BE CAREFUL OF “AHA, AHA!” MOMENTS ~ Psalm 35

A very common plot line to many stories begins with us rooting for the good guy in Scene 1. Often, we don’t immediately see another main character who is working behind the scenes. This is the villain who has made it his goal in life to bring down the good guy. Soon enough, the audience sees him scheming, manipulating, and eventually accusing the good guy of some atrocious behavior. In the storyline, the masses usually are quick to jump on this evil character’s bandwagon joining forces with him to indict and bring conviction. We, the audience, are screaming along with the good guy, “Foul! Liar! That is not true! Why can’t everyone else see what I see?” In the end, the good guy is vindicated, the audience rejoices that good has triumphed over evil, and we want to believe that all lived happily ever after. There is a reason this a common plot to which we are drawn.

Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me, nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously. For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. They opened their mouth wide against me; they said “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!” You have seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. (Psalm 35:19-22)

David has done nothing wrong, yet there are those who have made themselves his enemies wrongfully. He knows that the Lord has seen everything and has the power to bring the truth to light. This is a prayer for justice. David prays similarly in Psalm 13. Psalm 30:1 is a praise for when the Lord did not let David’s enemies rejoice over him. (See also Psalm 38:16, 19) Psalm 69:4—Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies. What I did not steal, I then have to restore. Jesus, in John 15:25 says: But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ Here, He was quoting Psalm 35:19 and Psalm 69:4.

After closing arguments in our case, the jury convened briefly while we waited out in the hallway. After a short amount of time which seemed like an eternity, the prosecution and his entourage were called back to the courtroom and had to walk by my son and me. I will never get one image out of my mind which stood out because of my familiarity with Psalm 35. The prosecutor looked over his shoulder as he passed us and with a smirk on his lips winked at us! When I saw it, I got a pit in my stomach in anticipation of what was soon to come. My worst fears were realized when the verdicts were read. I knew it would appear to the masses as though justice had been done. The reality was the wicked schemes of men appeared to have triumphed over us.

To wink is to tear or cut asunder, to cut with the teeth, to bite, to bite the lips as an expression of malice or mischief-making. It is to bite or pinch the eyes as a gesture of malice or mischief. Winking is known to be a sign that you have tricked someone. It can signify arrogant satisfaction that you have defeated someone. It is to mock. It is found other places in Scripture. Proverbs 6:12-15—A worthless person, a wicked man, is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers, who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, who spreads strife. Therefore, his calamity will come suddenly. Instantly, he will be broken and there will be no healing. Proverbs 10:10—He who winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will be ruined.

For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. (vs. 20)

The Believer’s Bible Commentary says about this verse: They do not want peace—all they want is to concoct false charges against decent, law-abiding citizens. Whenever they see the slightest slip they say, “Aha, aha! Just as we predicted! We saw you do it.”

This could be said universally about the proud at heart. They do not seek peace; they seek a quarrel, or they are inclined to quarrel.

Albert Barnes says of the next portion of this verse: “They set their hearts on misrepresentation, and they study such misrepresentations as occasions for strife with others. They falsely represent my character; they attribute conduct to me of which I am not guilty; they pervert my words; they state that to be true which never occurred, and thus they attempt to justify their own conduct. Almost all the quarrels in the world, whether pertaining to nations, to neighborhoods, to families, or to individuals, are based on some “misrepresentation” of facts, designed or undesigned, and could have been avoided if men had been willing to look at facts as they are, or perfectly understood each other.”

For whatever reason, one day out of the blue while the defense and the prosecution were waiting for court to resume, this same man thought it prudent to announce that his family were Quakers. Well, alrighty then! It was demanded I not talk about my “religious” views. This case was not to be about religion according to our judge; but he also made his opinion clear when he said, “Religion is not relevant.” The prosecutor came from Quaker blood, my husband’s defense attorney discussed with me his religious views of Swedenborgianism, and newspapers articles weighed in on our case by interviewing a woman pastor with liberal views as a representation of what all good Christian women are to  believe about biblical submission. Apparently, freedom of religion applies to everyone but the defendants in a federal case. The Lord saw it all.

When we think of the proud, we think of those who are loud, obnoxious, given to contention and strife, who try to bring attention to themselves with their words. In contrast, these seek to misrepresent those who are quiet in the land, those who strive to live in peace with those around them. Quiet means restful, but can literally mean those who are timid, or those who prefer peace to war.

As Christians, we must realize that a person under the influence of Satan loves to sow discord. With no character himself, his greatest desire is to destroy someone else’s character. Proverbs 6:16-19—There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.

They opened their mouth wide against me; they said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!” (vs. 21)

Psalm 22:13—They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion. Isaiah 29:15—Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, and whose deeds are done in a dark place, and they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” And verses 20-21: For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished, indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off; who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate, and defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments. In the John MacArthur study Bible notes on verses 20-21 it says: The future messianic age will bring a reversal of status. Rejoicing will replace the hardships of the oppressed; the oppressors’ dominance will end. Those with political and judicial authority are no longer to misuse their power to oppress.

Psalm 70:13—Let those be turned back because of their shame who say, “Aha, aha!” Psalm 40:15 echoes the same. Aha, aha, is language used when we “detect” another in doing wrong, in doing what he meant to conceal. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: Money laundering is the process by which criminals attempt to conceal the illicit origin and ownership of the proceeds of their unlawful activities. I was convicted of money laundering, but not conspiracy (which makes absolutely no sense to me), but I did not attempt to conceal anything! If all the evidence had been presented, maybe the Aha moment would have been in the jury seeing the truth.  The Aha, aha! moment is when others say, “We have found you out! We have seen it; we caught you!” Here, the reference is to some supposed “detection” of misconduct on the part of David, and the joy and triumph of that supposed detection.

But what his enemies had allegedly seen, the Lord had seen perfectly! When I am wrong, I admit it. My kids have teased me on that supposed character flaw in the past: “Mom! Why do you always admit when you are wrong? It’s embarrassing!” My response? “The Lord sees it all; I’m not trying to hide anything. It keeps me humble!” When my daughter died five years before this scandal broke loose, I had thought long and hard about what I wanted to put on her tombstone. I wanted her tombstone to be a testimony that honored the Lord. It may have seemed odd, but one of the verses I had engraved was Hebrews 4:13—And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. The Lord sees everything and will judge men according to their deeds. Anyone who knows me knows that if I had believed I had committed a crime, I would have admitted it, repented publicly for it, and logically accepted the 18-month probation plea deal that was offered to me. By court mandate, that last fact of the plea offer that we rejected was not allowed to be made known to the jury. Logic wonders why.