Imprecatory Praise

This is the last week in our Psummer in the Psalms series, and we’ll be studying Psalm 35. It’s no secret that I love the book of Psalms. If I could only preach one book, I might pick Psalms for the sheer breadth of content and how it touches the heart and the mind of the reader.

But alas, summer is nearing an end and we need to venture into new territory. Next week, I will start to preach through Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica.

But for today, we get to look at one last psalm—and this one is really fun (in its own way). Psalm 35 is classified as an imprecatory psalm.

“Imprecatory” means to invoke evil upon or curse. And this is what Psalm 35 is doing. Psalm 35, along with 15-20 other psalms, are considered imprecatory—that is, psalms which invoke evil upon one’s enemies or call down curses on the enemies of God.

These are among my favorite psalms for one good reason: these imprecatory psalms show the range of emotions the LORD’s people are allowed to take to Him.

For instance, the psalmist prays this in another imprecatory psalm:

Psalm 58:6–8 “Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions! Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along...”

Yikes! That’s some strong emotion and some strong feeling—and it’s right here in the Bible! This is the inspired Word of God for the people of God.

These imprecatory psalms—along with all the other psalms, and the other 65 books of the Bible—are inspired and God-breathed. They are to guide our worship, our praise and our prayers to our Holy Heavenly Father.

Don’t act on all your emotions—for heaven’s sake, that’d be a nightmare.

Don’t act on all your emotions; DO, however, take all your emotions to the LORD.

Psalm 35 is going to help us grow in our relationship with the LORD. Psalm 35 is going to be our tutor. Psalm 35 will teach us how to pray, how to praise, how to live as His people in this dark world.

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Psalm 35. It going to take a few minutes to read, so only if you’re able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word:

Psalm 35 NIV

Of David. 1 Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. 3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, “I am your salvation.” 4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. 5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; 6 may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7 Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, 8 may ruin overtake them by surprise— may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. 9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation. 10 My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” 11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. 12 They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. 13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, 14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. 16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. 17 How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. 18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you. 19 Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. 20 They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. 21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.” 22 Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. 23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. 24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God; do not let them gloat over me. 25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!” or say, “We have swallowed him up.” 26 May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. 27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” 28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.

May the LORD God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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The psalms are instructive in any number of ways, but never simply instructive. It shouldn’t ever be mere information-transfer.

Rather, the psalms are a glimpse into the heart of a worshipper.

And for us, all these years after the psalm being written, there is a sense of unity with our brothers and sisters who have read these words; those who sang these stanzas; those who have prayed these paragraphs.

In Psalm 35, we are given some important guidance where walking with the LORD is concerned.

We’re going to be bouncing around the psalm a little this morning, but we need to see how this psalm is arranged.

David’s thoughts don’t follow a nice sermon-style outline; remember, this is a song, a prayer. It’s poetry.

David’s praying/singing/reflecting on what he’s facing, but three times inserts praise.

Verses 9-10, verse 18, and verse 28.

So, whatever else this psalm is, it’s anchored with praise—albeit imprecatory praise.

We must let this psalm—and the balance of God’s Word—guide our praise. Here I think is the teaching and guidance of Psalm 35. It’s teaching us to:

Think True Thoughts about God…and Give Him Praise

The Bible—God’s Word—has multiple purposes. Its work is far wider and deeper than we might realize. It cuts to the quick. It divides bone and marrow. It corrects and rebukes.

It’s purpose is, much of the time, to help us thinking rightly and properly about God.

If we’re honest, there are a lot of unbiblical takes about a lot of topics, including a lot of bad and unbiblical takes about God Himself.

Blaise Pascal (or Mark Twain or Voltaire or Rousseau) wrote: "God created man in His own image, and man, being a gentleman, returned the favor."

We would very much like to make God out to be less than He is. We want Him to do our bidding. We’d like to have Him in our pocket so He’s nice and convenient when we need Him to do something for us and then we can just put Him away. We want Him as a buddy who approves of everything we do and doesn’t correct us or challenge us when we’re wrong.

But the psalmist, indeed the entirety of the Bible, would have us think rightly about God; think true thoughts about Him.

In his book, “The Knowledge of the Holy,” A.W. Tozer writes

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us… the most significant fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech.”

It is absolutely imperative that we think true thoughts about God.

Here in Psalm 35, David, in the middle of whatever it is he’s going through, thinks true thoughts about the LORD Yahweh and looks to the True and Only God.

It’s how he starts his psalm, asking the LORD to contend with him and fight for him. In some pretty descriptive language, David pictures the LORD as a warrior:

Psalm 35:2-3 “Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me…”

David is thinking about the LORD as He actually is. The LORD is a warrior, One who fights for His people. He is the One who decimates the enemy, who hurls horse and driver into the heart of the sea.

The LORD is no namby-pamby deity. He’s not weak or effeminate. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is a warrior.

Same goes for Jesus. He wasn’t some beauty pageant contestant with a nice blue sash and blond, wavy hair.

He had the hands of a carpenter and spoke with authority—authority that amazed even His critics; authority that made rough and tumble longshoremen drop what they were doing when Jesus pointed at them and said, “You, follow me.”

The LORD God is a warrior. He is strong and mighty, and mighty to save. David prays to the LORD and asks for the LORD to reassure him: “Say to me, ‘I am your salvation.’”

The One who can and does save issues the assurance we need. When we look to Him, when we open His book, we are looking toward and listening to the One who speaks to us saying, “I am your salvation.”

Throughout the psalm, David is thinking true thoughts about the LORD—who He is and how He fights for His children.

He is the One who rescues: Psalm 35:17 “How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.”

He is the One who sees and who comes to David’s defense: Psalm 35:22-24 “Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God; do not let them gloat over me.”

