Psalm One Hundred and Nine

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

Navigate to Verse

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

Psalm 109:1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

Hold not thy peace. Psalm 109 is one of the most aggressive of the imprecatory psalms (see notes on Psalm 5), with David praying earnestly for God's severe judgment on his enemies. This type of prayer should be viewed not in terms of desired vengeance on an enemy because of his treatment of the injured person, but rather in terms of the anti-God motivation leading to such enmity. Note Psalm 109:4: “For my love [that is, 'my love of God'] they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.” We should not take vengeance of our own on our enemies, even those who are first of all God's enemies, but commit such vengeance to God in prayer. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). “For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul” (Psalm 109:31).

Psalm 109:2 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.

Psalm 109:3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

Psalm 109:4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

Psalm 109:5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

Psalm 109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

Psalm 109:7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

prayer become sin. There are occasions when praying is sinful hypocrisy. Note Joshua 7:10, 11; Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9; Matthew 23:14, for example.

Psalm 109:8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

another take his office. This particular imprecation was specifically carried out in the case of Judas (Acts 1:20).

Psalm 109:9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Psalm 109:10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Psalm 109:11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

Psalm 109:12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

Psalm 109:13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

Psalm 109:14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Psalm 109:15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Psalm 109:16 Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

Psalm 109:17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

Psalm 109:18 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.