The Joy of Vindication: A Prayer Against Liars Text: Psalm 35:19-28
Introduction: The Necessity of Hard Prayers
We live in a soft age, an age that likes its Christianity domesticated. Modern evangelicals are often embarrassed by psalms like this one. They treat the imprecatory psalms like a crazy aunt in the attic of Scripture, someone you know is part of the family but you really hope doesn't come downstairs when company is over. They want the gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but they forget the Jesus who fashioned a whip and cleansed the Temple, the Jesus who called the Pharisees a brood of vipers. They want to love their enemies, as they should, but they have forgotten that loving your enemy does not mean pretending they are not your enemy. It does not mean you pretend their lies are truth, or that their malice is harmless.
David is praying here as a man of God, surrounded by treacherous men. And because he is a man of God, he takes his troubles to God. He does not take matters into his own hands. He does not start a whisper campaign of his own. He does not hire thugs. He prays. But he prays honestly. He prays with biblical violence. He asks God to do what God has promised to do, which is to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous. This is not petty vindictiveness. This is a profound concern for the glory of God's name and the establishment of His justice in the world.
The world is full of liars who hate the righteous without cause. They hate the righteous because they hate the Righteous One who has saved them. This psalm teaches us how to pray when we are slandered, when we are falsely accused, and when the enemies of God open their mouths wide against us. It teaches us to long for public vindication, not for our own ego, but so that all the world might see that Yahweh is a God who judges righteously, who delights in the peace of His servants, and whose righteousness is worthy of praise all the day long. To refuse to pray such prayers is not a sign of superior spirituality; it is a sign of cowardice. It is a failure to take God's side against the wicked.
This prayer is a plea for justice, a cry for God to act according to His own character. It is a prayer for the shame of liars and the joy of the saints. And because it is in the Bible, it is a prayer for us. We must learn to pray it, understanding that our ultimate vindication is found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was publicly vindicated by the Father when He was raised from the dead, putting all His enemies to open shame.
The Text
Let those who are wrongfully my enemies not be glad over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.
For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, "Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!"
You have seen it, O Yahweh, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me.
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my justice And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
Judge me, O Yahweh my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them be glad over me.
Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha, our desire!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"
Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who are glad at the evil done to me; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.
Let them shout for joy and be glad, who delight in my righteousness; And let them say continually, "Yahweh be magnified, Who delights in the peace of His slave."
And my tongue shall utter Your righteousness And Your praise all day long.
(Psalm 35:19-28 LSB)
The Malice of the Wicked (vv. 19-21)
David begins by describing the nature of his enemies and their unprovoked hostility.
"Let those who are wrongfully my enemies not be glad over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously. For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, 'Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!'" (Psalm 35:19-21)
Notice the foundation of David's complaint. The enmity is "wrongful." The hatred is "without cause." This is crucial. This is not a prayer for when you've been a jerk and gotten the response you deserved. This is the cry of the righteous man who is persecuted for his righteousness. The Lord Jesus quotes this very sentiment in the upper room: "But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause'" (John 15:25). The world's animosity toward Christ is the ultimate pattern for its animosity toward Christians. They hate us because they first hated Him.
Their malice is not just a feeling; it is active. They "wink maliciously." This is the conspiratorial glee of the wicked, the shared smirk of those who are plotting evil. They do not speak peace. The word of the ungodly is never for building up, for reconciliation, or for truth. They "devise deceitful words." Their native language is the lie. And who is their target? "Those who are quiet in the land." This refers to the godly, those who desire to live peaceable lives, minding their own business and worshipping their God. The wicked cannot stand the simple existence of the righteous. The quiet faithfulness of a godly man is a constant rebuke to them, and so they must attack it with deceit.
Their attack is public and gloating. "They opened their mouth wide against me." Slander is never whispered when a shout will do. And their cry is "Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!" This is the cry of manufactured scandal. They have been watching, waiting, twisting every word and action until they can fabricate an accusation. They are not interested in the truth; they are interested in a "gotcha" moment, a pretext for their hatred. This is the spirit of the age we live in, an age of perpetual outrage, fueled by lies, aimed at the faithful.
The Appeal to the All-Seeing God (vv. 22-24)
Having laid out the crime, David now turns from the accused to the Judge. He appeals to God's omniscience and justice.
