Let the LORD be magnified
“Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.” (Psalm 35:19)
David’s cry here echoes down to Christ Himself, who was hated “without a cause” (John 15:25). The psalm gives voice to every believer who has been mocked, misrepresented, or opposed unjustly. Yet its deeper fulfilment is in the suffering Saviour, whose silence under scorn secured our salvation.
The temptation in such moments is to demand our own vindication, but David’s prayer rests on God’s justice: “Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt” (v.26). He does not delight in their downfall but longs for God’s righteousness to be revealed. For when God acts, truth is cleared and the faithful are upheld.
Amid this plea rises a song: “Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favour my righteous cause; and let them say continually, ‘Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant’” (v.27). Vindication, then, is not about personal triumph but about the Lord being magnified. It is His name, not ours, that is to shine.
The psalm closes with David’s vow: “And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long” (v.28). Praise is the final word, for the believer’s defence is not in argument but in worship. The battle belongs to the Lord, and His justice will not fail.
As Richard Sibbes wrote: “God’s children may be hidden under the cross, but never lost; for He has a care for them when they least see it.”
God bless,
Isaac Sayal