Psa 35:11-18 | KingComments | STEP | There is no mention of violence in these verses, the second section of this psalm. They are a long complaint dealing with slander, ingratitude, ridicule and hatred. There is no ground for all these forms of enmity. That makes it all unbearable for David. What David says in these verses happened to the Lord Jesus. Malicious witnesses rose up against Him to bring up something on the basis of which His enemies might condemn Him ( ; ). And this while He has done nothing evil. On the contrary, He has done only good and nothing else. David says here “that I do not know”. The Lord Jesus did not say that. He can say, “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?” ( ). He is fully aware that He has done only and nothing but the will of God. How badly did the enemies of the Lord Jesus repay Him evil for good ( ). They have wanted to rob Him of life. He, Who “went about doing good and healing” ( ), has been portrayed as an evildoer to get Him condemned ( ). And how was David in the midst of his people? He has participated in their suffering in a way that is truly compassionate ( ; cf. ). He did not inquire superficially, with a polite question such as we often ask, in terms of ‘how are you?’ He has outwardly fully and inwardly deeply cared about their suffering and has shown this. He has prayed for them time and again. His sorrow is sincere and deeply felt, as if it were his friend or brother or someone grieving for his mother ( ). But what did those for whom David had been so good do when he was struggling and stumbling through life ( )? They gathered around him, not to help him, but to laugh at him. That is also what the enemies of the Lord Jesus did to Him ( ; ). They repaid Him hatred for His love. The people who, when David was in distress, so gathered around him to mock him, were “smiters”. David didn’t know them. “They slandered” or “they tore” him, that is, his reputation, to pieces with their slanders. They did it “without ceasing”. David’s enemies did not know when to quit, they just went on and on. David also knows how they behave when they are among themselves, in their own circle ( ). It is a company of “godless jesters at a feast”. The Hebrew word has the meaning of people who for the sake of a small reward (a cookie) are willing to mock others. Perhaps we can think of people who sat at Saul’s table and told Saul lies about him ( ). These jesters did this to be in Saul’s good graces and to take advantage of him as much as possible ( ). Therefore, they “gnashed … with their teeth” at him, which means they were plotting evil ( ). They were out to gain. That did not come because David always escaped their hands.

‏ Psalms 35:11-18

Evil Repaid for Good

There is no mention of violence in these verses, the second section of this psalm. They are a long complaint dealing with slander, ingratitude, ridicule and hatred. There is no ground for all these forms of enmity. That makes it all unbearable for David. What David says in these verses happened to the Lord Jesus. Malicious witnesses rose up against Him to bring up something on the basis of which His enemies might condemn Him (Psa 35:11; Mt 26:59-60). And this while He has done nothing evil. On the contrary, He has done only good and nothing else.

David says here “that I do not know”. The Lord Jesus did not say that. He can say, “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?” (Jn 8:45-46). He is fully aware that He has done only and nothing but the will of God.

How badly did the enemies of the Lord Jesus repay Him evil for good (Psa 35:12). They have wanted to rob Him of life. He, Who “went about doing good and healing” (Acts 10:38), has been portrayed as an evildoer to get Him condemned (Lk 23:1-2 ; 5 ; 10).

And how was David in the midst of his people? He has participated in their suffering in a way that is truly compassionate (Psa 35:13; cf. Mt 8:16-17). He did not inquire superficially, with a polite question such as we often ask, in terms of ‘how are you?’ He has outwardly fully and inwardly deeply cared about their suffering and has shown this. He has prayed for them time and again. His sorrow is sincere and deeply felt, as if it were his friend or brother or someone grieving for his mother (Psa 35:14).

But what did those for whom David had been so good do when he was struggling and stumbling through life (Psa 35:15)? They gathered around him, not to help him, but to laugh at him. That is also what the enemies of the Lord Jesus did to Him (Mt 27:27; Lk 23:1). They repaid Him hatred for His love.

The people who, when David was in distress, so gathered around him to mock him, were “smiters”. David didn’t know them. “They slandered” or “they tore” him, that is, his reputation, to pieces with their slanders. They did it “without ceasing”. David’s enemies did not know when to quit, they just went on and on.

David also knows how they behave when they are among themselves, in their own circle (Psa 35:16). It is a company of “godless jesters at a feast”. The Hebrew word has the meaning of people who for the sake of a small reward (a cookie) are willing to mock others.

Perhaps we can think of people who sat at Saul’s table and told Saul lies about him (1Sam 24:10). These jesters did this to be in Saul’s good graces and to take advantage of him as much as possible (1Sam 22:7). Therefore, they “gnashed … with their teeth” at him, which means they were plotting evil (Psa 37:12). They were out to gain. That did not come because David always escaped their hands.

Cry for Redemption

How long will the “Lord” – Adonai, Commander, Sovereign Ruler – continue to “look on” doing nothing (Psa 35:17)? When will He take action, for which David has called Him in Psa 35:1-3? While in these psalms a repetition of thoughts occurs each time as a form of poetry, this form of poetry is interrupted by the fact that this question stands alone, without repetition. This emphasizes the distress of the psalmist.

Devastating deeds are being done against His anointed king. He begs God to deliver his soul from them. “My only [life]” means “I have no more”. This is about David’s life, which was the only thing he had left. And even that was threatened by hungry, powerful, life-threatening lions.

David knows that God will stand up for him and deliver him and he intends not to be silent about that (Psa 35:18). He will give Him thanks for it “in the great congregation”, and “among a mighty throng” he will praise Him. As in Psalm 22, the LORD’s deliverance extends to praise in the assembly (Psa 22:22), yes, the great assembly (Psa 22:25), the latter pointing to the fullness of Israel in the realm of peace.

But it is still not that far. The second section of the psalm ends with an intention to sing a song of praise (Psa 35:18), but the third section (Psa 35:19-28) begins with the present condition in which the enemy rejoices over David’s condition. Hence, David again turns to God, this time with two questions (Psa 35:19). The first is that he asks God to see to it that those who are his enemies for false reasons will not be able to rejoice over him.

The second is that those who hate him “without cause” will not have an opportunity to inform one another of their plans to kill him through sneaky signals of winks. People who send signals by winking are making up falsehoods (Pro 16:30). They are not upright; they will not openly say what they mean (Pro 6:12-13). They share secrets with each other that cannot bear the light of day and are therefore signaled to each other in the dark language of secrecy.

He does know them. These are not people who speak peace (Psa 35:20). They are not out for peace, but for the extermination of “those who are quiet in the land”. “They devise deceitful words against” them. The “quiet in the land” are those who make up the remnant, who do not impress or emphatically show themselves. They do not step into the foreground and do not assert themselves. They are modest in their behavior and are easy prey for the wicked people.

The wicked people “opened their mouth wide” against God’s anointed king (Psa 35:21). They put on a big mouth against him and certainly do not hold back in doing so. It is the picture here of a wild animal, a lion, which opens its mouth and threateningly shows its teeth (cf. Psa 35:17 ; 25b). Out of their mouth come the foulest accusations and curses. With great amusement they claim that they have seen what they accuse him of: “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!” Now they can sue and get him convicted. The expression “aha” (cf. Psa 40:15) means that they are gloating over the psalmist’s misery (cf. Psa 35:19a).