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Psalm 109

Prayer for Vindication and Vengeance

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

1

Do not be silent, O God of my praise.

2

For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

3

They beset me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

4

In return for my love they accuse me,

even while I make prayer for them.

5

So they reward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

 

6

They say, “Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser stand on his right.

7

When he is tried, let him be found guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin.

8

May his days be few;

may another seize his position.

9

May his children be orphans,

and his wife a widow.

10

May his children wander about and beg;

may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.

11

May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.

12

May there be no one to do him a kindness,

nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.

13

May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation.

14

May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the L ord,

and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

15

Let them be before the L ord continually,

and may his memory be cut off from the earth.

16

For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted to their death.

17

He loved to curse; let curses come on him.

He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.

18

He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,

may it soak into his body like water,

like oil into his bones.

19

May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself,

like a belt that he wears every day.”

 

20

May that be the reward of my accusers from the L ord,

of those who speak evil against my life.

21

But you, O L ord my Lord,

act on my behalf for your name’s sake;

because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.

22

For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is pierced within me.

23

I am gone like a shadow at evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24

My knees are weak through fasting;

my body has become gaunt.

25

I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they shake their heads.

 

26

Help me, O L ord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love.

27

Let them know that this is your hand;

you, O L ord, have done it.

28

Let them curse, but you will bless.

Let my assailants be put to shame; may your servant be glad.

29

May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;

may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.

30

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the L ord;

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

31

For he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to save them from those who would condemn them to death.


30. I will praise Jehovah greatly with my mouth These words clearly establish the truth of the observation I formerly made, that David does not pray God to curse his enemies, but, by the holy boldness of his faith, sets them at defiance; for he prepares to offer up a tribute of gratitude to God, as if he had already realised the object of his desire. The phrase, with my mouth, is not, as some erroneously suppose, superfluous, but is to be considered as a public acknowledgement, on his part, of his thanksgiving to God for the deliverance vouchsafed to him; as if he should say, I will, not only when alone and when no human eye beholds me, and in the inward recesses of my heart, meditate upon the great goodness which I have received from God, but also in the appointed sacrifice of praise will I declare publicly, before men, how much I am indebted to his grace. Agreeably to this meaning, he adds, in the assembly of great, or of many men; for the term רבים, rabbim, is susceptible of being rendered both ways. I prefer rendering it, great men, because it appears to me, that David refers to an assembly of men of notable and noble rank. He declares that he will acknowledge the goodness of God, not only in some obscure corner, but also in the great assembly of the people, and among governors and those of noble rank. In the celebration of God’s praises, there can be no question that these must issue from the heart ere they be uttered by the lips; at the same time, it would be an indication of great coldness, and of want of fervor, did not the tongue unite with the heart in this exercise. The reason why David makes mention of the tongue only is, that he takes it for granted that, unless there be a pouring out of the heart before God, those praises which reach no farther than the ear are vain and frivolous; and, therefore, from the very bottom of his soul, he pours forth his heart-felt gratitude in fervent strains of praise; and this he does, from the same motives which ought to influence all the faithful — the desire of mutual edification; for to act otherwise would be to rob God of the honor which belongs to him.


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