Job 35
Psalm 35 is a psalm of supplication in which David seeks help from God when he is unjustly persecuted. The entire psalm can be divided into three parts. Verses 1-10 describe David earnestly requesting deliverance from God against the enemies who trouble him. In verses 11-18, the situation is depicted in which he is slandered and attacked without cause, and he is betrayed. In verses 19-28, God’s justice is ultimately revealed, and David pledges to give thanks for God’s response.
1verseMoreover Elihu answered,
2verse“Do you think this to be your right, or do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s,’
3versethat you ask, ‘What advantage will it be to you? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
4verseI will answer you, and your companions with you.
5verseLook to the skies, and see. See the skies, which are higher than you.
6verseIf you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7verseIf you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
8verseYour wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
9verse“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
10verseBut no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
11versewho teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12verseThere they cry, but no one answers, because of the pride of evil men.
13verseSurely God will not hear an empty cry, neither will the Almighty regard it.
14verseHow much less when you say you don’t see him. The cause is before him, and you wait for him!
15verseBut now, because he has not visited in his anger, neither does he greatly regard arrogance,
16versetherefore Job opens his mouth with empty talk, and he multiplies words without knowledge.”
Main Content and Message
- Prayer in the Midst of Unjust Suffering: When he is subjected to wrongful attacks and accusations, David appeals to his innocence and asks for help, relying solely on God’s justice.
- Trust in God’s Judgment: He does not defend himself, and he trusts that those who do injustice will be destroyed by their own actions and that God’s judgment will ultimately come.
- A Pledge of Gratitude: Once the situation is resolved, the psalm concludes with David’s decision to praise God and give thanks.
Points to Ponder
- In my unjust circumstances, how am I expressing my feelings and my sense of injustice?
- What can I learn from David’s attitude of praying—entrusting the matter to God instead of fighting his enemies?
- How can I apply David’s example of not forgetting gratitude and praise even in suffering to my own life?
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Even when I am struggling or being misunderstood, I can build an attitude of trusting in God’s justice and placing wrongdoing in God’s hands.
- Learn to pray honestly, without hiding your sense of injustice, and lay it before God.
- Let us inscribe it in our hearts so that, even after the problem is resolved, an attitude of faith that never forgets gratitude and praise becomes the purpose of my life today.
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