Psalm 35:25 Komentář

David, in this psalm, appeals to the righteous Judge of heaven and earth against his enemies that hated and persecuted him. It is supposed that Saul and his party are the persons he means, for with them he had the greatest struggles. I. He complains to God of the injuries they did him; they strove with him, fought against him (Psa 35:1), persecuted him (Psa 35:3), sought his ruin (Psa 35:4, Psa 35:7), accused him falsely (Psa 35:11), abused him basely (Psa 35:15, Psa 35:16), and all his friends (Psa 35:20), and triumphed over him, (Psa 35:21, Psa 35:25, Psa 35:26). II. He pleads his own innocency, that he never gave them any provocation (Psa 35:7, Psa 35:19), but, on the contrary, had studied to oblige them (Psa 35:12-14). III. He prays to God to protect and deliver him, and appear for him (Psa 35:1, Psa 35:2), to comfort him (Psa 35:3), to be nigh to him and rescue him (Psa 35:17, Psa 35:22), to plead his cause (Psa 35:23, Psa 35:24), to defeat all the designs of his enemies against him (Psa 35:3, Psa 35:4), to disappoint their expectations of his fall (Psa 35:19, Psa 35:25, Psa 35:26), and, lastly, to countenance all his friends, and encourage them (Psa 35:27), IV. He prophesies the destruction of his persecutors (Psa 35:4-6, Psa 35:8). V. He promises himself that he shall yet see better days (Psa 35:9, Psa 35:10), and promises God that he will then attend him with his praises (Psa 35:18, Psa 35:28). In singing this psalm, and praying over it, we must take heed of applying it to any little peevish quarrels and enmities of our own, and of expressing by it any uncharitable revengeful resentments of injuries done to us; for Christ has taught us to forgive our enemies and not to pray against them, but to pray for them, as he did; but, 1. We may comfort ourselves with the testimony of our consciences concerning our innocency, with reference to those that are any way injurious to us, and with hopes that God will, in his own way and time, right us, and, in the mean time, support us. 2. We ought to apply it to the public enemies of Christ and his kingdom, typified by David and his kingdom, to resent the indignities done to Christ's honour, to pray to God to plead the just and injured cause of Christianity and serious godliness, and to believe that God will, in due time, glorify his own name in the ruin of all the irreconcilable enemies of his church, that will not repent to give him glory. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 35 A Psalm of David. This psalm seems to have been written by David, when he was persecuted by Saul; and when many false charges were brought against him by his courtiers; and when he was the scorn and derision of the people; the subject of it is pretty much of the same kind with the seventh psalm, and might be written about the same time that was, and on the same occasion; and it may be applied to the church and people of God in like cases. There is a passage in it, Psa 35:19, which our Lord seems to refer to and apply to himself, Joh 15:25; and some interpret the whole of it concerning him. The Arabic version calls it a prophecy of the incarnation; though there does not appear any thing in it applicable to that.

Let them not say in their hearts, ah, so would we have it,.... Or we have what our souls wished for and desired: the sense of the petition is the same with Psa 27:12; let them not say, we have swallowed him up; as roaring lions swallow down their prey, to which he had compared them, Psa 35:17; and as wicked men eat up the Lord's people as they eat bread, Psa 14:4.

"Let them not say in their heart, Aha, aha, so would we have it" [Psalm 35:25]; that is, We have done what we could, we have slain him, we have taken him away. "Let them not say:" show them that they have done nothing. "Let them not say, We have swallowed him up." Whence say those Martyrs, "If the Lord had not been on our side, then they had swallowed us up quick." What is, "had swallowed us up"? Had passed into their own body. For that you swallow up, which you pass into your own body. The world would swallow you up; swallow thou the world, pass it into your own body: kill and eat. As it was said to Peter, "Kill and eat;" [Acts 10:13] do thou kill in them what they are, make them what you are. But if they on the other hand persuade you to ungodliness, you are swallowed up by them. Not when they persecute you are you swallowed up by them, but when they persuade you to be what they are. "Let them not say, We have swallowed him up." Do thou swallow up the body of Pagans. Why the body of Pagans? It would swallow you up. Do thou to it, what it would to you. Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, [Exodus 32:20] that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel.

As to the second, he says, "let them not say in their hearts." Insult is done in two things, just as joy. For joy is either about present goods or about future goods. Similarly, insult is either about evils already done or about evils yet to be done. First, therefore, he asks that the insult about the past be removed; and therefore he says, "Let them not say in their hearts, aha, aha, our soul," that is, let not his soul congratulate itself over anything concerning me, "and let them say, our soul, we will devour him." For sometimes someone oppresses another not by exultation but by surprise, out of weakness; and this is evident because he immediately repents. But when he oppresses out of malice, then he rejoices at having done it; and this is what he says. "Nor let them say, we will devour him," namely in the future. Ps. 56: "Their tongue is a sharp sword." Hab. 3: "Their exultation was like that of him who devours the poor in secret."

The Psalmist invokes God's aid, contrasting the hypocrisy, cunning, and malice of his enemies with his integrity and generosity. The imprecations of the first part including a brief notice of their conduct, the fuller exposition of their hypocrisy and malice in the second, and the earnest prayer for deliverance from their scornful triumph in the last, are each closed (Psa 35:9-10, Psa 35:18, Psa 35:27-28) with promises of praise for the desired relief, in which his friends will unite. The historical occasion is probably 1Sa. 24:1-22. (Psa. 35:1-28) God is invoked in the character of a warrior (Exo 15:3; Deu 32:41).

swallowed him up--utterly destroyed him (Psa 21:9; Lam 2:16).

On the metonymical use of נפשׁ, like τὸ ὀρεκτικόν for ὄρεξις, vid., Psychol. S. 203 tr. p. 239. The climax of desire is to swallow David up, i.e., to overpower him and clear him out of the way so that there is not a trace of him left. בּלּענוּהוּ with ע before נ, as in Psa 132:6, and frequently; on the law of the vowels which applies to this, vid., Ewald, ֗60, a. שׂמחי רעתי is a short form of expression for רעתי שׂמחים (בּ) על. To put on shame and dishonour (Psa 109:29, cf. Ps 18), so that these entirely cover them, and their public external appearance corresponds with their innermost nature.