The 35th psalm, by David, is a prayer for deliverance. Once again, we meet David enduring some deadly threat, and responding by bringing it before the Lord in prayer.
In verses 1 to 8, there is a clear sense of desperation out of which David prays for the total downfall of his enemies, which can only come about if God fights on his behalf. David’s prayer against them is strong (verses 1 to 3), asking God to fight his enemies, protect him and assure him of deliverance, but so are their intentions against him (verse 4, verse 7). Indeed, in verse 4 to 8 we see David’s prayer is effectively for them to be reap what they have sown, to face the consequences of their wickedness.
Why is this wickedness, this rejection and hounding of David so severe, so consequential? David was God’s chosen, temporal, covenant king. He was most certainly not a perfect man, but he was one of God’s chief ambassador’s on earth, and so rejecting David means rejecting God. It’s effectively the same for Christians. We are God’s covenant people, having been united with Christ. We aren’t promised deliverance from trials and enemies, but we are promised strength to endure in the face of such trials and commanded:
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay”, says the Lord.
Romans 12 verses 18 and 19 (quoting Deuteronomy 32 verse 35)
David didn’t take action on his own initiative, but trusted in God to deliver him from his enemies and avenge them on his behalf because he was his covenant king. But he did pray to God and commit the issue and the wicked people into his hands. This is the biblical pattern for us today too – to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecture you” (Matthew 5 verse 44).
Certainly, David is confident in God’s deliverence, for he intends to rejoice in it (verse 9), commending the righteousness and salvation of his God with his whole being (verse 10). What a faithful God he has; what a faithful God we have.
Verses 11 to 16 give us a more complete depiction of the wickedness of these schemers againt David. Their malicousness and impropriety in verses 11 and 12 contrasts sharply with how David had treated them in verses 13 and 14, kindly and humbly. How did they repay David’s kindness and willingness to step up for them in their need? To beat him and mock him (verses 15 and 16). He was innocent of their accusations, and comparatively righteous – and yet they tore aware at him.
But standing behind David, we see his greater son: flesh mutilated, mocked by all and sundry, hanging on a tree – the perfect, spotless, righteous Lamb of God sacrificed to make atonement on our behalf. “‘We have no king but Caesar!’ the chief priests answered.” (John 19 verse 15), shortly before joing in the crowds as they mocked him. “Godless mockery” indeed.
This interlude describing the godlessness of the wicked in more depth now ended, David returns to his prayer in the remainder of the psalm (verses 17 to 28). It must have been frustrating to endure this pain (verse 17), yet David knew he had a God who cared for him and would vindicate him in spite of the pain (verse 18). It’s like he knew about Jesus beforehand:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens – Jesus the Son of God – let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
Hebrews 4 verses 14 to 16
Knowing what God is like is a great source of comfort and certainty for us, is it not?
With this confidence proclaimed, we meet the petition again in verse 19 – “do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me”, because of their wickedness and evil desires (verses 20 and 21). David trusts in the perfect knowledge and justice of God: he sees all things (verse 22), and therefore judges with wisdom (verses 23 and 24). And so we see two fates – judgment and wrath for those who oppose God and his annointed king (verses 25 and 26), great joy and gladness for those who love the Lord and his annointed king (verses 27 and 28).
I’ve undoubtedly missed out a lot of stuff here – but hopefully have highlighted something of what David is teaching us through this psalm. Psalm 36 is a bit easier to work through, though.
Firstly, we see wickedness for what it really is (verses 1 to 4). This information is “an oracle”, which is to say a revelation from God (verse 1). In sum, the wicked person is someone who does not fear God (verse 1). In more detail, the nature of wickedness is self-love without self-awareness (verse 2), deliberate malice in life and lip (verse 3), and it permeates the whole life to the extent that they cannot even go to sleep without coming up with more and more wickedness (verse 4). These people have set their course away from that which is righteous, and so cannot even recognise that which is wrong (verse 4).
Altogether, these people sound just terrible, don’t they? But the sad truth is that, actually, we are all like this. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way” (Isaiah 53 verse 6).
This description of human wickedness is contrasted with the beautiful truth about God’s righteousness (verses 5 to 9). He alone is faithful and loving (verse 5), infinite in righteousness and justice (verse 6). The “faithful love” of a covenant relationship with him is “priceless” (verse 7), and so we see that people in that covenant are protected (verse 7), provided for in life (verse 8), and powerfully saved (verse 9). Well, maybe that last one is less clear. But God is the source of life and light – “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1 verse 4), and “to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name” (John 1 verse 12).
So verse 9 proclaims to us the grace of the God who would send his own Son to reconcile a wickedpeople to himself. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to uor own way; but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53 verse 6). Indeed, this is the only way these people in verses 7 to 9 could be in convenant with God and therefore receive these blessings; “if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing” (Galatians 2 verse 21).
Finally, we see a prayer for God to act (verses 10 to 12). In view of his great faithful, covenant love (verses 5 and 7) and infinite righteousness and justice (verse 6), David prays that God would protect the people he has reconciled to himself (verses 10 and 11). It could be that he has a situation very similar to that of Psalm 35 in mind. But the wonderful thing is this: knowing the infinite majesty and goodness of God, David knows that his will will come to pass, that the wicked who have not been reconciled to God will not endure, and so he can say with confidence that this has already happened (verse 12).
It’s the ‘prophetic past tense’; knowing what God is like, it is impossible for his will not to come to pass. And so, when he makes a promise, it is so certain that it will happen, that we can as good as say it has already come to pass. What a faithful God David has; what a faithful God we have.
Four Month Psalter 