Psalm 35

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

Literally sackcloth, a bit like burlap sacks, but usually made of coarse goat hair or camel hair. It was scratchy and uncomfortable to wear. People in Bible times wore it to express sorrow or grief, the way people today often wear black at funerals. During the Great Depression, some feed sack companies started printing colorful patterns onto their sacks, which they started making with a tighter weave. Many people turned those sacks into clothing: dresses, shirts, and blouses. They treated the sacks as free garment material.

Literally “wink the eye.” It’s the kind of wink you give someone when you suddenly realize you’re about to get exactly what you want. It’s like saying to someone else, “Great!” Or maybe “I told you so.” Or “He’s getting what he deserves.” Whatever it originally meant in this particular song, it wasn’t a happy wink for the songwriter.