curses and condemnation against an opponent. What it means is not to take things into our own hands but commit the situation to God’s mighty hand in our prayers (see 2 Timothy 4.14).
There are three sections to this Psalm, each closing with a renewed commitment to praise and glorify God for his salvation, and we will structure our reflections around those.
Of David.
1 Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armour;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
‘I am your salvation.’4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise –
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
‘Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.’
In Romania, under the reign of Ceausescu, you could never be sure if the person you spoke to was a confidant or conspirator. Even when at church. Spies might be present, seeking to trap people in a web who might say anything that could be spun or interpreted as being against the government.
This was the situation the King found himself in as he penned this Psalm. David recounts how his foes lay traps for him, setting up concealed nets and a pit to ensnare him. They are those who contend with him, fight against him, pursue him, seek his life and plot malice against him.
Therefore, the King prays for God to reverse everything. To turn all their plots and plans back on their own heads. That they would fall on their own spears, tumbling into the pit they dug for him.
And knowing God is faithful, he pledges his praise for God’s certain salvation. Because he knows that God on high rescues the lowly. The helpless who humbly call on the Lord will be delivered.
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;
they gnashed their teeth at me.17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
David adds another layer of history which darkens further the actions of his enemies. These enemies repay the King evil even when he was good to them.
When his enemies were struggling and suffering, he gave himself in service to them, committing himself to deep prayer (v13). He treated them as if they were a friend or a brother. He grieved with them when they grieved. Yet when he lamented with his own struggles, they laughed at his suffering.
The King was like the Good Samaritan to them. Derek Kidner, evocatively describes their behaviour in return. “It is as though the Samaritan himself now fell among the thieves, only to find his former protege his chief tormentor.” Instead of gratitude, they laugh when he falls into the grave they made for him.
Just like the King who was to come, who was rejected by those he was sent to save (see John 1.11-12).
Yet once more David promises his praise, trusting God will liberate him from the lions clutches. He will sing the praise among the great throng of God’s holy people.
19 Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer at me and say, ‘Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it.’22 LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defence!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, ‘Aha, just what we wanted!’
or say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, ‘The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.’28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.
Three times in this Psalm, the King records that his enemies attack him “without cause”. What he means is they have no legitimate lawful reason. They only attack the King because he threatens their comfort and self-sovereignty. Jesus, quoting v19, says he is the true King, the Son of David, who is rejected and hated by the world, without cause (John 15.25).
And the King pleads with God to intervene, in particular to vindicate him (v24). This happens first when the centurion and the guards seeing Jesus dead on the cross, shaken by the earthquake but much more shaken by the realisation of who has been crucified, proclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God” (Matthew 27.54).
Here’s the subversion of our worldly expectations. God defeats our enemies and delivers us by suffering with us in Christ. God defeats our greatest foes, the devil and death through Jesus’s crucifixion.
Christ’s vindication though continues to the empty grave. There he is proved to be the true Son of God, sent by the Father, because death could not hold him.
And we are those who delight in the King’s vindication, knowing that when we suffer for him, we will ultimately be glorified with him!
And so we extoll and exalt the name of the Lord our God!
Glory be to God the Father, who reverses the evil of the world into good for his people.
Glory be to God the Son, the King who in his death defeated his foes.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who whispers to our weary souls, “I am your salvation”.
Ever three and ever One.