Psalms 35:3

fight against--literally, "devour my devourers." stop the way against--literally, "shut up" (the way), to meet or oppose, &c. I . . . thy salvation--who saves thee.

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"Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me." Before the enemy comes to close quarters the Lord can push them off as with a long spear. To stave off trouble is no mean act of lovingkindness. As when some valiant warrior with his lance blocks up a defile, and keeps back a host until his weaker brethren have made good their escape, so does the Lord often hold the believer's foes at bay until the good man has taken breath, or clean fled from his foes.

DAVID knew where to run to for shelter in his hour of difficulty. Many were there that opposed him. He had been much slandered. His course was rough. So, after spreading his case before the Lord, as Hezekiah did Rabshakeh's blasphemous letter, he turns to the Most High and he cries to Him for succor with one request, as if this would suffice to relieve him from all his troubles—"Say unto my soul, I am your salvation."

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon the same text is Sermon #384, Volume 7—FULL ASSURANCE.] THIS text may very properly be understood as a request that God would teach the soul to rest upon Him in temporal difficulties, straits and distresses. We are all apt to try to work out our own deliverance.

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon the same text is Sermon #384, Volume 7—FULL ASSURANCE.] THIS text may very properly be understood as a request that God would teach the soul to rest upon Him in temporal difficulties, straits and distresses. We are all apt to try to work out our own deliverance. We would go back to Egypt, or we would climb the rock on our right hand, or we would, if it were possible, force a passage on the left, but when the Red Sea rolls in front of us, when Pharaoh is behind and there are frowning rocks on the right hand and on the left, this most delightful Truth of God is learned—and probably it is the only occasion when we can learn it—God is our salvation! If you are in trouble, Christian, ask who brought you there, for He shall bring you out again. If you are sorely vexed and deeply grieved, why should you look to a human arm for succor, or why should you turn your eyes to the horses and to the chariots of Pharaoh? Lift up your eyes to the hills, from where your help came, and in the solemn silence of your soul hear the soft and cheering word, "I am your salvation; I have been with you in six troubles, and no evil has touched you; now I have brought you into another trouble, but I will deliver you out of them all; call upon ME in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you." O Believer, the strongest sinew in an arm of flesh will crack and the strongest band of human strength will give way! But trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength! Learn to stand still and to see the salvation of God, as He says to you, "I the Omnipotent, I the Omnipresent, I who have servants everywhere will work your rescue, for I am your salvation." It is also very necessary for us to learn this verse in its teaching as to soul-matters, for no man is saved, or can be saved, unless he knows that God is his salvation.

DAVID knew where to run to for shelter in his hour of difficulty. Many were there that opposed him. He had been much slandered. His course was rough. So, after spreading his case before the Lord, as Hezekiah did Rabshakeh's blasphemous letter, he turns to the Most High and he cries to Him for succor with one request, as if this would suffice to relieve him from all his troubles—"Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." He thus invokes God to give him a word from His own mouth, to take the buckler and the sword in his defense, and to be his Champion. "Oh, my God, speak to my soul some assuring word and it shall be enough for me!" It is a sign of adoption, a mark of the residence of the Spirit of God within us, if in our times of trouble we fly to our God! Soul, can you find any difficulty in doing so? Is this not one of your spiritual instincts? Then, be afraid lest you are an alien, and no true-born child, for the true-born child seeks its Father's face, cries out for its Father's notice and creeps into its Father's bosom! This short prayer I commend to everyone present—to saint and sinner, to the young and the old, to those who are assured and to those who are doubtful—"Say unto my soul, I am your salvation." It appears to me to imply certain doctrines, to express certain desires, and to suggest certain practical lessons upon which we may profitably meditate. I. "SAY UNTO MY SOUL, I AM YOUR SALVATION." Is it not very clear on the surface of the text that we need salvation? Salvation is the great necessity of the human race. We need to be saved from the consequences of the Fall, from the results of our own transgressions, from the penalties due to our guilt, the indwelling power of sin and the domination of our corrupt nature. You all know this by the witness of conscience. Therefore I need not argue or attempt to prove it.

"Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me." Before the enemy comes to close quarters the Lord can push them off as with a long spear. To stave off trouble is no mean act of lovingkindness. As when some valiant warrior with his lance blocks up a defile, and keeps back a host until his weaker brethren have made good their escape, so does the Lord often hold the believer's foes at bay until the good man has taken breath, or clean fled from his foes. He often gives the foes of Zion some other work to do, and so gives rest to his church. What a glorious idea is this of Jehovah blocking the way of persecutors, holding them at the pike's end, and giving time for the hunted saint to elude their pursuit! "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." Besides holding off the enemy the Lord can also calm the mind of his servant by express assurance from his own mouth, that he is, and shall be, safe under the Almighty wing. An inward persuasion of security in God is of all things the most precious in the furnace of persecution. One word from the Lord quiets all our fears.

Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation - Give me an assurance that thou wilt defend both body and soul against my adversaries.

Draw out also the spear - The word here rendered “draw out” means properly to pour out; to empty; and it is applied to the act of emptying sacks, Gen 42:35; to emptying bottles, Jer 48:12; to drawing a sword from a sheath, Exo 15:9; Lev 26:33; Eze 5:12. It is applied to a “spear” either as drawing it out of the place where it was kept, or as stretching it out for the purposes of attack. The former probably is the meaning, and the idea is, that David prayed God to “arm himself” - as a warrior does - in order to defend him. The spear was a common weapon in ancient warfare. It was sometimes so short that it could be brandished as a sword in the hand, or hurled at an enemy, 1Sa 18:11; 1Sa 19:10; 1Sa 20:33; but it was usually made as long as it could be to be handled conveniently. The spear was a weapon of “attack.” The parts of armor referred to in Psa 35:2 were designed for defense. The idea of the psalmist is that of a warrior prepared alike for attack or defense. And stop the way against them that persecute me - The words “the way” are not in the original. The word rendered “stop” - סגר sâgar - means properly to shut, to close, as a door or gate, Job 3:10; 1Sa 1:5; Gen 19:6, Gen 19:10. The idea here, according to the usage of the word, is, Shut or close up the way against those that persecute me. So Gesenius renders it. Grotius, Michaelis, DeWette, and others, however, regard the word as a noun, signifying the same as the Greek - σάγαρις sagaris - a two-edged sword, such as was used by the Scythians, Persians, and Amazons. Herod. vii. 64. See Rosenmuller in loc. It is not so rendered, however, in any of the ancient versions. […]