Carefully Examining the Text

This Psalm repeatedly references David's sickness- 38:3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 17. He is suffering intensely.

He is suffering because of his sin- 38:3, 4, 5, 18.
This is not to say all suffering is directly connected to our personal sin. The book of Job shows that is not true. However, we cannot say that there is no connection between personal sin and suffering either. David experiences it right here.

His enemies add to his pain- 38:12, 16, 19, 20- while his friends stand far off- 38:11.

Jesus experienced the suffering the author of Psalm 38 experienced:
His friends forsook Him- Matt. 26:55-56, 58; Luke 23:49
He was beaten so badly there was no healthy part of His flesh- Isaiah 52:14; 53:5; Matt. 27:26-31.
He enemies laid traps for Him- Mark 3:6; Luke 11:54; 20:20
Jesus was like a deaf man- Matt. 27:13 and a mute man- Matt. 27:13-14
Jesus was not like the Psalmist in the sense that He never sinned- Hebrews 4:14-16; I Peter 2:22.
Jesus is able to carry away the burden of our sins described in Psalm 38:4- Matt. 11:28-30. Jesus can save and forgive. 

Righteous- vs. 12, 16, 17, 21, 25, 29, 30, 32, 39

Other brief descriptions of the righteous: 

11 “humble” same word used in vs. 14

14 “The afflicted and needy,” “who are upright in conduct”

18 “the blameless”

22 “blessed by Him”

37 “the blameless man,” “upright,” and “man of peace”

 Characteristics of righteous- 

21 “the righteous is gracious and gives” 

26 “All day long, he is gracious and lends. And his descendants are a blessing” 

30 “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks justice”

31 “The law of his God is in his heart”

37 “man of peace”

40 “they take refuge in Him”

 Righteous will “inherit the land”- 9, 11, 22, 29 “and dwell in it forever,” 34 “And He will exalt you to…”

Other statements of blessings upon the righteous- 

4 “He will give you the desires of your heart” 

5 “He will do it”

6 “He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment like the noonday” 

11 “abundant prosperity” 

17 “the LORD sustains the righteous” 

18 “The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will be forever” 

19 “they will not be ashamed in the days of evil, and in the days of famine they will have abundance” 

23-24 “steps…are established by the LORD” “He delights in his way,” “he shall not be hurled headlong,” “the LORD is the One who holds his hand” 

25 “I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread”

27 “you will abide forever”

28 “the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones. They are preserved forever.”

33 “the LORD will not leave him in his hand or let him be condemned when he is judged”

34 “and He will exalt you…” “when the wicked are cut off, you will see it”

39 “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD, He is their strength in time of trouble”

40 “The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them”

 Wicked- vs. 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 28, 32, 34, 35, 38, 40

Other brief descriptions of the wicked- 

1 “evildoers” 

1 “Wrongdoers” 

9 “evildoers” 

20 “the enemies of the LORD” 

22 “those cursed by Him”

38 “transgressors”

Characteristics of wicked- 

7 “carries out wicked schemes” 

12 “the wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes at him with his teeth” 

14 “drawn their sword and bent their bow, to cast down the afflicted and needy, to slay those upright in conduct” 

21 “the wicked borrows and does not pay back” 

32 “The wicked spies upon the righteous and seeks to kill him”

35 “violent man”

 Wicked will be cut off- 9, 22, 28, 34, 38

Statements of judgment upon wicked- 

2 “will wither like grass…” “fade like green herb” 

10 “Will be no more” 

13 “his day is coming” 

15 “Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken” 

17 “arms of the wicked will be broken” 

20 “the wicked will perish, like the glory of pastures, they vanish-like smoke they vanish” 

35-36 The wicked spreads out like a luxuriant tree but was passed away and was no more and even upon seeking he could not be found 

38 “altogether destroyed” The wicked will ultimately experience a complete demise. 

 Imperat

This psalm contrast the character of the wicked- 36:1-4- with the character of God- 36:5-9

36:1 Transgression speaks- These two words are put together this way only here in the Bible. The word "speaks" is often translated "oracle" and refers to an oracle from the LORD.
Here it is transgression or rebellion that is giving this oracle. 

"There is no fear of God before his eyes" Romans 3:18 quotes this. 

36:4 The wicked man plans evil upon his bed. Compare Micah 2:1-2 and Proverbs 4:16. Contrast this to Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

36:5-9  God's character is said to be lovingkindness, faithfulness, righteousness, and judgments. These attributes of God are without limitations.

How does Jesus fulfill these words?

Three main points that we make in this our third podcast on Psalm 35.

1. Jesus experienced the pain and suffering David spoke of on a level deeper than he ever did
See vs. 7, 11, 12, 15 especially

2. Jesus did not curse because of this suffering but He called for a blessing instead
This is not to criticize imprecatory prayers, but it is to say that is not what Jesus engaged in.
Jesus took the curse upon Himself- Galatians 3:13/ Deuteronomy 21:22-23
Jesus called for mercy for those who tormented Him- Luke 23:34

3. Jesus fulfills Psalm 35 via HIs death and resurrection
35:13 Jesus humbled Himself- Philippians 2:8
35:9, 27 rejoicing at His deliverance- The words in the Greek translation of the OT are used in Acts 2:26 to speak of rejoicing at Jesus' resurrection.
35:25 In His deliverance, HIs resurrection, Jesus swallowed up death- I Corinthians 15:54; II Corinthians 5:4.

This Psalm calls down curses upon those who have opposed the Psalmist.
See verses 1-8, 26.

