Psalm 35: “A Dark and Stormy Night”

Praying According to our Pain & God’s Character

(Praying According to…, Pt.4)

Here is a brief review of our recent prayer topics:

• Praying in agreement with the Bible
• Praying the Bible itself
• Praying affectively, with the right attitude. Prayer should be relational more than a task-oriented shopping list.
• Praying According to the News. [Consume only as much as you are willing to pray for.]
• Last week we walked through Psalm 34 seeing it as an Antidote for Angst

This week’s blog post looks at Psalm 35, which is the story of faithfulness under attack. David cried out for deliverance from those who had broken their covenant with him, those who had falsely accused him of breaking the covenant himself. He asks God to judge the wicked and to deliver him from their attack. This kind of Psalm is called an Imprecatory Psalm because it is characterized by imprecation. This begs the question, “What is an Imprecation?” An imprecation is a prayer, or wish, invoking judgment or harm upon an adversary. It can also be a type of curse. Ancient covenants often included a self-curse upon the participants if they were to break the covenant. As children, many of us have done the same thing reciting, “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” We sometimes use humorous imprecations in comedy. Here are a few. Johnny Carson used to use the old Arab imprecation, “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits! Some more recent internet imprecations include:

• May you always step in a wet spot after putting on fresh socks.
• May you always get up from your computer with your headphones still attached.
• May you have your laptop charge overnight without noticing the cord isn’t plugged into the wall.
• May all your Facebook notifications be game invites.
• May your tea be too hot when you receive it, and too cold when you remember it is there.

However, imprecations in the Bible are real. If we are going to be honest in our communication with the Lord, we should know how to express our legitimate feelings of betrayal and injustice to him. Imprecatory psalms (including parts of Psalms 6, 7, 11, 12, 35, 54, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137, and 139) do just that and contain curses or prayers for punishment or judgment of the psalmist's enemies. 

Here is a sampling of some imprecatory statements from the Psalms:

55:15      "Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the grave."

58:6 "O God, break the teeth in their mouths…"

59:11-13  Kill them not, lest my people forget;
            make them totter by your power and bring them down,
         O Lord, our shield!
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
                 let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
       consume them in wrath;
       consume them till they are no more,
               that they may know that God rules over Jacob
                         to the ends of the earth. 

In Psalm 7:3-5 there is a self-imprecation asking God to punish the psalmist if he had done what he was accused of doing—such a statement was a strong statement of his innocence,

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
                          if there is wrong in my hands,
                          if I have repaid my friend with evil
                             or plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
   and let him trample my life to the ground
                      and lay my glory in the dust. 

Imprecations are not really about revenge, but about justice. They are about praying that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven! They look to the eschatological consummation of the kingdom when wickedness will be no more. Having said this, I need to clarify that God’s people in the Old Testament did not have a full understanding of what it meant for God’s kingdom to come. They took Genesis 12:3 seriously. More on this idea later.

So how can we pray when we may be the victim of injustice or betrayal? Allow me to suggest four simple things that we can do to authentically process both our feelings and our faith amid hurtful situations. We can…

1. Process our Pain through Prayer (Psalm 35:11-17; 69:1-3)

Sometimes we are simply in pain and need to share it with God. We can be upfront with him about it…we won’t scare him away! Psalm 69 starts with just such a lament that reminds me of the silly children’s song, “I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor.”

Save me, O God!
    For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. (Psalm 69:1-3)

Our ability to process our pain through prayer depends upon how well we do two things—honestly acknowledging our situation and asking our very real questions.

We need to Acknowledge Our Situation (v.11-16)

11 Malicious witnesses rise up;

        they ask me of things that I do not know.    

12 They repay me evil for good;

    my soul is bereft.

13 But I, when they were sick—

          I wore sackcloth;

          I afflicted myself with fasting;

          I prayed with head bowed on my chest.

14      I went about as though

          I grieved for my friend or my brother;

                 as one who laments his mother,

          I bowed down in mourning.

