Psalm 35

Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
² Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.
³ Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”

⁴ Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the angelof the Lord chase them.
⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
⁷ For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
⁸ Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹ And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
¹⁰ All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

¹¹ Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
¹² They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
¹³ But as for me, when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own heart.
¹⁴ I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.

¹⁵ But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
¹⁶ With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
¹⁸ I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.

¹⁹ Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
²⁰ For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
²¹ They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”

²² This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
²³ Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.

²⁷ Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
²⁸ And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.

Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

I think this is such an interesting phrase. My initial reaction was that the psalmist is asking God for the protection of his soul. The enemies he is talking about aren’t planning on attacking him physically but spiritually. Therefore, God is the salvation for his soul. But, after doing a little searching, I found someone who thought that the psalmist is asking God to say this to his soul because he needs reassurance. His head knows the promises of God, but he has trouble truly believing them with his entire soul. I still favor my first reading, but I do like this interpretation too. However, these enemies do seem especially spiritual when the psalmist asks that “their way be dark and slippery” and that “his net that he has hidden catch himself.” If God is a light unto our paths, then the paths of those without God must be dark, and we’ve seen in other psalms that God gives us firm footing on His paths, so paths without Him must be slippery. And, we have seen that evil suffers from itself. These enemies are destroyed by the traps that were meant for the good man.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation.

We rejoice in that salvation that God has given to us. The Lord spoke to our souls to say that He is our salvation, and now our souls rejoice in that salvation. The psalmist then adds that no one but God could do such marvelous deeds. He delivers the poor from situations that are too much for them to overcome on their own. God is more powerful than we are, and we are going to be in situations that seem too much for us to handle. We must rely on God as our salvation to remove us from them.

This You have seen, O Lord; do not keep silence

After telling about all of the wicked things that his enemies are doing, the psalmist pleads to God. The Lord has seen all of the evil that they are doing, and He sees the righteous man suffering. So, the psalmist commands God, “Do not keep silence.” Don’t hold off from coming to my rescue in this situation that is too much for me to handle and don’t hesitate to say to my soul that You are my salvation.