Psalm 35 is a particularly anguished one, asking the Lord to bring us up from persecution and adversity because of our commitment to be faithful to Him. Spiritually, this psalm describes the experience of deep temptations in which thoughts, feelings and states come on us which make us feel despondent. Such states come from the attacks of evil spirits in hell who aim to break us down. Evil states oppressing us are pictured in psalms as ‘those (people) who are against me’, but internally this is talking about spiritual attacks.

The speaker openly talks of all these distressing experiences but, importantly, his approach to this always comes from trust in the Lord, and it is full of hope. This is a very important point to appreciate, because it is very different from the person who is only ever complaining. This psalm does not complain, but asks and expects good outcomes. Verse 4 says, “Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonour who seek after my life.” The translated word ‘let’ appears nineteen times, here, with the last three times being a glad cry of the Lord’s victory.

Like many psalms, this one is extremely descriptive of the inner states of the Lord on earth, in his temptations as he fought to glorify his human life and transform it into a divine human life. It is equally descriptive of the states of temptation in our co-operative work with the Lord in our own regeneration. (True Christian Religion 105)

Warfare is the theme at the start of the psalm - and this is spiritual warfare. To ‘strive against’ has to do with what is false, while to ‘fight against’ relates to what is evil. The weapons also represent spiritual things: a ‘shield’ is used to protect the head so it refers to protection of our thinking, while a ‘buckler’ (or breastplate) protects our chest, and refers to protecting our states and loves. The ‘spear’ stands for general protection. (Apocalypse Explained 734.6)

Verses 4 to 8 – with many mentions of ‘Let…’ – speak about the way in which the attacks of evil rebound back on themselves rather than achieving their desired goal. (See Arcana Caelestia 391.) The image of a ‘net’ being set to catch others, but that catches those who have set it, is very expressive of this principle.

Verses 9 and 10 praise the Lord for his salvation from those who plunder us in our need and poverty. Evil attacks wherever apparent weakness and vulnerability show, but the Lord will protect us when we acknowledge our poverty and need of the Lord. (Arcana Caelestia 4459)

Verses 11 to 16 return to the attacks of evil and, in the expressions used, they brings out the tenderness of the Lord towards all people in their human affliction and misery. Sackcloth, a poor garment, stands for lamentation because there is no truth, and so no spiritual life. (Apocalypse Revealed 492) Fasting stands for mourning from being without food, without succour. (Apocalypse Explained 1189.2)

Verses 17 and 18 again give thanks and praise to the Lord for his rescuing us in our need. ‘Lions’ in the Word, when mentioned in connection with our temptations, represent the apparent strength and power that evil can appear to have, especially when we fall into the state of being afraid. (True Christian Religion 123, near the end)

The remaining part of the psalm is a very intense and graphic description of the way of evil in its attacks and pursuits. The ‘winking of the eye’ of those who hate without a cause (verse 19), is expressive of evil’s slyness and deceit, for to wink involves a momentary closing of the eye in a signal, and the eye spiritually stands for seeing and understanding truth.

Another graphic image is the use of ‘Aha, aha’ (verse 21) again as a sly deceitful signal in seeing our weakness and laughingly assuming their power over us. (Arcana Caelestia 2855-2858)

The psalm ends with two verses of great acclaim and celebration, saying ‘Let them shout for joy and be glad!’ Note that it is not the speaker but ‘others’ who are glad. This way of expressing joy stands for the presence of new states in us after the end of the attacks of evil and the return of our spiritual wholeness.

8939. 'I will come to you and bless you' means God's presence at that time, and influx. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming to someone', when said by Jehovah, as presence, as also in 5934, 6063, 6089; and from the meaning of 'blessing', when said by Jehovah, as being endowed with faith and charity, dealt with in 2846, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8674, thus also as flowing in since faith and charity flow in from the Lord with a person. These are the blessing in the internal sense, for they are what make a person blessed and happy eternally. While living in the world a person calls those things a blessing which make him blessed and happy temporally, that is, wealth and important positions. Temporal blessings however are not what are meant in the internal sense of the Word but eternal ones, in comparison with which the temporal are nothing at all. For there is no ratio between what is temporal and what is eternal; there is no ratio even between several thousands or several millions of years and what is eternal, since those years have an end whereas what is eternal has no end. Therefore what is eternal Is; for that which exists without end Is, since it has its Being from God, who is Infinite - the Infinite in relation to time being He who is Eternal. But the temporal by comparison Is not, because when it has reached its end it exists no longer. From this it is also evident that 'a blessing' in the spiritual sense is that which has Being from God within it, thus is those things which constitute eternal life, consequently things which are aspects of charity and faith.

[2] The truth that worldly blessing is nothing in comparison with heavenly blessing, which is eternal, is taught in the following way by the Lord in Matthew,

What does it profit a person if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Matthew 16:26.

But the person immersed in worldly and earthly interests does not understand this saying; for worldly and earthly interests have a stifling effect, and cause him not to believe even in the existence of eternal life.

[3] But I can positively declare that as soon as a person dies he is in the next life, living as a spirit among spirits, and that then he seems to himself and to all others there to be altogether like a person in the world, endowed with all the senses, internal and external, 1881. I can say too that therefore death of the body is merely a laying aside of such things as had enabled the person to serve and function in the world, and in addition that death itself is a continuation of life, though in another world which is not visible to the eyes of the earthly body but is visible there in light a thousand times brighter than midday light in the world. Since all this is known to me from actual experience which I have had over so many years and continue to have, I declare it positively. I have spoken to almost all those with whom I was acquainted in the world and who have died, to some two or three days after their decease; and I speak to them still. The majority of them have been extremely displeased that they had had no belief at all in the continuation of life after death. I have talked to those people not just for a day but over months and years. I have also been allowed to witness their succeeding or progressive states of life taking them either to hell or to heaven. Consequently let anyone who wishes to be happy for evermore know and believe that he is going to be alive after death; let him think about it and remember it, for it is the truth. Let him also know and believe that the Word is the one and only teacher of how a person should live in the world in order to be happy for evermore.