Psalms 35:0 ¶ A Psalm of David.
This is another psalm of David obviously composed at a time when he felt his life was in danger.
Psalms 35:1 ¶ Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
The psalm opens as a prayer asking the LORD to defend him against his enemies, to consume and destroy (from Hebrew for “fight”) those that fight against him. Implied is that David considered his enemies to be enemies of the LORD.
Spurgeon: “What is here asked for as a boon, may be regarded as a promise, to all the saints; in judgment they shall have a divine advocate, in warfare a divine protection.”
Psalms 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
Psalms 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Psalms 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
David pictures the LORD as a warrior fighting on his behalf and asks Him to equip Himself accordingly. The shield and buckler seem to make reference to a shield and something pointed, possibly even sharp protrusions on the shield. The spear is obviously an offensive weapon for use in disabling or destroying the enemy. David pleads with the LORD to show Himself to be David’s savior. He asks the LORD to disappoint the enemy in their goal to kill him, to wound them and drive them away.
Again, we must be reminded that David lived under the law, a time when the consequences of breaking God’s law called for specific judgments. He knew nothing of the teachings of Jesus and the higher law of grace. In his thinking, it was right to call for the LORD to destroy his enemies since he tried to honor the LORD and they rejected Him as LORD. He would never have thought about loving his enemies or praying for their salvation as Jesus taught us to do.
Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you….”
We are to pray for the salvation of our enemies and kill them with kindness, hoping that they will turn to the LORD in repentance and deliver their souls from hell. This does not mean we are not to defend ourselves from evil men that attack us. Jesus even instructed His disciples to equip themselves for self-defense.
Luke 22:36 “Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.”
From the beginning, the LORD declared that those who kill others are to be killed.
Genesis 9:6 “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”
Scripture also tells us that evil spreads when justice is prolonged and not carried out immediately.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
The key truth is that we are to trust Jesus when it comes to exacting vengeance and seek peace by every means possible. We are also to realize that God often uses the powers that be and established law to exact His wrath against those that do evil.
Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:10–12 “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
Romans 13:3–4 “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Psalms 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
Psalms 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
Psalms 35:7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
David calls for the LORD to make his enemies like the worthless part of the wheat harvest that gets blown away by the wind. He calls for the angel of the LORD to drive them away and pursue them with hostile intent (from the Hebrew). As the enemy runs, he prays for them to slip and fall to their destruction (from the Hebrew). David declares that the enemy has no just cause for trying to trap him in their net of destruction.
Spurgeon: “Net-making and pit-digging require time and labour, and both of these the wicked will expend cheerfully if they may but overthrow the people of God.”
Psalms 35:8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.
Psalms 35:9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
Psalms 35:10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
David asks the LORD to turn the actions of the enemy against them and destroy them as they thought to destroy him. Such action will cause him to rejoice in the salvation of the LORD. He pictures every bone in his body amazed at the power of Almighty God and how He watches out for the poor and needy.
Spurgeon: “We do not triumph in the destruction of others, but in the salvation given to us of God.”
Psalms 35:11 ¶ False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
Psalms 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
Again, David declares he is innocent of the charges made against him by false witnesses.
I liked the CJB for verse 12 after looking at the Hebrew: “They repay me evil for good; it makes me feel desolate as a parent bereaved.”
Spurgeon: “The wicked would strip the righteous naked to their very soul: they know no pity.”
Psalms 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
Psalms 35:14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
David describes the goodness which he had shown his enemies. He had fasted and prayed for them when they were sick, in the same way he would have for a close friend or brother. He had mourned for them as sincerely as he would mourn for his mother.
“my prayer returned into mine own bosom” – Translations vary. It could be a picture of abject sorrow as he prayed, but I think the CJB is probably best—“I can pray that what I prayed for them might also happen to me.”
Psalms 35:15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:
Psalms 35:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
On the other hand, these men joined together and rejoiced in David’s trouble. Even people he did not know joined in their ceaseless attack. He identified them as hypocrites; in other words, they were probably guilty of the accusations they made against David.
I can’t help but make application to the political situation in America today. People on both sides of the political spectrum are hypocrites. They make accusations against others of which they are guilty. I heard one man say this morning that a person should never be made to go against what he believes in reference to NFL football players kneeling in protest before the flag when the national anthem is played. That same man, however, aligns himself with those that believe that Christians with private businesses should be made to act against what they believe when it comes to providing services that would cause them to act against what they believe. I could go on and on….
Spurgeon: “A pack of dogs tearing their prey is nothing compared with a set of malicious gossips mauling the reputation of a worthy man.”
Psalms 35:17 ¶ Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.
Psalms 35:18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.
David wonders why the LORD has not yet acted on his behalf. He pleads with the LORD to spare his life and promises to publicly declare his thanks before the people for his deliverance.
David was just like the rest of us. We can’t understand why the LORD doesn’t answer our prayers right away. It always goes back to a couple of verses for me.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Psalms 35:19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
Psalms 35:20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
Psalms 35:21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
David pleads with the LORD not to let those that have no just cause against him to rejoice over his defeat. These men do not seek peace; they plan deceitful actions against those that are at peace, using false accusations against David as part of that plan.
Psalms 35:22 This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
Psalms 35:23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
David knows that the LORD is witness to all that goes on in His creation. He begs Him not to keep silent, not to draw away from him. He pleads for the LORD to spring into action to defend him as “his” God and “his” LORD.
