HATRED-Psalm 35, WICKEDNESS-Psalm 36

Imprecation: “Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight [make war] against those who fight [make war] against me. Say to me, ‘I am your salvation‘” (Ps 35:1, 3b).

Rescue: “My whole being [bones] will exclaim, ‘Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.’” “How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions” (Ps 35:10, 17; Exo 15:11).

Hatred: “Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye” (Ps 35:19; 69:4).

Contend with them (Ps 35:1). Psalm 35 is the prayer of one who has been falsely accused of a capital crime in the court that could lead to his death, as the opening metaphor [“contend” (Ps 35:1a)] is from the lawcourt, while the miliatry terms are figurative (Ps 35:2-3, 1b). It is a lament and also falls in the category of psalms known as prayers for deliverance, as he calls on God to rescue him (Ps 35:2-3, 17, 22-25), since eyewitnesses, whose testimony is critical, lie about his involvement in the crime (Ps 35:11, 20), thus making him defenseless. Although the setting is clearly the courtroom, the psalm can encourage anyone who is falsely accused, whether in or outside of a courtroom. This is also an imprecatory psalm, as he asks God to punish his detractors with the punishment they intend for him (Ps 35:4, 7-8, 26), and he promises to worship God as a result of his intervention (Ps 35:9-10, 28).

Psalm 35 is well placed next to Psalm 34. There are the only 3 mentions of “the angel of the Lord” in the psalms (Ps 34:7; 35:5, 6). Mainly, it speaks out of the many troubles and fears from which God delivered the psalmist (Ps 34:4, 6, 19, 22). Yet the deliverance triumphantly celebrated (Ps 34:1-3) is seen in Psalm 35 to be not swift or painless. Rather, it was subject to agonizing delays. Yet David never doubts that his day will come. Each desperate plea for help looks forward to that moment in the future. The 3 divisions all end in hope:

1. The scheming (1-10)…by those who want to ruin him (Ps 35:4).
2. The mobbing (11-18)…by ruthless false witnesses (Ps 35:11).
3. The gloating (19-28)…by those who hate him without reason (Ps 35:19).

The hallmark of wickedness: “I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Ps 36:1).

God’s priceless precious love: “How priceless is your unfailing love [hesed], O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Ps 36:7).

2 realities: Living in 2 different worlds. Psalm 36 powerfully contrasts wickedness and goodness. It gives us a glimpse of human wickedness at its most malevolent (1-4), and divine goodness in its many-sided fullness (5-9). Though menaced by the former, the psalmist is assured of victory by the latter. Few psalms cover so great a range in so short a space. Instead of the good, the bad and the ugly, it is:

1. The BAD: The wicked (1-4). Abandoned wickedness.
2. The GOOD: God’s graciousness (5-9). Abundant goodness.
3. The PRAYER: Continue your love (10-12). Prevailing prayer.

How does Psalm 35 point to Christ?

• “Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me” (35:1).

1. God contended against Christ in order to not contend against us.

• “May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay” (35:4).

2. God disgraced, shamed and ruined Christ on the cross to save us. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole” (Gal 3:13).

• “They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me” (Psalm 35:15-16).

3. Christ was slandered and maliciously mocked on the cross on our behalf.

• “…my enemies without cause… those who hate me without reason” (35:19). “Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me” (69:4).

4. Christ was hated for no reason. “If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason’” (Jn 15:24-25).

• “Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions” (Psalm 35:17).

5. God rescued Christ [and us] through his resurrection from the dead.

1. “God has raised this Jesus to life…” (Ac 2:32).
2. “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Cor 6:14).
3. “…if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom 8:11).