In Psalm 35, David is seeking revenge. He wants God to avenge his enemies because of the pain he had suffered at their hands.
David wanted joy but he was in constant sorrow, and here he in Psalm 35 he is patiently waiting on God to show up.
By the time you are through reading this post on Psalm 35, you will find peace knowing that your God will fight against every enemy that rises against you.
But first, let’s talk about revenge; the topic of Psalm 35.
Revenge is one of the most difficult topics for us to understand in life as a believer and followers of God.
As humans living in our sinful flesh, our first impulse when someone aggravates us is to take revenge immediately.
This is why we are seeing so many wars and pain all over the world, and it will only get worse.
However, as a child of God, He tells us not to take revenge into our hands, He will do it for us.
David was aware of this truth and he knew that God would avenge and redeem him, which is why he wrote Psalm 35.
Someone or many persons may have done you a great injustice and are still breathing out threats to you. But, like David, you can allow God to handle them; He is more than capable to do so. And He will do a much better job than you could ever have imagined.
What Does Psalm 35 Say?
“Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:
16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.
18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.
19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
22 This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.”
Also read: Top 15 Psalms About Power
The Use of Psalm 35
David wrote Psalm 35 during his days of persecution by King Saul.
Here in this psalm, David is eloquently requesting God to execute judgment on his enemies.
But, is David right in requesting a just God to destroy his enemies?
Moreover, should you as a follower of Jesus Christ pray this kind of prayer?
The short answer is yes. Remember, all that is written in scriptures are God-inspired words given to profit us. So, like David, we can ask God to fight against those who are fighting against us.
Yes, God fights for his children, and every saint of God shall have this privilege where the accuser (satan) of the brethren shall meet the Advocate (Jesus Christ) of the saints.”
With that said, here are a few more comforting observations on Psalm 35 that you can add as prayer points when praying.
Psalm 35 Meaning and Commentary (KJV)
Psalm 35:1 “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.”
David could rightly pray this prayer because he usually lived in God’s will, and those who fought against him opposed God.
Psalm 35:2 “Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.”
We often don’t think of God as having armor, but He does. See Isaiah 59:17 where the Lord is compared to a warrior who fights for his own.
Psalm 35:3 “Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”
In Psalm 35:2, David asks the Lord to take out His shield, and a shield is a defensive weapon. But in verse three, David is asking God to be on the offensive for him by keeping his enemies at a distance with a spear.
Verse three continues “Say to my soul: I am your salvation.” David needed to hear God, again and again, say to his soul, “I am your salvation.”
David’s circumstances were so difficult and painful that he needed an inner sense of certainty from God.
Psalm 35:4 “Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul.”
Here David is asking God to protect and vindicate him. He also wants God to turn back his enemies.
Psalm 35:5-6 “Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.”
Here David is praying, twice he prayed for the intervention of God’s angel.
Psalm 35:7 “For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.”
Here David has asked God twice to take notice that his enemies were fighting against him without cause.
Psalm 35:8 “Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.”
Here David is praying his enemy would be caught in his own trap.
Psalm 35:9 “And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
Psalm 35:10 “All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”
Psalm 35:11-14 “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
Here David takes about his prior care for his enemies and also and he remembers the dishonor of his enemies, who are repaying him with evil, while he gave them good.
Psalm 35:15 “But in mine adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me and ceased not.”
Here David laments how he treated his enemies well when they were in their adversity, but now they are rejoicing when David is in a time of crisis.
Psalm 35:16 “With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.”
David felt these attacks, they really hurt him because he wasn’t expecting these folks to fight against him.
Psalm 35:17 “Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.”
Here David is having an honest conversation before God, he admits that he felt God was inactive and insensible to his situation. David pleaded with God to rescue him because his state was so bad that he felt lions were chasing him.
Psalm 35:18 “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.”
Here David promises to give God glory and thanks publicly for His deliverance.
Psalm 35:19-22 “Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
22 This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
Here is a prayer from David where he is giving God reasons for his vindication.
Psalm 35:23-26 “23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.”
Here David is pleading to God for divine vindication.
Psalm 35:27-28 “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
Here David is encouraging us to rejoice in his vindication and the vindication of the servants of the Lord.
Also read: 10 Psalms for New Beginnings
What kind of psalm is Psalm 35?
Psalm 35 is the 35th psalm of the Book of Psalms and it’s a prayer for judgment and persecution of the enemies of God’s people.
What is the psalm of protection?
Psalm 91 is a good Psalm for protection. V1 says ” He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” You can read the full chapter here.
Also read: 20 Psalms for Deliverance
What Does Plead My cause Mean?
Plead my cause biblically means that God will speak out in our support or defense. God will fight against those who fight us.
Final Word on Psalm 35
In Psalm 35, David had entered into a relationship with some people. Sadly, things took a turn for the worse and these people turned against David without just cause.
This brought David great pain, and here in Psalm 35, he shows us how we should conduct ourselves when we are betrayed by those who we may have once considered our friends now enemies.