Sometimes we hear that these prayers were acceptable in the Old Testament but they are not acceptable today.
In the OT God's people were encouraged to love their enemies- Exodus 23:4-5; Prov. 25:21-22.
In the OT God's people were forbidden from taking personal vengeance- Proverbs 20:22; 24:29.
In the NT we find God's people calling down curses upon the wicked- I Cor. 16:22; Galatians 1:8-9; 5:12; Rev. 6:9-10.
In the NT we find rejoicing at the fall of evil and wicked people- Rev. 18:20; 19:1-6

This is not an effort to eliminate Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 23:34, or Acts 7:59-60 from the Bible. It is an effort to say that prayers of judgement also have their place.

These prayers show us
That evil is real- Isaiah 5:20- and that we must be outraged by evil- Psalm 119:104, 128, 163.
These prayers do not encourage personal vengeance but they leave things in the hand of God- Psalm 35:13-14; II Timothy 4:14.
The prayers are motivated by a desire that God be glorified- Psalm 58:11; 59:13.

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.

In this Psalm David describes how he was mistreated, lied about, pursued by wicked people.

Frequently through the Psalm David will affirm his innocence- vs. 7, 7, 11, 13-14,

He calls on God to rescue him and to judge those who are mistreating him- vs. 3, 4-8, 26

He calls on God to bring the same kind of judgment upon the wicked that they are bringing upon him. We sometimes call this lex talionis. Lex talionis is literally law of the tooth. We used it to speak of how in God's justice the punishment often fits the crime.- vs. 7-8.

This psalm speaks of the fear- vs. 4- troubles- vs. 6, 17- afflictions - vs. 19- of the righteous. 

This psalm speaks of the LORD delivering and rescuing His people from afflictions- vs. 4, 6, 17, 19. 

Psalm 34 speaks of God protecting HIs people- vs. 7, 9, 10, 15, 20, 22.

This psalm speaks of God judging the wicked- vs. 16, 21.

Psalm 34:20 is applied to Christ's death on the cross- John 19:36 and context.  John 19:36 also applies to Jesus fulfilling the picture of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12. But Jesus also fulfills the picture of the righteous sufferer in the Psalms. 

The above idea stretches the idea of God delivering the righteous. If we do not see it fulfilled in this life, we shall see it in the resurrection.

I Peter 2:3 alludes to Psalm 34:8 and I Peter 3:10-12 quotes Psalm 34:12-16. The righteous people who received this epistle were experiencing troubles, fears, and afflictions. Psalm 34 gives them assurance that ultimately God would deliver the righteous from all of these. 

This Psalm praises God

33:1-5 Sing to Him a new song and praise Him you who are righteous

33:6-9 The LORD as Creator- Let all stand in awe of Him

33:10-12 The counsel and plans of the nations are thwarted but God's counsel and plans stand

33:13-15 The LORD sees all people and all their works

33:16-17 Victory belongs to the LORD
Kings, warriors, and horses cannot bring victory by their own strength but the LORD is source of our strength

33:18-19 The eyes of the LORD are upon us and rescue us from disaster

33:20-22 All of these words are to encourage us to trust in the LORD and hope in Him

How Jesus fulfills Psalm 33?
Jesus is Creator- John 1:1-3, 10; Col. 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2

Jesus is the Word- John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13-14

The death and resurrection of Jesus are the ultimate demonstration of the LORD thwarting the plans of the nations and accomplishing His will- Psalm 2:1-3; Acts 4:25-28; compare its language with Psalm 33:10-11.

Jesus gives us a new song- Revelation 5:9; 14:3. 

This psalm describes  David's struggle with unconfessed sin and then the joys of forgiveness when he humbled himself before God.
1. The burden of sin- 32:3-5
His bones have wasted away and he is groaning- 32:3
His pain is perpetual- 32:3 "all day long" and 32:4 "Day and night"
The hand of the LORD is heavy against him- Ruth 1:13; I Sam. 5:6, 7, 9. The hand of the LORD that David looked to in 31:5, 15 is now pressing against him heavily. This is not God's fault but it is David.
His strength is dried up- 32:4
Are you carrying this heavy burden?

2. The blessings of forgiveness- 32:1-2
Three different terms for evil are used- transgression, sin, and iniquity
Three different terms for forgiveness are used- forgiven, covered, not imputed or not counted
Three different terms for confession are used- acknowledged, did not hide, confessed
God is more willing to forgiven than we are to confess- 32:5

3. The mood changes at 32:6 and he calls on all to learn the lesson from this.
pray to God in a day when He may be found- 32:6
Do not be like the horse who has to be beaten to be kept on the right path- 32:9
Contrast the wicked- 32:10- and the righteous- 32:11. The righteous rejoice at God's salvation. 

The Psalm is quoted by Christ on the cross. Psalm 31:5 is quoted by Jesus in Luke 23:46. 
This does not mean that the psalm speaks exclusively of Jesus since 31:10 makes a reference to the writer's "iniquity"- NASB. Some versions have words like "misery" instead of "iniquity." The word "iniquity" is based on the Hebrew text and the word "misery" is based on the Greek translation of the OT. 

Notice some of the things that David experienced that Christ also experienced. 
They laid a net to trap him- vs. 4. The slandered him and plotted to kill him- vs. 13.
David was a "man of sorrows"- vs. 10 and was forsaken by those closest to him- vs. 11.
David experienced these things and was delivered from death. Jesus experienced all these things and He was crucified, but not even death stops the promises of God. God raised Jesus and provided salvation through Him.