467_Exulting in His salvation

Psalm 35:1-9 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
3 Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”

4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7 For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.

A few years ago, a Christian missionary in a hostile region was falsely accused and arrested for crimes he never committed. His enemies opposed his quiet yet steady witness for Christ. As he sat alone in his prison cell, he had every reason to feel abandoned and defeated. But instead of letting bitterness take root, he began to sing hymns and pray for those who had wronged him. A guard once asked him, “Why are you singing? You’re losing everything.” The missionary quietly replied, “I may have lost my freedom, but I still have my salvation. That’s worth singing about.”

This captures the heart of Psalm 35. David, too, found himself maligned and hunted without cause. This imprecatory psalm is one of a category in which the psalmist calls on God to judge and defeat his enemies. We may feel uncomfortable with the strong language used in these prayers. Yet it arises from a place of deep dependence on God for justice, deliverance, and vindication.

Psalm 35 opens with a desperate plea. “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.” David does not even attempt to fight back as he is attacked. He does not appraise his own power to retaliate. In the face of hostility, David doesn’t draw his own sword; he lifts his voice in prayer. He knew that the power was with God, the righteous judge and avenger. As soon as he was attacked, his automatic response was to call on God to come to his rescue and fight for him.

David called on God in his integrity. Though he had plenty of enemies, he had not provoked them. This is clearly seen in his relationship with Saul, for whom he fought successfully and unhesitatingly against the Philistines. Yet Saul turned against him, hunting him through Israel. David was twice in situations where he could easily have destroyed Saul without fear. Yet he absolutely refused, leaving his destiny with God. In 1 Samuel 24:15, he appeals: “May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

In verses 4 to 8, David prays for God to avenge him. While he asks that his enemies be confounded and ashamed, blown away like chaff, it is not personal revenge but public vindication that he desires. He wants everyone to know the difference between those who walk with God and those who oppose him. He desires them to know that he is God’s servant, and that the enemies of God’s people will not prevail.

In verses 9 and 10 he says:
“Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation. My whole being 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.’”

Here, David looks forward to deliverance and to the praise that will break forth from his inmost soul when the Lord shows his mighty hand on his behalf. He sees, by faith, a future where God has rescued him. His soul rejoices in the Lord’s salvation, more than in the downfall of his enemies.

What is the sin of David’s enemies? In verses 11 to 14, it is clear that they have returned evil for good. He mourned in their suffering, he fasted in prayer for them, weeping as for his own brother. Now their betrayal stabs him, for they have spat upon his love.
They gather against him, mock him, and gnash their teeth at him. It is no vague opposition but pointed, personal attacks. And so he longs for God to take up his case. “How long, O Lord, will you look on?” he cries in verse 17. He knows God sees the injustice, and he cries for action.

Yet again, David promises: “I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.” (verse 18). He commits to public worship. When deliverance comes, he will not keep it private. All God’s people will know how God cares for his servant and delivers him. This is a powerful reminder to us that worship is often born in waiting and matured in suffering.

Verses 19 to 28, intensify his cry for vindication. David does not merely want his enemies silenced—he wants the truth to be known. He relies on God to vindicate his servant in his justice, to remove the false accusation. He asks God to stir Himself, to awaken, to take up his cause. He believes not only that God can act, but that He must.

And then, he declares:
“Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, ‘Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!’ Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.”

Those who belong to God delight in righteousness and justice. They take pleasure in his servants. They are glad as he vindicates the innocence of his servants who do nothing to avenge themselves, but trust in him. The joy David anticipates is not just personal—it is communal. All the people of God will join him in praising the Lord who saves.

The encouraging reality underlying the psalm is that the path of righteousness may include unjust suffering, betrayal, and deep sorrow. But we can rest by faith in the salvation of God. We can trust Him and call on him to fight our battles. And we will rejoice in his salvation and exult in his vindication of our righteousness. He is a God of justice, and we are safe in his power.

Much as David loved God, Jesus, the Son of God, went so much farther in his love as the heavens are above the earth. He taught us, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

No more is our own vindication enough. We, in our Lord, love and pray for those who did us wrong. We, in the strength of the cross, die to our need for our enemies to be destroyed. We, in him, ask our Father to forgive them as he forgave us, and we pray for them as our Lord prayed in his agony, “Father, forgive them.”

As we think through this psalm, let us bring our griefs, our betrayals, the injustice we suffer, into his presence. We know that he sees them all, he hears our cry for vindication, and he is too just to turn a blind eye on all that he sees and hears. Therefore, trusting him, let us not be consumed by bitterness. Let us trust his timing and his justice. Let us pray for our vindication, but equally let us pray for our enemies – not for their downfall but that they may be forgiven and saved. Let us rejoice, not in their confusion but in the salvation of God.

And when that deliverance comes, don’t forget to tell the story. Praise Him in the assembly. For thus others will realize, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of His servant.”

When surrounded by enemies, misunderstood, or falsely accused, let us look beyond the present pain to the future praise. Like that missionary who sang in his prison cell, may we, too, find the strength to exult in God’s salvation—because no enemy, no injustice, and no hardship can take that from us. God bless.