15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

                        they gathered together against me;

               wretches whom I did not know

                     tore at me without ceasing;

16                          like profane mockers at a feast,

                       they gnash at me with their teeth.

The psalmists are not in denial regarding their situation, rather they proceed to let God and the reader know how things stand in verses 11-16. We should realize that there is no need for us to inform God about what is happening to us—for he already knows—but we may need to tell him for our benefit so that we can process our pain through his faithful presence. The psalmist uses strong legal imagery in v.11 speaking of false witnesses (which God hates) and their oppressive interrogation of the innocent writer. The authors don’t just describe what is happening to them externally but recount their internal pain in v.12 using the intense term “bereft” which describes the kind of grief experienced at the loss of one’s children. They talk about caring for the other in a very parental way. Perhaps because of this, David also knew what it meant to be “bereft”—he had several close advisors betray him and a couple of his own sons turn against him. He deeply mourned their deaths. The closest I can come to that sense of loss is when my wife and I had a couple of adoptions fall through at the last minute, or were laid off from long-term ministry positions. It is essential for our emotional and spiritual health that we not pull back from God during our times of suffering, but instead, powerfully experience his presence in the midst of it.

We need to Ask Our Questions (v.17)

David asked his really scary question in verse 17,

How long, O Lord, will you look on?
           Rescue me from their destruction,
    my precious life from the lions!

It is OK to ask questions in prayer! What questions do we have when we pray? There are quite a few that are asked in the Psalms. I’ll give you the first one and then leave you to fill in the blanks on the rest.

• Why? (Psalm 42:9; 43:2; 44:23-24; 74:11; 88:14) “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)
• ____________? (Psalm 8:4; 11:2-3; 30:9; 39:7; 69:4; 77:13)
• ____________? (Psalm 36:7; 77:3; 119:9; 137:4; 139:17)
• ____________? (Psalm 4:2; 6:3; 13:1; 62:3; 74:10; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; 90:13; 94:3
• ____________? (Psalm 42:2; 119:82, 84)
• ____________? (Psalm 2:1; 10:13; 44:24; 74:1, 11; 88:14)
• ____________? (Psalm 15:1; 19:12; 24:3-4, 8,10; 25:12; 27:1; 73:25; 76:7; 89:6-8; 94:16; 113:5-6)
• ____________? (Psalm 66:3) 

Our questions should not separate us from God but cause us to run to him for the answers. Some questions he answers clearly in the Bible, and others remain a mystery. We need to be comfortable with the fact that while he may not clear everything up for us right now, he is with us right now as we walk through our pain. My former pastor, Ron Mehl, used to say, 
“Do not despise that which drives you to your knees.”

2. Process our fear by praying God’s promises (Psalm 35:1-3; 94:17-19)

Praying through God’s promises is not to remind God of something that he forgot, but to remind us of something God has said that we need to trust. David began Psalm 35 with just such a prayer,

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me!  
Take hold of shield and buckler
    and rise for my help!
Draw the spear and javelin        
    against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation!”

This prayer trusts that the Lord will “contend” [a legal term] and “fight” [a military term] on his behalf. It trusts the Lord’s covenant promises while asking the Lord to “gear up” for the mission. I love how verse 3 ends, “Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation!’” which is the Hebrew name Yeshua (Jesus)!

Another example of this is the trust in who God is and what he does that is expressed in Psalm 94:17-19,

If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.

It is the steadfast love (hesed) of God that sustains and steadies me. Let’s take a closer look at the Lord as our Advocate and Defender.

A) He is our Advocate and Judge (Psalm 35:20-24; 1 John 2:1-6)

Psalm 35:20-21 

     For they do not speak peace [shalom],
                                   but against those who are quiet in the land
           they devise words of deceit.
          They open wide their mouths against me;
          they say, “Aha, Aha!                               
                             Our eyes have seen it!” 

