Psalm 109:
He Calls for Vengeance Upon
False Accusers
““That they may know that
this is Your hand”
INTRODUCTION
“This psalm is often included, along with 52, 58, 59, 69, and 137, as one of the imprecatory psalms. Depending upon one’s view of these psalms, the term (imprecatory) may be ill advised. The word is defined by Webster: ‘to invoke evil or calamity upon another,’ and is said to stem from ‘a desire for revenge rather than justice as its aim” (Carl Garner, in The Book of Psalms, Volume 2, p. 245, edited by Bill Jackson). Some have even gone so far as to say that the spirit of these psalms is opposed to the spirit of the New Testament, and it would be wrong to feel or pray this way today.
I could not disagree more, for the whole point of these poems is understood by the fact that the distressed person is asking God to act upon the law of sowing and reaping. If we believe that people who live in the way that is described in Psalm 109 are going to reap as they have sown, why is it wrong to ask God to honor this principle? I do believe that brother Garner is right in saying that the term “imprecatory” is merely a human term, and could well be ill advised (I also encourage you to get and read the rest of his notes in the book.).
I need to add the clincher—this psalm is used by Peter in Acts 1 to refer to Judas. Peter makes the point that it is within the will of God for the sentiments of the poet to be applied to his betrayal of Christ. And it is also proper for the law of sowing and reaping to be applied to those who might be affected by his sin.
CONTENT
This psalm progresses from a description of the situation (vv. 1-5), to several personal comments that are used by the author to make his case before God. Those comments include his request for the Lord’s vengeance (vv. 6-13), justification for the request (vv. 14-20), his own need (vv. 21-25), and his conviction that the Lord will do all things correctly (vv. 26-29). The closing point is that he knows the truth will be honored and the Lord will be praised (vv. 30,31).
DISCUSSION
Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the
deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with
words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
This first part of the psalm describes the situation: He has accusers who are guilty of sin against him (vv. 1-5). In these verses, we learn that David appealed to the right source: God (v. 1). He approached God with the right information: He made an accurate accusation against some wicked people (vv. 2,3). He claimed that he was living the right life: He had treated them with love, and he had approached God in prayer (v. 4). Finally, he said that he had received the wrong reward from the liars (v. 5).
Set a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be few,
And let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.
Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off,
And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
This second part of the psalm is his request for the Lord’s vengeance: “Please let these things happen” (vv. 6-13). Here, David appeals for vengeance, but not his own. He rightly asks for the vengeance of God to come upon the evil ones. He uses very strong language as he describes the things that ought to come upon these people and those around them. This is not uncommon in the Bible, for the wrath of God and the consequences of sin are indeed very severe! As a matter of fact, David often treated his enemies with great kindness. He knew that ultimate vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:17-21). In the New Testament, verse 8 of this section (as well as Psalm 69:25) is applied to Judas (Acts 1:20). Did Judas deserve that which happened to him? Is it true that it would have been better if he had never been born? Both of these questions ought to be answered, “Yes.” And the reason for the “Yes” comes back to the very theme of this psalm—those who persecute the faithful are going to reap as they have sown (unless they repent). Some terrible things did often occur in the Bible to those who did these things. And I might add, with emphasis, that there were people who repented after suffering for what they did to the faithful (David, the friends of Job, and Saul of Tarsus, for example).
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be continually before the LORD,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
As he clothed himself with cursing as
with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds
himself continually.
Let this be the LORD's reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.
This third part of the psalm is a justification for the request: “Here is how my enemy lived” (vv. 14-20). He begins here with a general statement of their wrongs by using common terms that teach the seriousness of the situation: iniquity and sin (vv. 14,15). Then, he itemizes some of the specific sins that had been committed (vv. 16-19). Finally, he implies that those who do such things to him (one of God’s faithful) need to consider the fact that all of the faithful have One Who will be their defender—He will make all things right!
But You, O GOD the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name's sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
I also have become a reproach to them;
When they look at me, they shake their heads.
This fourth part of the psalm expresses the fact that he is in need because of what they have done (vv. 21-25). In verse 21, he expresses his desire for God to deal with him according to His mercy. The word “deal” (“do” in the KJV) means “to work.” Thus, he is asking God to work for him in this horrible situation. And he wants the Lord to do this for His name’s sake! He is not asking out of any selfish motive. In verses 22-25, he gives the reasons for his petition. He is desperate. These people were affecting his whole life, body, and soul. The words in these verses remind me of the suffering of Jesus at the hands of wicked people. And just what did He do at that time? He committed Himself to the One Who judges righteously (1 Peter 1:22-25).
Help me, O LORD my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
That they may know that this is Your hand--
That You, LORD, have done it!
Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.
Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a
mantle.
This fifth part of the psalm is his statement of faith in Jehovah: “I know that You will do all things correctly” (vv. 26-29). There are key words in this section that can help us to learn from it. In verse 26, note the word “help.” This is the perfect word to use when you humble yourself and appeal to one who can “help”! In verse 27, note the word “that” (two times). This word points out purpose (such as, “in order that”). He has definite purposes in mind, and those purposes harmonize with the purposes of God. In verses 28 and 29, note the word “let” (five times). As it is used here, the word emphasizes that God is going to “let” the people who are involved on both sides of this situation make their own decisions—and “let” them “live” with the consequences of their decisions.
I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth;
Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.
For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor,
To save him from those who condemn him.
This final part of Psalm 109 is probably the basis of the whole poem: Truth will be honored and the LORD will be praised (vv. 30,31)! As he comes to the end, returns to two very important and often used points. He commits himself to praise God in all situations (v. 30), and he gives a reason (v. 31). The reason is that he believes completely in God’s ability to bring this whole thing to the best conclusion.
LESSONS FOR MY LIFE
Let us learn to take the difficult circumstances of life—including the situations when we are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness—before the Lord of glory. And let us not be ashamed to ask Him to act in wisdom toward those troublers who refuse to repent of the sins they are committing against the faithful (see Galatians 1:6-9; 5:7-12; 6:7,8; 2 Timothy 4:14,15).
At the same time, let us be certain that our response is not based in
anger, hate, or revenge. Let us treat all people the way we should—even
our persecutors.
— Skip Andrews
CLOTHING GIVE-AWAY:
A clothing give-away for the community is planned for Saturday, April 26.
We are asking our members to “clean out your closets” and bring clothing
you no longer wear to the pantry/clothes closet in the multi-purpose building
(downstairs). Please be sure the clothing is clean, in good repair,
and has no stains. At this time we are especially asking for spring
and summer clothing (we want to have another give-away in the fall for
winter clothing). We are also asking everyone to make a special effort
to fill our pantry shelves with non-perishable food for this event.
We also need your help to get the clothing sorted and sized. If you
can help or have questions, please see John or Prince Williams.
SPRING CLEANING:
We are planning a general cleaning of the building Saturday, May 3.
We need everyone’s help to “spruce up” our building. If you are unable
to be with us May 3, you can be assigned items that need cleaned, and you
may work on them the week before. There is a whiteboard
in the basement on which we ask you to write any cleaning or maintenance
item which you notice needs attention. If you have questions or plan
to help, please see Curt Davis.
GOSPEL MEETING: Our spring gospel meeting will be May 18-25. The theme is “how2bsaved.com.” We ask for your prayers as we reach out to our community to teach them “how to be saved.”
COVERED DISH DINNER:
Our monthly fellowship meal is planned for Sunday, March 30, following
morning services. Please plan to join us. Group 2 will host.
VOLUME 5:3 MARCH 30, 2003