Psalm 35:18 meaning

Psalm 35 is a prayer of David offered to the LORD, imploring Him to rescue David from enemies who unjustly seek his destruction. Verse 18 marks David the psalmist's second praise of Psalm 35. 

Psalm 35 is outlined as follows:

• First Litany (Psalm 35:1-8)
• First Praise (Psalm 35:9-10)
• Second Litany (Psalm 35:11-17) 
• Second Praise (Psalm 35:18)   
• Third Litany (Psalm 35:19-27)   
• Third Praise (Psalm 35:28)

Psalm 35:18 as David's Prayer

After asking the LORD how long He will allow his adversaries to slander and surround him (Psalm 35:17), David the psalmist praises God amidst these unfavorable circumstances,

I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty throng (v 18).

David's praise comes in the form of a couplet—two consecutive lines of poetry that create a single thought. Each line of the couplet begins with a personal promise to You (the LORD):

I will give You thanks…
I will praise You…

The psalmist's praise is a promise to praise God in the future. The couplet is a sort of down payment for future praise and thanks. 

David is privately expressing thanks and praise to the Lord, "Adonai" (one of God's titles—Psalm 35:17), in the present, but he will publicly do these things in the future before the great congregation and among the mighty throng of Israel. 

The term great congregation refers to a large multitude of people. This might indicate that David expects to be a witness of God in front of large crowds. Perhaps David is considering his anointing and expressing faith that God will elevate him to the throne of Israel. 

The term mighty throng can also be translated "mighty people," and again would seem to refer to a restored nation of Israel under his leadership. It would seem that David is looking forward to the time when God's anointing will be fulfilled, so he is committing to give God the glory and praise Him when that time comes. 

This is remarkable that David is choosing to adopt this optimistic perspective based on faith in God's promise while in the midst of dire circumstances. Each New Testament believer has been granted an inheritance to reign with Christ in His kingdom which is to come (Ephesians 1:11). New Testament believers are admonished to possess that inheritance by walking faithfully in obedience to God's ways, following His commands, doing all we do in a manner to please Him (Colossians 3:23). David's praises to God are a means of building up his faith on the expectation that his current loyalty and obedience to God will lead to a future benefit. 

Even though David is being unjustly slandered and accused, he promises the LORD that he will  give thanks and praise Him when he has a chance to do so in the great congregation among the mighty throng of Israel. In doing this, David expresses faith that what is before him will be worth the difficulties he is enduring. 

David's promise and praise in Psalm 35:18 is similar to his promise and praise in Psalm 22:22:

"I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You."
(Psalm 22:22)

There are two ways the psalmist's promise of Psalm 35:18 may be applied.

First, it could be a reminder of the Lord Adonai's goodness and sovereignty. If Psalm 35 was composed sometime after the unjust events which David endured, these interjections of praise could be a kind of foreshadowing which lets the reader know that the outcome is favorable to the psalmist. 

David's writing style is emotionally immersive. Psalm 35—especially its litanies—are written from the perspective as though they are presently happening. David is so good and convincing in writing this way, that as he makes his petitions and pleas before the LORD, his reader experiences for himself something like the unjust circumstances David experienced. 

One of the reasons David interrupts the flow of his litanies with these praises is to remind the reader that the unjust circumstances and the strong feelings they evoke are not the final reality. God is the final reality. David's interjections of praise and giving of thanks are a breath of reality to help the reader combat the temptation to believe the illusion that present injustice and painful circumstances will have the final say. We can experience this through David's psalm—but perhaps more importantly we can apply what we learn in Psalm 35 to whatever painful or unjust ordeals we might experience.    

Second, we can apply verse 18 as an expression of faith. We can apply David's praise in the midst of difficulty as an example of how to choose a mindset/perspective that is true in the midst of our difficulties. 

Regardless of whether Psalm 35 was composed during or after the unjust circumstances they describe, David's praises could reflect his thoughts, attitude, and faith in the LORD as his trials were occurring. Accordingly, we can gain benefit and apply the approach of praising God in the midst of difficulty, trusting that He will honor His promises as a means to grow our own faith (Philippians 4:8). 

David's promises to give You thanks in the great congregation and to praise You among the mighty throng could be an expression of faith that the Lord Adonai will rescue his soul and only life from the ravages of the lion (Psalm 35:17). 

If this is the case, David's faith is a remarkable example of how we can and should trust the Lord in our own trials. 

A third, but inappropriate interpretation of David's promise of praise is that it is a conditional barter David offers to God. Some may view David's promises to give thanks and praise God as conditional (I will praise You if You deliver me). 

This would infer that David is saying that if the LORD does not follow through on His end of the bargain, then David will not give thanks or praise Him. The context of Psalm 35 does not support this application, but additionally, various scripture proves that making these sorts of conditional demands of God is testing Him, which is an approach to God we are commanded to avoid (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:6-7).

