Psalm 35 may not be one of our favorites, but we have all felt, at some point, attacked and accused. The “secret” of this psalm is to allow us to vent our frustrations and to commit those feelings of aggression and the need for vindication to God. It rises and falls in three cycles, each containing petition and lament and climaxing in a vow of praise. Linking these sections are images and key terms.

35:1–10 The first cycle is dominated by petitions that heap one image of conflict and hostility upon another. In verses 1–3 the petitions are imperatives calling on Yahweh to engage himself as a warrior. He is asked to match the hostilities of the opponents (Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me) and take up military weapons (to fight with shield and spear). The final imperative of t…