Righteous Causes – Psalm 35

“A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for my help. Also draw out the spear and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’ Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life. Let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt. Let them be like chaff before the wind and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them. For without cause, they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my life. Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly and let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Into that very destruction let him fall.” Psalm 35:1-8

As I read the above verses, I thought of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He came to set captives free, heal the brokenhearted and preach Good News to the poor, but all along the way, there were those who wanted His efforts to fail. King Herod massacred Bethlehem’s baby boys in attempt to murder Him, the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to get Him to say something wrong so they could accuse Him. They told people that He was not from God. The devil tempted Him in the wilderness while He was hungry, and also through Peter. Right after Peter professed Him as the Son of God, Peter urged Jesus not to go to the cross. Jesus identified those words as coming from Satan. In the Garden of Gethsemane His soul was sorrowful unto the point of death as He considered the cup of suffering the Father expected Him to drink. Then, a murderer was chosen over Him by the people whom He loved and served. He was laughed at, mocked, flogged, and crucified. Every attempt to stop Him from completing His mission was inspired by Satan or the sinful human nature of others. Jesus had to overcome great opposition.

David was God’s servant. He obeyed God’s orders. He focused on bringing God glory. He aimed to maintain a good conscience before God. For this reason, unethical people strove with him. They made it their priority to sabotage his efforts. They enjoyed harassing him. They tried to devise a failproof plan to ruin him. The mastermind of their group was the devil.

They treated him, who was the greatest blessing of his country, as if he had been the curse and plague of it. They camouflaged their traps for David and his friends, but in vain, because God saw what they were doing, and coached David to victory over them. [1]

King Saul had an army at his command. He condemned whom he pleased. He carried not a scepter (symbolic of a shepherd’s rod). No he reigned with a javelin. He would cast it at any man that stood in his way. Such was the manner of David’s king. He compelled everyone around him to do as he commanded or else be brutally punished or executed. His word was law. [2]

David, on the other hand, was poor and needy. He had none to take his part but men (as we say) of broken fortunes (See 1 Samuel 22:2). If the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and his anointed, who can contend with them? [3]

When the Pharisees were on the verge of condemning Paul in a court of law, he appealed to Caesar, and the Gentile Romans rescued him from them. But, when David’s king condemned him, he appealed directly to God. He prayed, “Plead my cause, O Lord!”

When we commit ourselves to join with Jesus in His mission on earth, we must be ready to endure and overcome opposition. Satan’s criminal network will malign, threaten, harass, hurt and seek to destroy us. Paul wrote one of his disciples in 2 Timothy 3:12, saying, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

If someone claims to be a Christian, but does nothing for Christ, for example, does not read the Bible, does not pray, does not go to church, does not profess Him before people, and does not make disciples, he or she might incur little persecution on earth, but the Lord will not be able to say to him or her, “Well, done my good and faithful servant.” He may feel obligated to say, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity (iniquity is unequal treatment), I never knew you.”

David prayed that God would fight his enemies, so as to disable them from hurting him. He prayed that God would take hold of shield and buckler. What is the difference between a shield and buckler? A buckler is a small, typically steel, shield (under 12-16 inches) held by a fist grip for active, close-quarters deflection and offence, whereas a shield is generally larger, strapped to the forearm, and designed to cover more of the body. [4]

Exodus 15:3 says, “The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is His Name.” David asked the Lord to stand up for him and stop them. We too can ask God to oppose our persecutors.

David wanted God to say unto his soul, “I am your salvation.” If God, by His Spirit, witness to our spirit that He is our salvation, we have enough, we need desire no more to make us happy. If God be our friend, it doesn’t matter who our enemy is. [5]

David prayed that God would make his enemies as chaff before the wind and to make their way dark and slippery so that they fall. In Deuteronomy 32:35, God says, “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense. Their foot shall slip in due time. For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them.”

But what if wind, darkness and slippery paths were not enough to stop his enemies from reaching him? In Psalm 35:5, David prayed that the angel of the Lord would pursue them. God’s angels execute divine justice. God’s angels overcome His enemies.

According to 1 Samuel 18:25-30, Saul required David to kill 100 Philistines to win his daughter’s hand in marriage. Saul was secretly rooting for the Philistines to kill David. However, by God’s grace, David won the battle and killed 200 Philistines. What happened to Saul? In 1 Samuel 31, he committed suicide by falling on his own sword during a battle with the Philistines. He reaped what he sowed.

“And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones shall say, ‘Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?’” Psalm 35:9-10

The joy of the Lord is satisfying. Those who sow in tears for the Lord, reap His joy. Even David’s bones rejoiced in God’s deliverance. When David was poor and weak, the Lord won his battles.

We cannot express how great and good God is, so therefore, we can just say unto the Lord... “Who is like You?” The answer is that no one even comes close.

“Fierce witnesses rise up. They ask me things that I do not know. They reward me evil for good to the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled myself with fasting. And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother. I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity, they rejoiced and gathered together. Attackers gathered against me, and I did not know it. They tore at me and did not cease; with ungodly mockers at feasts they gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, my precious life from the lions.” Psalm 35:11-17

The above verses prophetically describe what Christ and His servants endure as we seek to find the lost and save them from their enemies. Enduring false witnesses and false accusations against us is part of the job description. To be like Christ requires us to pray for and love our enemies.

To be a disciple of Jesus, we must lean on the Lord to deliver us from the mouths of lions. In 2 Timothy 4:17, Paul testified, “The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”

Ungrateful King Saul rewarded his son-in-law David evil for good. At one point, David played his harp for Saul to soothe his tormented mind, but Saul in a rage tried to kill David with a spear.

David was a type of Christ in regards to serving ungrateful leaders. In John 10:32, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Many good works have I shown you from My Father. For which of those do you stone Me?”

“I will give You thanks in the great assembly. I will praise You among many people.” Psalm 35:18

David looked forward to joining with God’s people in giving Him thanks and praise. He did not want to be cut off from them. David wrote with resolve, saying, “I WILL!” In Psalms 22:22, he wrote, “In the midst of the congregation I WILL praise You.” In Psalm 111:1, he declared, “I WILL praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. And in Hebrews 2:12, Paul wrote, “I WILL declare Your Name to my brothers, in the midst of the church I WILL sing praise to You.”

“Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies, nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against the quiet ones in the land. They also opened their mouth wide against me, and said, ‘Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.’” Psalm 35:19-21

David simply asked the Lord to defeat his enemies. He described to the Lord their behavior. They wink at me with hatred. They provoke me with words. They play tricks on my mind. Their goal is to embarrass me.

“This You have seen, O Lord. Do not keep silence. O Lord do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, to my cause, my God, and my Lord. Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, ‘Ah, so we would have it!’ Let them not say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who exalt themselves against me.” Psalm 35:22-26

David asked the Lord to speak up for him. To be near Him! To rise up and vindicate him!

Don’t allow my enemies to devour me. Confuse and shame them!

Nowadays, social media platforms spew forth lies and mockery toward anyone who tries to do what is right and good in the sight of God. These false prophets are paid by corrupt crime rings to destroy the reputations of God’s servants. Their goal is to silence the voice of truth. Their mission is to ensure that the news of God’s goodness never reaches the ears of people.

“Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause and let them say continually, ‘Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.’ And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.” Psalm 35:27-28

The Lord wants those who fight for His causes to prosper. “Let them shout for joy and be glad!” He wants us to be able to gather together and magnify His Name. He wants us to enjoy the freedom and inspiration to praise Him all the day long! 


[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary (some words quoted and others inspired my comments)
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Google sources
[5] Matthew Henry’s Commentary (some words quoted and others inspired my comments)