351 Strive, O Jehovah, with them that strive with me; fight against them that fight against me: 2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help; 3 And draw out the spear, and stop [the way] against my pursuers: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. 4 Let them be put to shame and confounded that seek after my life; let them be turned backward and brought to confusion that devise my hurt: 5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of Jehovah drive [them] away; 6 Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of Jehovah pursue them. 7 For without cause have they hidden for me their net [in] a pit; without cause they have digged [it] for my soul. 8 Let destruction come upon him unawares, and let his net which he hath hidden catch himself: for destruction let him fall therein. 9 And my soul shall be joyful in Jehovah; it shall rejoice in his salvation. 10 All my bones shall say, Jehovah, who is like unto thee, who deliverest the afflicted from one stronger than he, yea, the afflicted and the needy from him that spoileth him!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 35:1-10
Commentary on Psalm 35:1-10
(Read Psalm 35:1-10)
It is no new thing for the most righteous men, and the most righteous cause, to meet with enemies. This is a fruit of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the Seed of the woman. David in his afflictions, Christ in his sufferings, the church under persecution, and the Christian in the hour temptation, all beseech the Almighty to appear in their behalf, and to vindicate their cause. We are apt to justify uneasiness at the injuries men do us, by our never having given them cause to use us so ill; but this should make us easy, for then we may the more expect that God will plead our cause. David prayed to God to manifest himself in his trial. Let me have inward comfort under all outward troubles, to support my soul. If God, by his Spirit, witness to our spirits that he is our salvation, we need desire no more to make us happy. If God is our Friend, no matter who is our enemy. By the Spirit of prophecy, David foretells the just judgments of God that would come upon his enemies for their great wickedness. These are predictions, they look forward, and show the doom of the enemies of Christ and his kingdom. We must not desire or pray for the ruin of any enemies, except our lusts and the evil spirits that would compass our destruction. A traveller benighted in a bad road, is an expressive emblem of a sinner walking in the slippery and dangerous ways of temptation. But David having committed his cause to God, did not doubt of his own deliverance. The bones are the strongest parts of the body. The psalmist here proposes to serve and glorify God with all his strength. If such language may be applied to outward salvation, how much more will it apply to heavenly things in Christ Jesus!