Therefore, since Psalm 35 is Messianic, David's promise of praise and/or thanks cannot be an, "If you do this, then I will do that" proposition. Jesus, the Messiah, specifically rejected Satan's temptation to make a "If I do this, you must do that" proposition to His Father (Matthew 4:6-7). 

The second praise of Psalm 35 is best understood as both a reminder that the Lord Adonai remains good, sovereign, and is on the throne (and therefore in control) regardless of the intensity of our circumstances and emotions.  This type of praise is an expression of faith in the LORD. 

How David's praise in Psalm 35:18 corresponds to Jesus, the Messiah

The Bible Says commentary for this passage of scripture will continue our numbering of the various ways Psalm 35 is prophetic of Jesus, the Messiah. The listing of Psalm 35's Messianic prophecies begins in The Bible Says commentary for Psalm 35:1-3. This section of scripture begins with the 20th Messianic prophecy of Psalm 35. 

20.   The Messiah will praise and thank the LORD among the great congregation and mighty throng.

I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty throng (v 18).

The—I—in both lines of this couplet refer to the Messiah. The—You—refers to the LORD God.

The Messiah promises to publicly give the LORD thanks and to praise the LORD. The Messiah will do these things in the great congregation and among a mighty throng of witnesses.  

In this prophetic context, the terms great congregation and mighty throng could refer to one of at least five groups. 

The first group which the terms great congregation and mighty throng may refer to are the people of Israel who saw Jesus's life and heard His teachings up to the point of His arrest. 

When He miraculously fed the multitude of five thousand with only a few baskets of food, Jesus gave thanks to God for what He had provided (John 6:11). 

Shortly before He was arrested, Jesus prayed:

"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do."
(John 17:4)

If glorifying God on earth is obeying Him, then Jesus would continue to praise God through the agonizing trial of betrayal, unjust condemnation, abuse, rejection, and execution on a cross. This speaks to the second possible group to which the terms great congregation and mighty throng may refer. 

This second group which the great congregation and mighty throng may refer to are the great crowds of people at Jesus's civil trial before Pilate and the mighty throng of Passover pilgrims who passed by Jesus's crucifixion located just outside the gate of Jerusalem (Hebrew 13:12). 

The Messiah would glorify and praise God through His faithful suffering and endurance during His trial and execution.  

The last three groups the great congregation and mighty throng could refer to are groups gathered at the end times.

The third group the terms great congregation and mighty throng may refer to are the many people who trusted the LORD for salvation. This would include everyone who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, and as a result received the Gift of Eternal Life.

To learn more about the Gift of Eternal Life, see The Bible Says article: "What is Eternal Life? How to Gain the Gift of Eternal Life."  

The fourth group which the terms great congregation and mighty throng may refer to are those who not only believed in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, but who also overcame the various trials they encountered in life by following His example to trust God and rely on His strength to win the Prize of Eternal Life. 

To learn more about the Prize of Eternal Life, see The Bible Says article: "Eternal Life: Receiving the Gift vs Inheriting the Prize."

To the extent that this is the group these terms are referring to, then the reason the congregation is called great and the throng is called mighty is because they have become great by serving others like Jesus did:

"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
(Matthew 20:26b, 28)

Likewise, they have become mighty in the LORD and have been endowed with authority over many things because they proved themselves faithful with little things:

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'"
(Matthew 25:21)

To the extent that the great congregation and mighty throng refer to the faithful overcomers, the Messiah's praise of and thanks to the LORD may take place at the Messianic banquet which will be held when He inaugurates His kingdom at the end of this age. All those who are faithful overcomers will be present at this banquet while unfaithful believers (i.e. those who received the Gift of Eternal Life but who lived unfaithful lives) will be in the outer darkness: 

"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Matthew 8:11-12)

In this context the outer darkness cannot refer to the Eternal Lake of Fire because it refers to the "sons of the kingdom" who are believers (Matthew 13:38). Here it is a term that describes those who wish they were in attendance at a celebratory banquet but are ineligible to attend. They are in the darkness beyond the glow of the lights of the banquet, looking in with sorrow and anger (at themselves) for not doing what they needed to do to enter in and celebrate. In this context, Jesus asserts that it will be those who lived in great faith who will be honored in His coming kingdom. For more, read our commentary on Matthew 8:11-12.

To learn more about the outer darkness, see The Bible Says article: "What is Hell? Gehenna and the Outer Darkness." 

To learn more about the Lake of Fire, see The Bible Says article: "What is Hell? The Eternal Punishment and The Lake of Fire."

The fifth group that the terms the great congregation and a mighty throng may refer to could be every person who has ever lived or will live. Upon the Messiah's return, He will judge all the nations (Matthew 25:32). It will be at or near this time when:

"every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10b-11)

During this verse we see everyone praising Jesus as Messiah and Lord. But it could also be that Jesus, the Messiah, praises His Father in front of all who are gathered before Him. In this case, the reason the throng is great and mighty is because it is so immense and large.  

Whichever of these last three interpretations (or combinations of them) is accurate, all of these fulfillments relate to the end times when Jesus the Messiah returns the second time.