Psalm 109:1-16 NKJV
109 Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
2 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.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
5 Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
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 continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.
11 Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor 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 before the Lord,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
Psalm 109 is one of the imprecatory Psalms. That is, it is largely a prayer for God’s punishment against the wicked. These Psalms are especially instructive in today’s world, where Christianity is often seen as pure niceness, where Christians are taught that they’re just as guilty as everyone else, and, therefore, should forgive everyone for everything, no matter the circumstances. The Jesus of this false version of Christianity knows only mercy, never judgment.
But the Holy Spirit teaches a religion that includes judgment, that allows for the believer, in some cases, to seek vengeance on his enemies, not directly, but through prayer, asking for the Lord, the righteous Judge, to repay those who have intentionally caused us harm, without showing any hint of repentance.
Notice, this Psalm doesn’t deal with minor offenses. No, it deals with blatant lies and deceit, false accusations, and genuine contempt. David had experienced such treatment from Saul and from others. He had done good to them and treated them with love, and in return they had repaid him with relentless hatred.
But David’s life was a type or pattern of the life of Christ, the Son of David. Peter, in the book of Acts, applies this Psalm to Jesus and cites v.8 in reference to Judas (cf. Acts 1:20). Jesus was the ultimate “poor and needy man” who was shown no mercy by His accusers or betrayer (v.16). Yes, the same Jesus who prayed for those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), could also pray about those like Judas who sinned knowingly and without repentance, “When he is judged, let him be found guilty” (v.7).
Let us take great care never to show hatred toward our fellow Christian, or make his life miserable through false accusations and deceit, so that no one may have cause to pray this Psalm against us. Let us also learn from this Psalm to wait patiently for the Lord’s judgment. He will either bring those who mistreat us to repentance and faith, counting His Son’s punishment in place of their own, or He will pour out His wrath on the impenitent who dared to mistreat His beloved children. Let us pray: O God of our praise, do not keep silent! Deliver us from all who maliciously oppose us, and bring their actions down upon their heads if they will not repent. Amen.