Check it out – Psalm 35 is presented in its entirety below in the World English Bible (WEB) version. Yeah I know – twenty-eight verses long. Hooboy, stop griping. 🙂
I’ll comment after the text.
Psalms 35:1 (By David.) Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend
with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help.
3 Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4 Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh’s angel driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh’s angel pursuing them.
7 For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.
9 My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh. It shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, Who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
12 They reward me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
15 But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed their teeth at me.
17 Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.
19 Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; Neither let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they don’t speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
22 You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
23 Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
24 Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness; Don’t let them gloat over me.
25 Don’t let them say in their heart, “Aha! That’s the way we want it!” Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause. Yes, let them say continually, “Yahweh be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!”
28 My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.
First note this WEB version renders the name of our Heavenly Father correctly rather than simply substituting the word “LORD” for YHWH. (Yahweh is the “English” version of the Hebrew tetragammon for YHWH – vowels weren’t written in the Hebrew so….) There are a few places Bullinger notes the Hebrews did something similar in their version – a BIG “NO-NO” for the Hebrews! Bullinger duly notes these instances but in other places he simply capitalizes the word “LORD” to signify. Oi.
Now I am NOT going to review this Psalm line by line or segment by segment. Rather, I’ll just rely the thoughts I had while reading it myself, such as I can remember them.
David,. who wrote this, is appealing to YHWH to protect him against his enemies. So in answer to the question in the topic line – no, this wasn’t written specifically for us today, BUT read on as it certainly could be!
David’s enemies were attacking him verbally and physically, nearly all of his life. He spent 40 years after being anointed as King on the run. After Saul died, his own son Absalom tried to kill him. What a mess! David is described as a “bloody man” as well as a man after God’s own heart. Could both be true? Of course. That said, most of the time David was the good guy. One of the starkest exceptions was when he arraigned for his friend Uriah to be killed in battle so he could have Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. That was nasty.
I point to this not to excuse David but to demonstrate how loving and forgiving YHWH was and is. Not only did he forgive David but Solomon was born of Bathsheba. Maybe someday we will all understand all of this but for now, I’m happy to just accepted it as written. So back to the Psalm…
One thing that stands out about David again and again is his reliance upon God for help and deliverance in every situation. This passage is no different. Consider how he describes the attacks on him. Are they not similar to what we are seeing today? Not just the attacks on Donald Trump but also how the statists are attacking everything about our nation, our way of life. Look deeper and you will see how those attacks are really against God Almighty Himself!
Like David, we need to turn to YHWH. We need to seek His deliverance both directly in the name of His only begotten Son and our Lord and Savior and Brother Jesus the Messiah. It was Jesus’ life and death where we are now able to seek out our Heavenly Father.
Ephesians 2:18-19 For through him we both [Jew and Gentile] have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
Look closely and you’ll see those who oppose God today reaping the same results!
Psalm 35:26 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
This passage does not stand alone. Time and time again, Israel turned against God allowing their enemies to prevail. Yet when they turned to YHWH and sought Him out – asked for deliverance – HE responded and brought victory to His people over their enemies.
Their God is our God and He has not changed. Dire as things now seem, we CAN seek and receive deliverance! My prayer is you will join me in seeking help from our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior, and Brother Jesus the Messiah.
God bless