Psalm 35:15-28 NKJV
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.
With clarity, this psalm describes the life of the Christian. David cites how our adversaries rejoice in our hurt and plot evil matters against the godly. They mock and hate God’s people without cause.
Luther says, “The 35th psalm is a psalm of prayer in which David cries out against the shameful people who, for the sake of their enjoyment and profit, put up a pretense and say what rulers would gladly hear. They defame the innocent, embittering the rulers against them and inciting them to violence. They devour the truth and cause great heartache” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 86).
And Luther is right; it’s almost as if he wrote in our day. In this world which keeps getting more and more evil and ungodly, the mocking and ridicule of God’s people is more out in the open than ever. Blatant displays of hatred and blasphemy are all around us. Years ago, it seemed as if most of the blatant persecution of Christians was in other countries, but now we walk among evil more and more.
David teaches us in the psalm to cry out to God and to plead with Him not to wait to rescue us from destruction. O Lord, do not keep silence…Do not be far from me… Stir Yourself up and awake to my vindication” (vv. 22-23). With David we rightly cry out to our good and gracious God that He would not only keep us from harm but ultimately deliver us from the hands of our enemy…
And He has done so already through Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross by which He paid for all sin, and by His resurrection from the dead by which He defeated even death for us. God the Father gave His Son for us and there is ultimately nothing to fear – no enemy can take away our eternal life, for God Himself is for us. With David we now say with confidence, “Let the Lord be magnified Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant” (v. 27). Let us pray: Lord Jesus, grant me your peace and strength, and make my tongue to speak of Your righteousness and Your praise all the day long. Amen.