Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 35:1-10

"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!