Psa 35:1-10 | KingComments | STEP | This psalm has the form of a lamentation. It consists of three sections 1. ; 2. ; 3. . All three end with a purpose to praise the LORD. The psalm is an urgent plea to God to act in judgment against the apostate, unmerciful persecutors of the righteous one, that is David, and those who are with him. Defamation, cunning, and violence are all used against him. We can best think of Saul and his helpers when we think of the persecutors. What they did to David will also be the portion of the remnant in the end time. Much of it was also experienced by the Lord Jesus. For “[a Psalm] of David” ( ) see at Psalm 3:1. Without introduction, without first seeking God’s attention, David cries out to God in . The need is so great that he has no time to introduce his prayer. It is like someone who is about to drown and therefore cries out: ‘Help, help!’ It is an extended explanation of the statement David made when he had to flee from Saul: “The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand” ( ). The psalm is also closely related to Psalm 34. Only in these two psalms do we find the phrase “the Angel of the LORD” in Psalms ( ). David asks God to do everything possible to deal with those who oppose him. He cuts to the chase telling God in strong language to use the resources He possesses to come to his aid. To begin with, he asks God to contend with his persecutors and accusers ( ). As a reason he mentions the fact that they contend with him. The language is both military language and judicial (legal) language ( ), simultaneously and interchangeably. It is both fighting and disputing. What the enemies of David want is extremely out of place. Nothing justifies it. He has done nothing for which they should contend with him. God must make that clear to them and therefore He must take up his cause. David asks God to be his Advocate. By doing so, He will let it be known that He is on his side. He will fight those who fight him. Let God, he says metaphorically, take hold of buckler and shield, i.e. the small and the large shield – these are defensive weapons, sometimes carried by a shield bearer – and rise up to help him ( ). The small shield is the hand shield; the large shield is the shield behind which the person is completely sheltered. God must also take the spear in His hand – this is an offensive weapon to eliminate the enemy – and place Himself between him and his persecutors ( ). “The battle-axe” can also be translated with “to close up the path against”, which means that He blocks the way for his persecutors and they cannot seize him. In addition to His actions – the weapons speak of God’s willingness to defend David – God must also let him know by His words that He is for him. He must say to his soul: “I am your salvation”, with the emphasis on “I am”. This will be a tremendous encouragement and comfort to him in the great distress in which he finds himself.

‏ Psalms 35:1-10

Introduction

This psalm has the form of a lamentation. It consists of three sections

All three end with a purpose to praise the LORD.

The psalm is an urgent plea to God to act in judgment against the apostate, unmerciful persecutors of the righteous one, that is David, and those who are with him. Defamation, cunning, and violence are all used against him. We can best think of Saul and his helpers when we think of the persecutors.

What they did to David will also be the portion of the remnant in the end time. Much of it was also experienced by the Lord Jesus.

Cry to God for Help

For “[a Psalm] of David” (Psa 35:1a) see at Psalm 3:1.

Without introduction, without first seeking God’s attention, David cries out to God in Psa 35:1-3. The need is so great that he has no time to introduce his prayer. It is like someone who is about to drown and therefore cries out: ‘Help, help!’ It is an extended explanation of the statement David made when he had to flee from Saul: “The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand” (1Sam 24:15). The psalm is also closely related to Psalm 34. Only in these two psalms do we find the phrase “the Angel of the LORD” in Psalms (Psa 34:7 ; Psa 35:5-6).

David asks God to do everything possible to deal with those who oppose him. He cuts to the chase telling God in strong language to use the resources He possesses to come to his aid.

To begin with, he asks God to contend with his persecutors and accusers (Psa 35:1b). As a reason he mentions the fact that they contend with him. The language is both military language and judicial (legal) language (Psa 35:2-3), simultaneously and interchangeably. It is both fighting and disputing.

What the enemies of David want is extremely out of place. Nothing justifies it. He has done nothing for which they should contend with him. God must make that clear to them and therefore He must take up his cause. David asks God to be his Advocate. By doing so, He will let it be known that He is on his side. He will fight those who fight him.

Let God, he says metaphorically, take hold of buckler and shield, i.e. the small and the large shield – these are defensive weapons, sometimes carried by a shield bearer – and rise up to help him (Psa 35:2). The small shield is the hand shield; the large shield is the shield behind which the person is completely sheltered. God must also take the spear in His hand – this is an offensive weapon to eliminate the enemy – and place Himself between him and his persecutors (Psa 35:3). “The battle-axe” can also be translated with “to close up the path against”, which means that He blocks the way for his persecutors and they cannot seize him.

In addition to His actions – the weapons speak of God’s willingness to defend David – God must also let him know by His words that He is for him. He must say to his soul: “I am your salvation”, with the emphasis on “I am”. This will be a tremendous encouragement and comfort to him in the great distress in which he finds himself.

Demand for Retribution

After what David has said in Psa 35:1-3, God can begin His judgmental work in his favor. He asks God to let those who seek his life be ashamed and dishonored (Psa 35:4). In the Middle East, it counts heavily when a good name is dishonored. All those people who devise evil against him, God must make them draw back and turn red with shame. David expresses himself ever more strongly in asking God to deal with his enemies.

God must drive them away (Psa 35:5) through “the angel of the LORD”, which is the Lord Jesus before He became Man (cf. Psa 34:7). If He strikes at them, they will drift away like chaff before the wind, becoming untraceable (cf. 2Kgs 19:35; Isa 37:36). He also asks that their way be “dark and slippery with the angel of the LORD pursuing them” (Psa 35:6). The way of his persecutors must be dark, so that they do not recognize the way. It must also be slippery so that they immediately slip as soon as they take a step. It is what happened to the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exo 14:23-31). David knows that his enemies will not even be able to flee from their Persecutor when He has turned the tables.

David’s demand for judgment to come on his enemies is righteous. His enemies want to catch him like a wild animal in a net and in a pit they have hidden from him (Psa 35:7). But it is “without cause” (cf. Psa 35:19). This is how the enemies of the Lord Jesus have been toward Him. ‘Without cause’ they persecuted Him, driven by a deep hatred to kill Him. The remnant will also be oppressed “without cause”.

David asks God to cause destruction to come upon the enemy (singular) without his noticing (Psa 35:8). This enemy in the end time is the antichrist, the future false king (Jn 5:43), who will persecute the believing remnant to death. He will be caught in his own cunning and put to death. What he has done to others will be done to him (Rev 13:10).

If God grants his request, his soul will rejoice in Him (Psa 35:9). He will exult in the salvation God has given. All his bones, from which all strength has vanished, will be revived (Psa 35:10). In newly gained strength he will cry out: “LORD, who is like You!” These words Israel spoke of God after the great deliverance from Egypt (Exo 15:11). We also hear them in the words of Isaiah when he speaks of the God of creation (Isa 40:25-26) and in the words of Micah when he speaks of God as the Redeemer (Mic 7:18).

David speaks of God in this way because God delivered him, “the afflicted”, “from him who is too strong for him”. David was the subjugated party, but the incomparable LORD came to his aid and delivered him. When the LORD intercedes for him, He will save him, “the afflicted and the needy”, from the power of “him “who robs him”, from the man who takes his possessions from him by force.