What is the meaning of Psalm 35:15?

But when I stumbled,

David admits a moment of weakness: “stumbled” is literal—his footing slipped in life’s path. Scripture doesn’t mask the frailty of God’s people (Psalm 73:2).

• Stumbling is not the end; Proverbs 24:16 promises the righteous rises again.

• The contrast (“But”) links back to David’s earlier mercy toward these same people (Psalm 35:13-14). Their later cruelty highlights sin’s darkness, not any failure of God’s Word.

• Christ, the greater David, knew the same experience when crowds turned against Him (John 18:22-24).

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they assembled in glee;

Enemies gather, animated by malicious joy. Proverbs 17:5 warns, “Whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.”

• Obadiah 1:12 shows God condemning Edom for rejoicing over Judah’s day of trouble.

• Glee at another’s fall reveals a heart opposed to God’s compassion (Ezekiel 33:11).

• Believers refuse to celebrate another’s stumble (1 Corinthians 13:6) because love “does not delight in evil.”

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they gathered together against me.

The hostility isn’t random; it is organized. Psalm 2:1-2 pictures the nations plotting “against the LORD and against His Anointed.”

• Wicked unity is common: Herod and Pilate became friends while opposing Jesus (Luke 23:12).

• Isaiah 54:17 assures that no weapon or coalition formed against God’s servant ultimately succeeds.

• When the church faces coordinated pressure (Acts 4:25-27), the pattern is familiar—and so is God’s deliverance.

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Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.

Unfamiliar attackers launch a nonstop misinformation campaign.

• Psalm 109:2: “For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.”

• Jesus experienced strangers bearing false testimony (Mark 14:57-59) so that “the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me without cause’” (John 15:25).

• 1 Peter 3:16 encourages believers to maintain a clear conscience so that slanderers “may be put to shame.”

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summary

Psalm 35:15 reveals a righteous man’s vulnerability, the ungodly delight in his adversity, their organized opposition, and relentless slander. The verse affirms both the reality of enemy hatred and God’s awareness of every detail. Because Scripture is literally true, believers can face similar hostility with confidence: the Lord sees the stumble, restrains the glee, breaks the coalition, and will vindicate His people who stand firm in Him.