Prayer for Rescue from Enemies - Psalm 35

 

Psalm 35 – A Psalm of David, with commentaries by Dennis Edwards.

35:1-2 Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.

Jesus said that without Him we could do nothing, John 15:5b, but with Him we can do all things because He strengthens us, Philippians 4:13.  Apostle Paul tells us we are fighting spiritual powers in celestial places. Therefore, we need to put on the whole armour of God to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and having done all to stand, Ephesians 6:11-13.

Paul tells us to have our loins girded with the truth. Walking in truth, being honest, truthful, speaking the truth in love is part of the armour that God has given us. In Proverbs we read, “Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about your neck; write them upon the table of your heart: So, shall you find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man,” Proverbs 3:3-4.

Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that the Father wanted us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Apostle John tells us, “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” John 1:17. Apostle Paul reveals that in Jesus is hidden all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, Colossians 2:3, in other words, all truth is found in Jesus. He Himself said that if we obeyed His word, we would know the truth, and the truth would make us free, John 8:32. Truth, in all its aspects, is therefore an important part of our spiritual armour.

Apostle Paul also tells us above all to take “the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,” Ephesians 6:16. In Hebrews, we learn, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,” Hebrews 11:6.

David in the present psalm is praying and asking the Lord to take up shield and buckler in his defence. Apostle Paul is telling us to take up the armour of God which includes the shield of faith. Abraham became the friend of God and the father of faith, because he believed God, and “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God,” Romans 4:20.

We, too, must have faith. Our faith is encouraged by reading God’s word and following through on what He shows us to do. Faith is the hand of the spirit that reaches out and receives from God. It is our spiritual effort. Without faith we cannot please God. Lord, I believe, help put away my lack of faith.

Psalm 35: 3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

In the armour of God that Apostle Paul describes, the only offensive weapon is the sword. What is the sword representative of? The sword is the word of God. Again, in Hebrews we read, “The word of God is quick (alive) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” Hebrew 4:12.

We need to pick up the sword of the spirit which is God’s word and cut the devil and all his doubts and lies to the heart. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Read the word, quote the word, sing the word, memorize the word, believe the word, and act on the word. It is through believing and obeying the word that you receive power, for God gives His Holy Spirit to them that obey Him.

Psalm 35:4-6 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

David is asking the Lord to deal with his enemies for him.

In Psalm 1:4-6, we see that the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind drives away. They shall not have a place in the judgment, in other words, their lives will not be extended in the after-life, but rather they shall perish. 

At the Great White Throne Judgment Seat of God, after the 1,000-year millennium and the final battle of Gog and Magog, all the souls of the unbelievers who didn’t come to faith in Christ will be raised and brought before God for the final judgment. They will all be judged according to their works, whether they were good, or whether they were evil. Those not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death, see Revelation 20:11-15. 

Psalm 35:7-8 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he has hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

Which is what eventually happened to King Saul who had sought David’s life for many years. King Saul and his sons died in battle against the Philistines, 1 Samuel 31.

Psalm 35:9-10 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto You, which delivers the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoils him?

The day is coming when the rich and powerful will be judged. In Revelation we read, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand,” Revelation 6:15-17.

The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace, Psalm 37:11.

Until that day, we need to fight discouragement. We need to fight for joy, for it is the joy of the Lord which is our strength. "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice," Philippians 4:4. Don't let a cloud of sadness linger over you. "In everything give thanks," 1 Thessalonians 5:18. "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." Psalm 100:4. 

Psalm 35:11-12 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

Like David, and Jesus, and other men and women of God, the enemy of our soul will anoint those who he will use to rise up against the godly. Jesus said, “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you,” John 15:20. Apostle Paul wrote similarly, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” 2 Timothy 3:12. We will be falsely accused by our enemies of things we are not guilty of.

Psalm 35:13-14 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourns for his mother.

Like Jesus mourning over Jerusalem when he was about to enter it before His passion, Luke 19:41, we see David treating his enemies with love and compassion. Jesus went further and forgave the Roman soldiers who had crucified Him. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” Luke 23:34.

Psalm 35:15-16 But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects (assailants or persecutors) gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

We see Jesus under Annas and Caiaphas getting stricken in the face and spit upon. “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands,” Matthew 26:67.

Psalm 35:17-18 Lord, how long wilt You look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions. I will give You thanks in the great congregation: I will praise You among much people.

Praise is the victory. Apostle Paul advises us to give thanks in every situation. When he and Silas were imprisoned for witnessing, it says that at midnight they “prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them,” Acts 16:25. Paul and Silas served the Lord with gladness: they came into God’s presence with singing. They were able to make a joyful noise inspite of the seeningly difficult situation. God miraculously intercedes for them and frees them. Their praying, praising, and singing were the vehicle that helped bring their deliverance.

Psalm 35:19-21 Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye has seen it.

It hurts when we are being wrongly accused and slandered. All we can do is to cry out to the Lord to rise up in our defence and leave it in His hands.

Psalm 35:22-23 This You have seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

God will respond when we call and send help of some kind. "Before you call, I will answer; and while you are yet speaking, I will hear," Isaiah 65:24. He may send a sympathetic lawyer or doctor or psychiatrist to stand up for your cause, or an organization or club to defend you.

Psalm 35:24-26 Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up. Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at my hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

In the midst of persecution our cry should be like David’s. We should pray against those that are persecuting us, and against the spiritual entities, the demonic spiritual forces attacking us in our minds or in our emotions.

Psalm 35:27-28 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.

David ends his psalm with praise. He knows God will answer and send him victory, and confound and defeat his enemies. We do the same. Lord, bring victory out of seeming defeat. Deliver us from the hand of our enemies and those too strong for us. Be our defence against all the wiles of the enemy. In Jesus’ name, we pray.