The LORD fights. He defends. He comes and takes up sword and spear, enters into the fray, and is victorious.

There are a lot of good and true thoughts about the LORD; these are only a few that David focuses on here.

David thinks true thoughts about the LORD…and gives Him praise:

Psalm 35:9–10 NIV

9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation. 10 My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

This is who the LORD is. When we think rightly, properly, Biblically about the LORD it will lead us to praise—I guarantee it.

What is, for me, the most striking part of this psalm is what I spoke about earlier: its classification as an imprecatory psalm.

This teaches us to:

Be Brutally Honest with God…and Give Him Praise

As you were listening to Psalm 35, or as you read it for yourself, you can hear David just baring his soul to the LORD Yahweh, to the covenant God.

It’s real honest. Maybe, we might think, too honest.

David is asking (vv. 4-8) for people to be disgraced and put to shame, turned back in dismay, blown away like chaff before the wind. David wants their path to be dark and slippery; ruin to overtake them. David would like for the net they put out to catch him to entangle them instead.

He says, in essence, “You know, God, it’d be fine with me if they fall into the pit they dug for me. I’m good with that.”

David’s feelings make total sense. Let’s be honest, we’ve thought some of the same kind of stuff about some people in our lives, haven’t we?

We’ve wondered why nothing bad happens to them. I mean, come on! Couldn’t they lose their job or something? Why does she get to live the fancy life? Why does he get to enjoy all those good things?

David explains in verses 11-16 how these people have treated him. Namely, Psalm 35:12 “They repay me evil for good...”

David’s been nothing but good to them. He’s mourned with them. He’s expressed his concern. But when he’s down and out, they gather in glee. They slandered him and gnashed their teeth at him.

All of this has to be weighing on David. It’s a lot. And so, with brutal honesty, David bares his soul.

He asks the LORD how long He’s going to stand idly by while his enemies gloat over him and hate him and sneer at him (vv. 19-21)

David prays: Psalm 35:26 “May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.”

That’s some honest talk. Really, though, it’s pretty mild as far as imprecatory psalms are concerned. Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 are really direct.

The point remains: David is brutally honest with God. He’s baring his soul.

So, you: Be Brutally Honest with God and bare your soul.

What’s bothering you? What seems unfair? What are you facing that just doesn’t make sense to you? Are you angry with someone? Is there someone you hate?

I’m not saying all your emotions are praiseworthy. It’s likely very few of your emotions are.

But this is one of the most freeing truths I’ve learned in the last 15 years (it was about 15 years ago I first learned about imprecatory psalms).

Here’s the freeing truth: I get to be brutally honest with God. I get to bare my soul to Him.

He is big enough to take it. He has really, really wide shoulders.

If we’re thinking true thoughts about Him, we know that He is no sissy/weak deity. He is the Almighty, and certainly strong enough to deal with my strongest feelings.

I’m free to take to Him whatever I’m thinking. And He, being God, is free to correct my thinking. He’ll listen and He’ll discipline us as His dearly loved children. Sometimes He’ll comfort; sometimes He’ll convict and rebuke.

But, we bring to Him everything. Every thing. Every thought. Every feeling. Every emotion. He’ll sort it out; He’ll sort us out.

Do you ever long for a friend you can speak openly and honestly with? Ever wish you could find someone to sit down across the table from and just bare your soul to them?

Here’s the Good News: you have a Friend who is, at once, there to listen and there to save; there to see what you’re facing and there to fight for you; there to crush the head of the Enemy and there to comfort you.

The LORD Yahweh loves you more deeply than anyone ever will and He longs to sooth your tattered heart.

Even more than that, when we feel betrayed by those closest to us, opposed by friends and family, we must remember that God’s own Son was opposed and betrayed for us, in our place.

We remember Jesus’ betrayal every week when we take communion.

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

You are not alone when you face betrayal or opposition. This is true on so many levels. David seemed to understand this.

Amid all of this, David sings His praise:

Psalm 35:18 NIV

18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.

Connected to his brutal, soul-baring honesty, David teaches us what it means to

Look to the LORD to Vindicate…and Give Him Praise

When David asks the LORD to contend, he’s actually asking the LORD to plead for him as an attorney would his client. He’s giving all this to the LORD, letting Him do the work.

He’s giving all of his trouble, all of his concern to the LORD, and he is trusting the LORD to do what the LORD will.

There’s a pretty good lesson there for us, I think. We tend to take matters into our own hands. “I’ll handle this.” “I’ll take care of him.” “You leave it to me.” “They will rue the day they messed with me.”

How much better it is to let the LORD handle, to let the LORD save, to let the LORD vindicate.

Our only defense is the LORD, who sees what is happening and can be counted on to vindicate us in due time.

When David’s enemies are speaking gleefully, tossing out all kinds of false accusations against him, they are claiming to have seen something that never actually took place.

But the LORD is all-knowing. David says, Psalm 35:22 “Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord.”

The LORD has seen the facts of the case. And the Judge of all the universe will do right.

God will rise to David’s defense. And to your defense.

The LORD is the One who rescues (v. 17), the One who comes to our defense (v. 23), the One who vindicates (v. 24), the One who delights in the well-being of His servant (v. 27).

David trusts the LORD to vindicate Him, to judge and to put him in the right.

And just as David knows there are those who are opposing him and sneering at him, there are those who delight in [his] vindication and shout for joy and gladness; they say “The LORD be exalted.”

David concludes his psalm here with praise:

Psalm 35:28 NIV

28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.

For David, every moment is an occasion for praise—even those moments in which he feels betrayed and faces opposition.

He has learned to think true thoughts about God, even when he doesn’t feel true thoughts about God. He’s learned that he can be honest with God and bare his soul to Him. David’s learned he can trust the LORD to make things right.

I want to learn the same. And I want that for you.