Psalms 35

A Psalm of David.

This psalm belongs to David’s earlier life, and suits his condition when Saul had put the priests to death and massacred the inhabitants of Nob, at the instigation of Doeg. The act had cast a gloomy horror over the nation, and had plunged David into the darkness of despair as to any reconciliation with Saul. 1 Samuel 2:0. In many respects this psalm resembles Psalms 34:0, with this difference that confines itself to the subjective sufferings of the author, and breaks forth into seemingly harsh imprecation. In Psalms 35:19 we find a prophetic allusion to Christ. Compare John 15:25. Indeed the whole psalm has a Messianic bearing. On the imprecatory part it must be considered that David speaks and acts from the consciousness of being the anointed king of Israel, and actions are viewed from the standpoint of public law and justice. He is not a simple martyr, where the issue is on doctrine and religious faith, nor is his relation to his enemies that of a private individual. His cause is the cause of the nation and of God, and his pleadings against his enemies do not exceed the justice of human courts, nor the just measure of individual retribution. He commits his cause entirely to God, refraining from all steps toward private revenge. His acts, first and last, towards his enemies are faultless. See on Psalms 109:0. The psalm falls into three strophes, Psalms 35:1-28, each closing with an expression of hope and confidence. The first is an earnest plea for judgment against his enemies; the second, a statement of his own friendly behaviour towards them, which contrasts with the blackness of their ingratitude; the last is a solemn, chastened, and affecting appeal for the interference of divine justice.