"You have seen it, O Yahweh, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my justice And to my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge me, O Yahweh my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them be glad over me." (Psalm 35:22-24)
The enemy says, "our eyes have seen it," but David's confidence is in a higher court. He says to God, "You have seen it." The wicked see what they want to see, what their malice invents. God sees what is. This is the great comfort of the believer. Nothing is hidden from Him. Every slander, every malicious wink, every deceitful word is recorded in heaven. Because God has seen, David pleads with Him not to "keep silent." Justice requires a verdict. Silence in the face of such evil would be an abdication.
The language here is bold, anthropomorphic, and urgent. "Stir up Yourself, and awake." David is not suggesting God is literally asleep. He is using the language of the covenant lawsuit, urging the divine Judge to rise from His throne and execute the sentence. He is calling on God to act in history, to bring His heavenly verdict down to earth. This is a prayer for God to be God in the public square.
And what is the standard of judgment? "Judge me, O Yahweh my God, according to Your righteousness." David is not appealing to his own perfect sinlessness. He knows he is a sinner saved by grace. He is appealing to his righteousness in this specific case. He is innocent of their charges. But more than that, he is appealing to God's own righteous character. For God to allow the liar to triumph over the innocent would be for God to act against His own nature. The plea is, "Be Yourself, Lord." And the goal is clear: "do not let them be glad over me." The joy of the wicked in the downfall of the righteous is an offense to the throne of God.
The Humiliation of the Enemy (vv. 25-26)
David now moves from a defensive plea to an offensive one. He prays for the utter reversal of his enemies' fortunes.
"Do not let them say in their heart, 'Aha, our desire!' Do not let them say, 'We have swallowed him up!' Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who are glad at the evil done to me; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me." (Psalm 35:25-26)
The wicked have a deep-seated "desire," which is to see the righteous fall. Their "Aha!" is the expression of this satanic joy. They want to "swallow him up," to utterly consume and destroy him. David prays that this internal, wicked desire would be frustrated. God's intervention should be so decisive that they are not even able to gloat in their hearts.
Then comes the imprecation, the curse. It is a prayer for public justice. "Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether." This is not a request for private misfortune, but for public disgrace. Their sin was public, and so their judgment must be public. They opened their mouths wide in slander; David prays that their faces would be covered in shame. They were "glad at the evil done to me," and so he prays that their gladness would turn to gall.
The core of their sin is pride. They "magnify themselves over me." All sin is ultimately a declaration of self-idolatry. The sinner magnifies himself against God and against God's people. Therefore, the fitting judgment is to be "clothed with shame and dishonor." God resists the proud. He gives them what they deserve. He deflates their pompous self-regard and exposes them for the fools they are. This is not vindictive; it is just. It is what the universe, as a moral order created by God, requires.
The Exultation of the Righteous (vv. 27-28)
The psalm concludes not with the ruin of the wicked, but with the joy and praise of the righteous. This is the ultimate goal.
"Let them shout for joy and be glad, who delight in my righteousness; And let them say continually, 'Yahweh be magnified, Who delights in the peace of His slave.' And my tongue shall utter Your righteousness And Your praise all day long." (Psalm 35:27-28)
In stark contrast to the shame of the wicked, David prays for the joy of the righteous. Who are they? Those who "delight in my righteousness." This means those who are on the side of justice, who know David is in the right, and who desire to see God's cause triumph. When God vindicates His servant, it is a cause for corporate celebration among all the saints. The victory of one is the victory of all.
And what is the content of their joyful shout? It is not, "David be magnified!" It is "Yahweh be magnified!" This is the dead giveaway that this is a righteous prayer and not a selfish one. The ultimate point of David's personal vindication is the magnification of God's holy name. The world must see that God is a God who stands with His people, who saves them from their enemies, and who "delights in the peace of His slave." God is not an absentee landlord. He is intimately invested in the well-being, the shalom, of His people. When His people are at peace, He is pleased.
Finally, David brings it back to his own personal resolution. "And my tongue shall utter Your righteousness And Your praise all day long." The result of answered prayer is more prayer, more praise. God's deliverance fuels a lifetime of worship. David's mouth, which the wicked tried to stop with lies, will now be filled with the truth of God's righteous acts. The wicked opened their mouths wide to blaspheme; the righteous will now open their mouths wide to praise. This is the great reversal, the poetic justice that God loves to enact. He turns the tables completely, so that the very thing the enemy intended for evil becomes the occasion for God's greatest glory and His people's deepest joy.