Psalms109
New International Version
1 My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
8 May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10 May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.
21 But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.
28 While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Study
Psalms 109Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 109. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: David complains of his enemies. (1–5). He prophesies their destruction. (6–20). Prayers and praises. (21–31).
vv1-5
It is the unspeakable comfort of all believers, that whoever is against them, God is for them; and to him they may apply as to one pleased to concern himself for them. David's enemies laughed at him for his devotion, but they could not laugh him out of it.
vv6-20
The Lord Jesus may speak here as a Judge, denouncing sentence on some of his enemies, to warn others. When men reject the salvation of Christ, even their prayers are numbered among their sins. See what hurries some to shameful deaths, and brings the families and estates of others to ruin; makes them and theirs despicable and hateful, and brings poverty, shame, and misery upon their posterity: it is sin, that mischievous, destructive thing. And what will be the effect of the sentence, “Go, ye cursed,” upon the bodies and souls of the wicked! How it will affect the senses of the body, and the powers of the soul, with pain, anguish, horror, and despair! Think on these things, sinners, tremble and repent.
vv21-31
The psalmist takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner. He was troubled in mind. His body was wasted, and almost worn away. But it is better to have leanness in the body, while the soul prospers and is in health, than to have leanness in the soul, while the body is feasted. He was ridiculed and reproached by his enemies. But if God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse whom God has not cursed; nay, whom he has blessed? He pleads God's glory, and the honour of his name. Save me, not according to my merit, for I pretend to none, but according to thy-mercy. He concludes with the joy of faith, in assurance that his present conflicts would end in triumphs. Let all that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him. Jesus, unjustly put to death, and now risen again, is an Advocate and Intercessor for his people, ever ready to appear on their behalf against a corrupt world, and the great accuser.
Key Words
נָצַח: properly, to glitter from afar, i.e. to be eminent (as a superintendent, especially of the Temple services and its music); to be permanent
מִזְמוֹר: properly, instrumental music; by implication, a poem set to notes
דָּוִד: David, the youngest son of Jesse
אַל: not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing
חָרַשׁ: to scratch, i.e. (by implication) to engrave, plough; hence (from the use of tools) to fabricate (of any material); figuratively, to devise (in a bad sense); hence (from the idea of secrecy) to be silent, to let alone; hence (by implication) to be deaf (as an accompaniment of dumbness)
אֱלֹהִים: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
תְּהִלָּה: laudation; specifically (concretely) a hymn
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
רָשָׁע: morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person
מִרְמָה: fraud
Cross References
Psalms 109Directly cited by Peter as fulfilled in Judas Iscariot losing his apostolic office.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Satan standing at the right hand of the accused as the official adversary and accuser.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus applies David's words ('hated me without a cause') directly to His own experience.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The proverb condemning those who reward evil for good, mirroring David's specific complaint.
Supported by JFB
Explicitly quotes the Greek equivalent of 'let another take his office' regarding Judas.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
While adversaries attack, David prays; Christ perfectly typifies this by praying for His executioners.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Satan entering Judas, matching the judgment of letting Satan stand at his right hand.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Judas's violent death, where his bowels gushed out, matches the curse entering his bowels.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the Messianic suffering of being a reproach and having onlookers shake their heads.
Supported by JFB
David's recurring complaint of being rewarded evil for good, seeking refuge in prayer.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The proverbial parallel of a wicked man's prayer being treated as an abomination or sin.
Supported by Matthew Henry
David's practice of fasting and prayer in times of intense adversity and betrayal.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David's response to Shimei's cursing, trusting that the Lord will bless him instead.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast: Satan stands at the wicked's right hand (v6), but God stands at David's.
Supported by JFB