Psalms109
King James Version · Public Domain
1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
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