Friday, August 24, 2012

Oxygen from Psalm 35 (Imprecation)


1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers!
"I am your salvation!"
4 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!
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6  Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
7  For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8  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!
9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
10  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?"
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.
17  How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!
18  I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19  Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes,
and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
but against those who are quiet in the land
they devise words of deceit.
21  They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!"
22  You have seen, O Lord; be not silent!
O Lord, be not far from me!
23  Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24  Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and let them not rejoice over me!
25  Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, our heart's desire!"
Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up."
26  Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
who magnify themselves against me!
27  Let those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and be glad and say evermore,
"Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!"
28  Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
(Psalm 35) 



Commentary:

Chances are you've never heard a sermon preached on Psalm 35. It's the second of the four imprecatory Psalms (7, 35, 69, 109). Imprecatory means to call down harm upon someone, especially to curse another. Jesus specifically outlawed his followers from making such prayers. He said, "Love your enemies. Pray for them who persecute you" (Mt. 5:44).  Even when he suffered on the cross Jesus did not voice this Psalm as well he might, but prayed for forgiveness for those who tortured him.  So what do we do with Psalm 35?

Let's look at it historically rather than devotionally. This song is made up of the kind of curses we often see in suzerainty treaties of the ancient world.  A treaty was made up of four parts: first, it identified the parties; second, it specified the agreement of what each party would and would not do; third, it listed blessings for those who kept the covenant; and finally, called down curses on those who would break the agreement.

 Remember, the primary purpose of religion in ancient society was to enforce compliance to the social order. There was no criminal justice system; no police forces. Armies were too unwieldy for keeping individuals in line. So religion functioned in ancient culture as a deterrence to law-breakers and a rewarder of promise keepers.

The fact that Psalm 35 is addressed to the Choir Master means this was a public Psalm.  It's part of a liturgy.  There are two major sections introduced in verse 1.  "Contend" is a legal term and in verses 11-28 the scene appears to be a court with angry and false witnesses. "Fight" is a military word and is appropriate for verses 2-10.

This is a Psalm of King David, but not as some commentators contend, from the time he was running from King Saul.  It's too public, too legal.  David never wanted to curse God’s anointed King, even if it was Saul.  I think Psalm 35 made its way into the Hebrew hymnbook because it was part of a ceremony associated with someone who has violated a treaty with the King who is proclaimed innocent of wrongdoing toward the other party. This Psalm may have been sung with Psalm 20 on the eve of a battle into which the King would ride to punish a foreign enemy who had broken a treaty. Psalm 35 gives the people a way to declare their support for the King and to hear the King recite his innocence. I think it's also possible that psalm 35 could have been used in the trials of domestic enemies, traitors among the nobility who sought to take advantage of the King's weakness and who are now to be judged in the high court of Israel with David as the Judge.  Verse 27 may have been a kind of voice vote by the people: "Shout all you who favor my vindication!"

So I think it is best to interpret Psalm 35 as a royal Psalm which may guide our prayers for our political leaders.  The New Testament says we are to submit to our leaders for they all serve at God’s pleasure (Romans 13:1-6). We pray that our nation's enemies will be confounded (v.1-8). It may have been that the King himself sang verses 9-10, affirming that we should pray that our leaders trust in God and seek God's will in dealing with these threats.  We should pray for justice in our courts, that lying witnesses would be found out, that God would intercede for the weak and needy, and that we as a people will trust God's providence for our prosperity (v. 27-28).

Great God,
I would not want to be one of your enemies,
one whom You would break under these curses,
one who would pervert your justice and oppress your people.
Guide our leaders to do the right,
yo seek Your truth,
and never pray that You be on our side,
but that our side be always aligned
with your Word and the will of Earth's true King,
even Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

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