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35. Psalm 35

¹ Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
² Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.
³ Brandish spear and javelin Or and block the way
   against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
   “I am your salvation.”

    ⁴ May those who seek my life
   be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
   be turned back in dismay.
⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind,
   with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
⁶ may their path be dark and slippery,
   with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

    ⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
   and without cause dug a pit for me,
⁸ may ruin overtake them by surprise—
   may the net they hid entangle them,
   may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
   and delight in his salvation.
¹⁰ 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.”

    ¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
   they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
   and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
   and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
    ¹⁴ I went about mourning
   as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
   as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
   assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
   They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; Septuagint; Hebrew may mean Like an ungodly circle of mockers,
   they gnashed their teeth at me.

    ¹⁷ How long, Lord, will you look on?
   Rescue me from their ravages,
   my precious life from these lions.
¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
   among the throngs I will praise you.
¹⁹ 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.
²⁰ They do not speak peaceably,
   but devise false accusations
   against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹ They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
   With our own eyes we have seen it.”

    ²² LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
   Do not be far from me, Lord.
²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
   Contend for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
   do not let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
   or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

    ²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
   be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
   shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
   who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

²⁸ My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.

18. I will magnify thee in the great congregation. In this verse David again engages to give thanks to God for all his goodness, since the faithful can render him no other recompense than the sacrifice of praise, as we shall see in Psalm 116:17. Thus even whilst he was surrounded by the impetuous billows of fear and danger, he sets himself to the exercise of giving thanks, as if he had already obtained his desire; and by this he intended to encourage and confirm himself in the assurance of obtaining his requests. In this we may discern a striking and decided evidence of invincible fortitude, for though an outcast and a fugitive, destitute of all help, and, in short, in a state of great extremity and despair as to all his affairs, yet still he thinks of praising God’s grace, and makes vows of solemn sacrifice to him, as if, in the midst of the darkness of death, he saw deliverance clearly shining upon him. And he speaks not only of giving thanks in private, but of such thanksgiving as those who were delivered out of any great perils were wont to yield in the public assembly, by the appointment of the law. Some translate the latter clause of the verse a strong and powerful people, ⁷¹⁸⁷¹⁸ Horsley takes this view. He reads, “Among a mighty people;” and observes, that this is the rendering of the Chaldee, and that עצם, seems more properly to express strength or power than number. but I do not see the propriety of it. It is a mere subtilty to argue that the Church is endued with great strength, and therefore is called a strong people. But as David simply means the great crowd and multitude of people who were wont to go up to the sanctuary to hold their solemn assembly before God, I have no doubt that when he speaks of the great congregation, and afterwards of much people, he only repeats, according to his custom, the same thing twice, for the Hebrew word is used in both these senses.