I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
David's enemies are not mere dupes swept along by Saul's court; he distinguishes carefully between those thoughtlessly caught up in hatred through ignorance and those deliberate malefactors who wickedly conspired to destroy an innocent man for favor. Against the latter, he calls on God for justice, knowing his own innocence and relying on God's promise spoken through Samuel.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 35:1-28
"I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother:" I waited on him assiduously, comforted him affectionately, and sympathised with him deeply. This may refer to those days when David played on the harp, and chased away the evil spirit from Saul. "I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. He bowed his head as mourners do.
False witnesses rose up and swore to treasons David never committed, and ingratitude compounded the injury: they repaid good service with evil. This happened to the Son of David too. Such persecution shows how the innocent lie at the mercy of the wicked, yet it teaches us that God holds even bad men's consciences in check, or the harm would be far greater.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 35:11-16