Psalms109
New Living Translation
1 O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof
2 while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me.
3 They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason.
4 I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!
5 They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
7 When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins.
8 Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.
9 May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.
11 May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.
12 Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.
13 May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
14 May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
15 May the Lord always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.
16 For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
17 He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless him.
18 Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.
19 Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt.”
20 May those curses become the Lord’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.
21 But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.
23 I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.
25 I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.
26 Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love.
27 Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord.
28 Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
30 But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone.
31 For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who 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