Psa 35:22 | KingComments | STEP | The enemies say in that they have seen “it”, but David says to the LORD, “You have seen it” ( ). And that’s what it’s all about. The LORD does not let Himself be heard, but David knows that He has seen it. He calls on Him to break His silence. He asks the “Lord”, Adonai, not to stay far from him, by which he means that the Lord will come close to him to actually help him (cf. ). David calls on God to awaken (literally, to rise up) and wake up ( ; cf. ). He knows that God has seen everything. But because God does nothing, it seems to David that He is keeping Himself asleep. It is, according to David, high time for God to act to bring justice to His anointed king. He passionately appeals to God, whom he calls “my God and my Lord”, to take his court case. Then He can silence the accusers. David’s concern is that God is doing him justice according to His, that is God’s, righteousness ( ). Only when God, Whom he emphatically addresses again, this time as “LORD my God”, does justice to him with His righteousness, will any accusation be definitively dismissed. The accusers will have been deprived of the reason to rejoice over him. He will be vindicated and redeemed by God. They should not even get the inner satisfaction of his condemnation and not be able to say “in their hearts” that they have their way ( ). Nothing must come of their intention to swallow him up (cf. ). They must trickle off in shame and humiliated altogether, all those people who rejoice over his calamity ( ). God must clothe them with shame and dishonor (cf. ), all those people who magnify themselves over him to get him out of the way.

‏ Psalms 35:22

Demand to Do Justice

The enemies say in Psa 35:21 that they have seen “it”, but David says to the LORD, “You have seen it” (Psa 35:22). And that’s what it’s all about. The LORD does not let Himself be heard, but David knows that He has seen it. He calls on Him to break His silence. He asks the “Lord”, Adonai, not to stay far from him, by which he means that the Lord will come close to him to actually help him (cf. Psa 22:11).

David calls on God to awaken (literally, to rise up) and wake up (Psa 35:23; cf. Psa 44:23). He knows that God has seen everything. But because God does nothing, it seems to David that He is keeping Himself asleep. It is, according to David, high time for God to act to bring justice to His anointed king. He passionately appeals to God, whom he calls “my God and my Lord”, to take his court case. Then He can silence the accusers.

David’s concern is that God is doing him justice according to His, that is God’s, righteousness (Psa 35:24). Only when God, Whom he emphatically addresses again, this time as “LORD my God”, does justice to him with His righteousness, will any accusation be definitively dismissed. The accusers will have been deprived of the reason to rejoice over him. He will be vindicated and redeemed by God.

They should not even get the inner satisfaction of his condemnation and not be able to say “in their hearts” that they have their way (Psa 35:25). Nothing must come of their intention to swallow him up (cf. Lam 2:16). They must trickle off in shame and humiliated altogether, all those people who rejoice over his calamity (Psa 35:26). God must clothe them with shame and dishonor (cf. Psa 35:4), all those people who magnify themselves over him to get him out of the way.