Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 35
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 35
Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalms 35
"Strive thou, O Jehovah, with them that strive with me: Fight thou against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that pursue me: Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Let them be put to shame and brought to dishonor that seek after my soul: Let them be turned back and confounded that devise my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind, And the angel of Jehovah driving [them] on. Let their way be dark and slippery, And the angel of Jehovah pursuing them. For without cause have they hid for me their net [in] a pit; Without cause have they digged [a pit] for my soul. Let destruction come upon him unawares; And let his net that he hath hid catch himself: With destruction let him fall therein. And my soul shall be joyful in Jehovah: It shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto thee, Who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, Yea, the poor and the needy from him that robbeth him?" — Psalms 35:1-10 (ASV)
It is nothing new for the most righteous people, and the most righteous cause, to meet with enemies. This is a fruit of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the Seed of the woman. David in his afflictions, Christ in His sufferings, the church under persecution, and the Christian in the hour of temptation, all beseech the Almighty to appear on their behalf and to vindicate their cause. We are inclined to justify uneasiness at the injuries others do to us by our never having given them cause to treat us so badly; but this should set us at ease, for then we can more confidently expect that God will plead our cause.
David prayed to God to manifest Himself in his trial. Let me have inward comfort under all outward troubles, to support my soul. If God, by His Spirit, witnesses to our spirits that He is our salvation, we need desire nothing more to make us happy. If God is our Friend, it does not matter who is our enemy. By the Spirit of prophecy, David foretells the just judgments of God that would come upon his enemies for their great wickedness.
These are predictions; they look forward and show the doom of the enemies of Christ and His kingdom. We must not desire or pray for the ruin of any enemies, except our lusts and the evil spirits that would bring about our destruction. A traveler overtaken by night on a bad road is an expressive emblem of a sinner walking in the slippery and dangerous ways of temptation. But David, having committed his cause to God, did not doubt his own deliverance.
The bones are the strongest parts of the body. The psalmist here proposes to serve and glorify God with all his strength. If such language can be applied to outward salvation, how much more will it apply to heavenly things in Christ Jesus!
"Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. They reward me evil for good, [To] the bereaving of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew [it] not; They did tear me, and ceased not: Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth." — Psalms 35:11-16 (ASV)
Call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse: this was the character of David's enemies. In this, he was a type of Christ. David shows how tenderly he had behaved towards them in afflictions. We ought to mourn for the sins of those who do not mourn for themselves. We will not lose by the kind services we do for anyone, however ungrateful they may be. Let us learn to possess our souls in patience and meekness like David, or rather, after Christ's example.
"Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions. I will give thee thanks in the great assembly: I will praise thee among much people. Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. For they speak not peace; But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me; They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it. Thou hast seen it, O Jehovah; keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. Stir up thyself, and awake to the justice [due] unto me, [Even] unto my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge me, O Jehovah my God, according to thy righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their heart, Aha, so would we have it: Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Let them be put to shame and confounded together that rejoice at my hurt: Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me. Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: Yea, let them say continually, Jehovah be magnified, Who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness [And] of thy praise all the day long. " — Psalms 35:17-28 (ASV)
Though the people of God are, and strive to be, quiet, yet it has been common for their enemies to devise deceitful matters against them. David prays, 'My soul is in danger, Lord, rescue it; it belongs to You, the Father of spirits, therefore claim Your own; it is Yours, save it! Lord, do not be far from me, as if I were a stranger.'
He who exalted the once-suffering Redeemer will appear for all his people: the roaring lion shall not destroy their souls, any more than he could that of Christ, their Surety. They trust their souls in his hands; they are one with him by faith, are precious in his sight, and shall be rescued from destruction, that they may give thanks in heaven.
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