Those who spoke these violent and slanderous words are false witnesses (in violation of Command # 9). It is of some interest that the Hebrew word translated as “Aha, Aha!” is "heach" (heh·äkh') which occurs twelve times in nine verses. What does this heach mean? Scholars are not exactly sure, but it was always very offensive! However, I think there is a descriptive clue in Ezekiel 25:3-7. The passage contains the Lord’s judgment on the Ammonites for their celebration of the defeat and exile of the Jews and the destruction of the Temple. Note the similar structure of verses 3 and 6,

v.3      Thus says the Lord God,

Because you said, ‘Aha!’ 

        over my sanctuary when it was profaned,

 and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate,

 and over the house of Judah when they went into exile…

v.6 For thus says the Lord God:

Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet

                        and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul 

                                     against the land of Israel…

In this arrangement, I would suggest that verse 6 closely parallels verse 3 and potentially describes the heart behind the “Aha!” If this is the case, then we can see why God finds it so offensive and why the psalmist cries out for the Lord to do something about such injustice.

Psalm 35:22-24

     You have seen, O Lord; be not silent!
                             O Lord,  be not far from me!     
Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,

    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
      Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
                        according to your righteousness…

In the first line, the psalmist calls on God to be his true witness while in the second line he seeks God’s delivering presence! Again, the legal and military images are paired. The third line speaks from the perspective of the oppressed in whose eyes it may appear that God is sleeping and not acting, however, God doesn’t sleep even if sometimes seems like it. We need to humbly admit that our realm of perception is not broad enough to capture all that God is doing!

1 John 2:1-6 teaches us that Jesus Christ is the Lord our advocate! He is also our Judge in the sense of vindication. He “vindicates” me is said at least five times in Psalms alone.

B) He is our Defender—the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sabaoth) (See 1 Chron. 11:9; 11:7-10; Psa. 46:7)

Yahweh Sabaoth or “Lord of Hosts” was a trending name for God at the time of Samuel and King David [along with Yahweh Nissi—God my Protector]. Here is another example of this.

“The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah” (Psalm 46:6-7)

3. Process our frustration by praying for God’s purposes (Psalm 35:4-8; 138:7-8; Prov. 19:21; Matt. 6:10; also, Isaiah 14:24-27; 23:8-9; 46:8-13; 55:6-12)

In addition to our pain and our fear, in imprecatory psalms, we can process our frustration by praying for God’s purposes. So, what is it that God wants to do in the world? This type of prayer is like praying his promises, but perhaps it further reveals his mission more than just the provisions for the fulfillment of the mission. In the NT church, we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). While the ancient Israelites didn’t have the complete picture of what this entails such psalms take his progressively revealed purposes seriously. Though they didn’t know everything in all fullness, they took what they knew seriously.

Praying about God’s purposes involves praying…

A. That justice and righteousness would be valued (v.4-8; Gen. 12:1-3)

Verses 4-8 contain some powerful imagery—of the dark and stormy night faced by those opposing the purposes of the Lord.

Let them be put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
Let their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

   For without cause they hid their net for me;
         without cause they dug a pit for my life.

Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!

                             And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
                                       let him fall into it—to his destruction!

As you may already know, this passage contains my favorite imprecation in the Bible. It is a series of "Let them..." statements that basically asks God to bring the worst fears of the ungrateful, untruthful, and unrepentant wicked upon them...on a dark and slippery path! Have you ever had one of those dreams where you couldn’t seem to get away from that which was pursuing you and your feet were slipping like a cartoon character? That is what the psalmist wishes upon the betrayer…that he won’t be able to get away from the God of truth! This malediction is likely a reference to covenant curses accepted by all parties involved in a covenant. 
The psalmist is speaking of those who have broken their vows— “Vow-breakers!” This is

also what I call a “boomerang” or justice curse where that evil which they planned for others happens to them instead. To whom do these verses refer? To those that try to destroy your life without a reason, to those that lie about you and repay kindness with evil. They get to live a nightmare of their own making. The simple lesson for me is that this is a reminder—don't be like the wicked—plan what is good for others instead of evil!

B. For the welfare of his servants (Psalm 138:7-8; 84:10-12)

The Lord’s purpose for his people is to bring about their welfare. It is a manifestation of his steadfast love. Thus, his purpose will stand for me, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Prov. 18:21) His purpose is a sure thing no matter what nation you are from as we see in his judgment upon the Assyrians in Isaiah 14:24-27.

