Psalms 109

1 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent,

2 For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, Against me they have opened, They have spoken with me -- A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!

3 They have compassed me about, And they fight me without cause.

4 For my love they oppose me, and I -- prayer!

5 And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

6 Appoint Thou over him the wicked, And an adversary standeth at his right hand.

7 In his being judged, he goeth forth wicked, And his prayer is for sin.

8 His days are few, his oversight another taketh,

9 His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.

10 And wander continually do his sons, Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places.

11 An exactor layeth a snare for all that he hath, And strangers spoil his labour.

12 He hath none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favour to his orphans.

13 His posterity is for cutting off, In another generation is their name blotted out.

14 The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out.

15 They are before Jehovah continually, And He cutteth off from earth their memorial.

16 Because that he hath not remembered to do kindness, And pursueth the poor man and needy, And the smitten of heart -- to slay,

17 And he loveth reviling, and it meeteth him, And he hath not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him.

18 And he putteth on reviling as his robe, And it cometh in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones.

19 It is to him as apparel -- he covereth himself, And for a continual girdle he girdeth it on.

20 This [is] the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.

21 And Thou, O Jehovah Lord, Deal with me for Thy name's sake, Because Thy kindness [is] good, deliver me.

22 For I [am] poor and needy, And my heart hath been pierced in my midst.

23 As a shadow when it is stretched out I have gone, I have been driven away as a locust.

24 My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh hath failed of fatness.

25 And I -- I have been a reproach to them, They see me, they shake their head.

26 Help me, O Jehovah my God, Save me, according to Thy kindness.

27 And they know that this [is] Thy hand, Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast done it.

28 They revile, and Thou dost bless, They have risen, and are ashamed, And Thy servant doth rejoice.

29 Mine accusers put on blushing, and are covered, As an upper robe [is] their shame.

30 I thank Jehovah greatly with my mouth, And in the midst of many I praise Him,

31 For He standeth at the right hand of the needy, To save from those judging his soul.

Psalms 109 Commentary

Chapter 109

David complains of his enemies. (1-5) He prophesies their destruction. (6-20) Prayers and praises. (21-31)

1-5. 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.

Verses 6-20 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.

Verses 21-31 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.

Chapter Summary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, concerning Judas the betrayer of Christ, as is certain from Acts 1:16 hence it is used to be called by the ancients the Iscariotic psalm. Whether the occasion of it was the rebellion of Absalom, as some, or the persecution of Saul, as Kimchi; and whoever David might have in view particularly, whether Ahithophel, or Doeg the Edomite, as is most likely; yet it is evident that the Holy Ghost foresaw the sin of Judas, and prophesies of that, and of the ruin and misery that should come upon him; for the imprecations in this psalm are no other than predictions of future events, and so are not to be drawn into an example by men; nor do they breathe out anything contrary to the spirit of Christianity, but are proofs of it, since what is here predicted has been exactly accomplished. The title in the Syriac version is, "a psalm of David when they created Absalom king without his knowledge, and for this cause he was slain; but to us it expounds the sufferings of the Christ of God;" and indeed he is the person that is all along speaking in this psalm.