David’s confidence in the LORD was rooted in a personal relationship with Him. He trusted Almighty God as his LORD, his master.
Psalms 35:24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
David always bases his call for the LORD to judge him based on His righteousness, not on his own. I believe that is a reference to God’s promises as declared in His word.
Deuteronomy 5:33 “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Psalms 35:25 Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
Psalms 35:26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
David prays that the LORD not allow his enemies to gain the victory over him. He asks that God let them suffer the shame of defeat and dishonor.
Psalms 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalms 35:28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
David closes this psalm with a call for the people to shout for joy because righteousness has been upheld. May they always exalt the LORD who takes pleasure in the welfare of His servant. As for David, he will testify to the righteousness of the LORD and praise him continually.
Psalms 36:0 ¶ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.
Another psalm of David writing from his heart as a servant, a willing bondslave of the LORD. This song was sent to the chief Musician for use by the musicians serving at the tabernacle.
Psalms 36:1 ¶ The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
Psalms 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
David opens this psalm with an assessment of why wicked people act like they do; they sin because they have no fear of God. After reading several translations of verse 2, I tend toward the NIV: “For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”
Everyone who rejects the LORD is wicked; only those covered by the blood of Jesus are righteous before the LORD. Most of those who reject the LORD do not consider themselves wicked and do not consider themselves sinners because they fit right into the accepted culture that surrounds them. They have fallen for the deceit and lies of the god of this world, Satan.
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Spurgeon: “Those eyes which have no fear of God before them now, shall have the terrors of hell before them for ever.”
Guzik: “The essence of flattery is found in words that say one is better than he or she actually is. We usually think of flattery as coming from others, but we are entirely able to tell ourselves that we are better than we actually are.”
Psalms 36:3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
The words of the wicked are iniquity, they are false, cause trouble and sorrow, unjust and evil (all from the Hebrew). They speak with the intent to deceive, to perpetrate fraud as they seek personal gain. They have chosen to forsake wisdom, the fear of the LORD, or to do good. Obviously, David defines good as doing that which is in obedience to the LORD.
Job 28:28 “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom….”
Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
Spurgeon re iniquity and deceit: “This pair of hell dogs generally hunt together, and what one does not catch the other will; if iniquity cannot win by oppression, deceit will gain by chicanery. When the heart is so corrupt as to flatter itself, the tongue follows suit. The open sepulchre of the throat reveals the foulness of the inner nature.”
Psalms 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
David emphasizes the truth of the last verse. The wicked man devises evil deeds from his bed because he does not hate evil. Again, he has fallen for the lies of Satan and he has no fear of the LORD. The Hebrew for the word “devises” includes more than just thinking and planning; it includes the idea of fabricating, imagining and inventing.
Psalms 36:5 ¶ Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Psalms 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
David, however, is in awe of the LORD’s mercy and faithfulness, which he pictures as reaching up to the heavens. He pictures the LORD’s righteousness as a great mountain, standing strong and immovable. He compares the LORD’s judgment to “a great deep.” The Hebrew makes reference to causing agitation and destruction, and that is a good description of how it affects the wicked. David recognized that the LORD is sovereign over all life in His creation; He alone preserves and sustains life. This truth is affirmed by Paul in his letter to the Colossians.
Colossians 1:16–17 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Psalms 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
The Hebrew for “excellent” makes reference to something valuable, rare and precious—all of which are characteristic of God’s lovingkindness. The greatest evidence of this love was the gift of His only Son to provide for our salvation.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
1 Peter 1:18–19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
1 Peter 2:3–6 “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious….Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”
It is the love of God that draws men to place their faith in Him. That is why Jesus put such an emphasis on the need for His followers to love one another; we are to be reflections of Him to the lost world around us.
John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
1 John 4:7–8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
To be “under the shadow of thy wings” is a reference to being protected by God just as a mother hen protects her chicks. Jesus used this same analogy.
Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
Psalms 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psalms 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Those who place their trust in the LORD will experience His abundant blessings which the psalmist pictures as drinking from a river of pleasures. Though David did not know Jesus, he knew that the LORD is the wellspring of true life, eternal life in His presence, a source that will never dry up.
Ironsides: “While the wicked never find that for which they are seeking, never find peace, never find satisfaction, how different is the state of the righteous! ‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.’”
“in thy light…” – Looking at the Hebrew from David’s perspective, I think he was making a statement about finding happiness through one’s faith in the LORD. I think there is also valid application to be made about the illumination from God that provides illumination to many things—foremost being the light of truth that leads to salvation.
1 Peter 2:9–10 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Wiersbe: “What a privilege to be God’s children! We are resting safely under His wings, feasting joyfully at His table, drinking abundantly from His river, and walking confidently in His light!”
MacDonald quoting Meyer: “God gives sorrows by cupfuls but pleasure by riverfuls!
Psalms 36:10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Though has already described the LORD’s blessings as an ever-flowing river of pleasure, David calls for the LORD to continue showing love to those that know Him and are upright in heart and have chosen to follow Him as LORD.
Psalms 36:11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
Psalms 36:12 There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
As David closes the psalm, his address becomes more personal, even as it provides a connection to his previous statement. He is upright in heart before the LORD and needs His protection from those that are full of pride and seeking to do evil against him. He ends the song with a note of confidence and describes his enemies as workers of iniquity that have fallen in defeat in light of God’s faithfulness.