C. For the humility of the nations (Isaiah 23:8-9; see also Luke 6:24-26)

D. With the confidence that his purpose will be accomplished—all of it (Isaiah 46:8-13)

What else does he purpose? The reconciliation of relationships. Some think of the Lord as some kind of cosmic killjoy, a grumpy old man who wants us to get off his lawn, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Isaiah 55 makes it clear that God’s purpose for us is to show compassion to us and abundantly pardon all those who return to him! His purpose invites us to share in the peace and joy of a restored relationship with him and with each other.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; 

  call upon him while he is near;
    let the wicked forsake    his way,

 and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
    let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon… (Isa. 55:7-8)

    So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
      it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
  and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

   “For you shall go out in joy

           and be led forth in peace;
            the mountains and the hills before you
        shall break forth into singing,
           and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isa. 55:11-12)

The psalmist processed his frustration, not by plotting revenge but by humbly praying for the purposes of God to be revealed. The question we must answer is, “Will we patiently trust in the Lord’s plan and purpose or angrily cling to our own agenda and timetables?”

Trusting God as our Advocate and Deliverer is a life and death issue for us in our weakness (though in the West we try to hide our weaknesses and dependence behind a façade of self-sufficiency). It is when we confess our own weakness that we can be strong in grace!

4. Process our weakness through God’s strong love (v.9-10, 23-28)

Here in Psalm 35, we see the writer joyfully express his dependence upon the salvation of the Lord while also declaring the greatness of the Lord.

  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
                               exulting in his salvation.
      All my bones shall say,
           “O Lord, who is like you,
               delivering the poor
                 from him who is too strong for him,
                                the poor and needy

                 from him who robs him?” (Psa. 35:9-10)

This is a Hebraic way of saying that the Lord is incomparable! [It reminds me of Dr. S.M. Lockridge’s classic sermon “That’s My King—Do You Know Him”]!

In verse 18, the psalmist states their intention to publicly thank and praise God in the company of the congregation of the faithful. At the same time, the psalmist wants the celebration of the wicked to be spoiled.

If we are praying for the purposes of God, then this will be our position as well. We engage our emotions as we process our weaknesses. We pray that the Lord would:

• Spoil the celebration of the wicked, because of their “Aha” behavior (v.19-21).
• Vindicate us according to his righteousness (v.24).
• Prevent the wicked from being satisfied (v.25a). Why? Because for that to happen they would have to swallow up the innocent.
• Preserve the oppressed from being consumed (v.25b).
• Shame the oppressors—those who rejoice at suffering (v.26).
• Enable the oppressed—those who delight in the goodness of God and his people to see victory (v.27; Isaiah 26:2-4; 32:1-8).
• Receive our testimony of unending praise for the God who puts us first (v.28). We get to testify to what God has done and will do in our lives...what a privilege!

There is no one who really cares about justice for those in need like the LORD!

As we spend time with him...may some of that concern rub off on us…and it will bring us full circle in our prayer.

5. Come full circle—praying to bless not curse (Luke 6:28; Rom. 12:14)

Psalm 35’s imprecation (v. 4-6) is transformed when we read it through a New Testament filter. Who is the pursuing Angel of the Lord? It is the pre-incarnate appearance of God the Son—Jesus Christ—nothing less. Why does the Lord Jesus pursue people? He is the good Shepherd who goes looking for his lost sheep. In our fallenness, he appears to be something frightening to flee when in fact he is our only hope to truly live. He seeks to redeem even his most zealous persecutors (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-31). As his followers, we are called to a higher standard of response than fight or flight. Jesus taught,

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, 

do good to those who hate you,

         bless those who curse you, 

     pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:27-28)

Later, Paul, the former persecutor, after personally suffering much for the gospel, continued this teaching of Jesus as he wrote to the church in Rome,

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with one another. 

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. 

Never be wise in your own sight. 

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:14-21)