And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord … I will praise Thee among much people… My tongue shall speak … of Thy praise all the day long.” Psalm 35:9,18,28 KJV
And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD … I will praise You among a mighty throng … And my tongue shall declare … Your praise all day long. Psalm 35:9,18,28 NASB
Psalm 35 can be divided into three sections, each dealing with some form of injustice and each ending in a peon of praise. The events in the Psalm can be fit into David’s life though many of the expressions have a resemblance to things which occurred at the cross to David’s Greater Son.
But we should not be surprised that in every age, the godly have known something of the rejection and sorrows of the Man of Sorrows. It can be traced in the lives of Moses, Joseph, Jeremiah and others. That these are foreign to many of us is a sobering testimony to how unlike the Lord Jesus we are.
The Psalm can be divided as follows:
vv 1-10 The Intrigue of the Hateful
In the first section of the Psalm, the foes of the Psalmist are seen pursuing him, plotting against him, and spreading a net in which to ensnare him. His cry is to God, and he wants his foes to be put to shame and be ensnared in their own net. While there are echoes of Calvary in the fact that the treatment is without cause (v 7), that they were plotting against him (v 4), and that he mentions his bones are intact (v 10), there is a great contrast as well.
The cries for justice against his foes were absent from the lips of the Saviour. “Father, forgive them” is what marked His response to injustice and causeless hatred. Compassion for a repentant malefactor revealed the depth of His love and mercy.
vv 11-18 The Ingratitude of the Hypocritical
The next strophe contrasts the kindness he had shown to those in need with the treatment he was receiving from them. This is reminiscent of Job and his grief in Job 29 and 30. But how much more was it true of the Lord Jesus! Fierce witnesses remind us of how they cried more vehemently (Luke 23:5) and the evil He received as a reward for His good among them. The writer speaks of wearing sackcloth and sorrowing in their grief, but the Lord was quintessentially a Man of Sorrows. But once again, the lament ends with praise in verse 18.
vv 19-28 The Insolence of the Haughty
The final part of the Psalm depicts the triumphant sense of vindication of his enemies. In their pride and haughtiness, they rejoiced over his calamity. Once again, we are reminded of the men who surrounded the cross and their self-righteous exulting. And once more, we are reminded of the One Who when reviled He did not threaten back but committed Himself to the righteous Judge of all (v 24).
The Psalm ends as does Psalm 22, with the prospect of this sufferer leading a chorus of praise to God. In the Gospels of Mathew and Mark, we are told that on leaving the upper room, they sang a Psalm. It was, Jewish scholars tell us, most likely Psalm 118, a psalm of worship and praise. He sang before the cross. He will lead a song of praise after the cross as well. And grace has made us members of that choir.
Consider
Find the other many expressions in this Psalm, which are a reminder of the Lord Jesus and the treatment He received at Calvary.