"I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people."
Psalm 35:18
Today: We Will Praise and Thank the Lord Publicly for His Help in Our Lives
“And when your people meet, I will praise you and thank you, Lord, in front of them all” (Psalm 35:18, CEV [1]).
Before we get into our verse for today, we need to think for a moment about this psalm. As you read Psalm 35, you might begin to wonder if there is any place for praise and thanksgiving in a Psalm like this one. In this psalm, it is evident that David is upset with those who have made him an enemy. They have treated him, God’s child, shamefully. And David’s prayer is for their destruction. This seems so uncharacteristic of God’s child.
“This is one of what are commonly known as the Imprecatory Psalms, which in strong terms ask God to defeat and destroy the enemies of His people” [2] (EWC).
“This psalm is a combination of three laments over the opposition of David’s enemies. Each lament develops the unified cry for deliverance from enemies who hated him without a cause” [3] (BKC).
A. Prayer for deliverance from destroyers (35:1–10)
B. Lament over unjust hatred (35:11–18)
C. Petition for justice (35:19–28)
Now that we understand a little of the context of Psalm 35 [4], rather than spending our time focused on David’s prayer, let’s spend our time thinking about his promise to the Lord. Hopefully, we will see here that the greater the Lord’s help to us, the greater ought to be our praise and thanksgiving to Him.
“I will give thee thanks.”
David prayed in faith, believing that God would hear and answer his petitions. When God does answer his prayer, he promises God that he will be thankful and offer thanks to Him.
“When I am delivered, I will publicly express my gratitude and joy” [5] (Barnes).
“I hope to be able to attend at the tabernacle with thy followers, and there publicly express my gratitude for the deliverance thou hast given me” [6] (Clarke).
“Notable deliverances must be recorded, and their fame emblazoned. All the saints should be informed of the Lord’s goodness. The theme is worthy of the largest assembly; the experience of a believer is a subject fit for an assembled universe to hear of. Most men publish their griefs, good men should proclaim their mercies” [7] (Spurgeon).
“In the great congregation.”
It’s interesting that David’s prayer most likely was prayed in private. But rather than keep the results of God’s help to himself, he promises to publicly give his thanks to God so that everyone knows what God has done for him. This kind of public thanks to God with David’s praises seems to be a habit of his life. He loves to thank God publicly.
“I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” (Psalm 22:22).
“My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him” (Psalm 22:25).
“I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: Lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hidden thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation” (Psalm 40:9-10).
“I will praise thee among much people.”
David wants as many people as possible to know what God has done for him. He is grateful and willing to testify of God’s mercy and grace to him.
The Lord delivered David. Surely, David had reason to thank the Lord for His gracious help. We ought never to be ashamed to testify of God’s work in our lives before the congregations of our local churches. Jesus is not ashamed of His brethren, and we should not be ashamed of Him.
“For it became Him, for who are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Hebrews 2:10-12).
Let’s praise and thank the Lord for his goodness in our lives!
Quote: “We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal” [8] (J.I. Packer).
[1] CEV is the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.
[2] EWC, Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. This is in the introduction to Psalm 35. The emphasis is theirs.
[3] BKC, Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 820). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. This is also their outline of Psalm 35.
[4] Let me encourage you to do a study of this Psalm. Today, generally, we do not ask God to destroy people. Being that this is the day of grace, we ask Him to save people. Paul reminds us that we are not fighting against a physical foe today. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). We need to pray and put on God’s armor every day.
[5] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 35:18.
[6] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 35:18.
[7] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 35:18.
[8] Packer’s quote downloaded: November 1, 2021. From: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/30-christian-quotes-about-thankfulness.html.