Psalm 35: An Imprecatory Psalm

November 16, 2008

 

1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
       fight against those who fight against me.

 2 Take up shield and buckler;
       arise and come to my aid.

 3 Brandish spear and javelin
       against those who pursue me.
       Say to my soul,
       "I am your salvation."

 4 May those who seek my life
       be disgraced and put to shame;
       may those who plot my ruin
       be turned back in dismay.

 5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
       with the angel of the LORD driving them away;

 6 may their path be dark and slippery,
       with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

 7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
       and without cause dug a pit for me,

 8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
       may the net they hid entangle them,
       may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

 

These words begin one of the four so-called “imprecatory” psalms of David (7, 35, 69, and 109), although these types of verses are said to be found in 10 different psalms (7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137 and 139). To imprecate means to invoke evil upon, or curse.  Over the years many challenges have been raised against these psalms in light of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:43-45: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (see also Luke 6:27-36). People want to know how David or we can utter such words and still be called “Christian.”  To find our answer, we need to first work our way through these verses to see what David is actually praying, and then deal with the meaning behind Jesus’ words.

 

We do not know the historical setting of this psalm, but we do know David finds himself, as king of Israel, facing a two-pronged attack. In the introduction to this psalm, the first three verses, David asks God to be both his advocate in court and his general in battle.  The word for “contend” (v1) is a legal word referring to an attorney’s pleas on behalf of his client.  David is facing a verbal smear brought by a vindictive witness and he wants God to handle his defense.  At the same time, David is calling on God to take up His shield and brandish His spear and javelin against a frontal military attack.

 

In verses 4-10, David goes into more detail about the military defense David is asking God to provide.  This is followed, in verses 11-18, by more detail about the legal situation. Verses 19-25 bring these two issues together in a final plea for help and verses 26-28 provide David’s concluding prayers and praises.

 

In verse 4, David says his enemies “seek my life” and “plot my ruin.”  They have “hid their net for me” and dug a pit to capture him. In turn, David asks “the angel of the LORD” to mount his defense.  This “angel of the LORD” visits Hagar in Genesis 16:13 when she fears she and Ishmael will die in the desert.  He stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac in Genesis 22:11.  He appears to Joshua in Joshua 5:14-15 before the battle of Jericho and is with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace in Daniel 3. From these verses and from places in the New Testament, we believe these are actually pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ.

 

When we are attacked by Satan or any of his representatives or forces, there is nothing wrong with calling on Jesus to defend us against our attackers.  David’s basic prayer is that their evil may fall back upon them. In verse 8, David prays that their net may entangle them and that they may fall into their own pit and bring about their ruin. Joseph articulated this principle in dealing with his brothers after the death of their father.  His brothers feared Joseph would kill them for threatening to kill him and eventually selling him as a slave, but Joseph reassured them: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children" (Genesis 50:19-21).

 

While such phrases as “May they be like chaff before the wind” (v5); “may their path be dark and slippery” (v6); and “may ruin overtake them by surprise” (v8) may seem harsh at first, they express very real feelings.  There is nowhere in Scripture where God or any writer warns us against expressing our honest feelings to God.  Emotions are a very real part of who we are. Even in dealing with strong negative emotions like anger, we are not forbidden from feeling angry, only cautioned:  "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Verses such as these suggest it is best to deal with our strong negative emotions by taking them to God and expressing those emotions verbally.  In so doing we stand a very good chance of dealing with them in such a way as to not give Satan a “foothold” in our lives.  In fact, Scripture teaches that if we hold onto our negative emotions and keep quiet before God about how we feel, we are actually setting ourselves up to have trouble later. Prayer is the way we are taught to find relief from our wounds and fears.  Remember, when we pray we are talking to Jesus who is our “high priest” who is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses,” because He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Because this is true, the author of Hebrews tells us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

 

From these verses we should learn that when we are attacked in any way by Satan or anyone or anything influenced by him in any way (1) we should go to Jesus with our raw and honest emotions expressing to Him exactly how we feel and then (2) allow Him to deal with our situation in a way that brings Him glory.  God usually answers by turning the situation around on our adversaries.

 

Following each emotional prayer section, David stops to praise God.

 9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
       and delight in his salvation.

10 My whole being will exclaim,
       "Who is like you, O LORD ?
       You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
       the poor and needy from those who rob them."

 

18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
       among throngs of people I will praise you.

 

28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness
       and of your praises all day long.

 

What we need to learn about this type of praying and what makes real prayer so hard lies in believing that prayer actually works, that God actually acts in response to our prayers. David summarizes his belief in prayer in the phrase “Who is like you, O Lord?”  These words reflect the Song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15:11f:

 

11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
       Who is like you—
       majestic in holiness,
       awesome in glory,
       working wonders?

 12 You stretched out your right hand
       and the earth swallowed them.

 13 "In your unfailing love you will lead
       the people you have redeemed.
       In your strength you will guide them
       to your holy dwelling.

 14 The nations will hear and tremble;
       anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

 

And they are at the heart of Psalm 89 which says:

 

8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?
       You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

 9 You rule over the surging sea;
       when its waves mount up, you still them.

 10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
       with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

 11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
       you founded the world and all that is in it.

 12 You created the north and the south;
       Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

 13 Your arm is endued with power;
       your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
       love and faithfulness go before you.

 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
       who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

 

If we believe both that our God is able to act in the situation in which we find ourselves in a way that will bring Him glory and we believe that He will act we will wait for Him to act. We may still ask what David asked in verse 17:

 

17 O Lord, how long will you look on?
       Rescue my life from their ravages,
       my precious life from these lions.

 

But we will not take matters into our own hands and try to bring about its resolution in our own strength.  It is always possible God may still act in such a way that our enemies are converted and become our friends.  In the process of waiting God may ask us to examine our own lives.  During this examination He may also show us some sin or set of sins that we need to deal with before He brings about the resolution of our situation.  David contended over and over in Psalm 35 that he was innocent.  When he was on trial in verses 11-18, he said that the witnesses against him repaid him “evil for good” (v12); that he prayed for them—“I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting” (v13); and that he wept for them “as though for my friend or brother” and  “as though weeping for my mother” (v14). These verses indicate David did pray for those who were now his enemies and in a very real and powerful way.

 

So we have two more lessons to learn from these psalms of David.  Not only should we (1) go to Jesus with our raw and honest emotions expressing to Him exactly how we feel and then (2) allow Him to deal with our situation in a way that brings Him glory, but we should also (3) examine our own lives and motives to see what prompted our emotional outburst and, as Jesus taught, (4) eventually come to pray for our enemies. Living in this world brings about numerous instances in which we are hurt, rejected, and even attacked by other people.  We should recognize the influence of Satan behind these actions and pray against his kingdom and its influence in very real terms before the throne of our great high priest who understands completely. When we refuse to give Satan even a foothold, God will respond with his deliverance in a way that ends with us giving our God praise.  These are life’s sweetest victories.