Psalm 109

My God, whom I praise,
    do not remain silent,
for people who are wicked and deceitful
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
With words of hatred they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.
They repay me evil for good,
    and hatred for my friendship.
Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
    and may his prayers condemn him.
May his days be few;
    may another take his place of leadership.
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.
May his children be wandering beggars;
    may they be driven from their ruined homes.
May a creditor seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity on his fatherless children.
May his descendants be cut off,
    their names blotted out from the next generation.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May their sins always remain before the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name from the earth.
For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy and the brokenhearted.
He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
He wore cursing as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,
    into his bones like oil.
May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil of me.
But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;
    out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
I fade away like an evening shadow;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees give way from fasting;
    my body is thin and gaunt.
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.
Help me, Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
Let them know that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
While they curse, may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
    in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
    to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

• Psalm 109:1-31

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Imprecatory psalms: Asking for vengeance against enemies.  From the two examples above, these requests for vengeance are usually not specific in how God does it.  I have written about this type of psalm or prayer in that they are legitimate requests to God.  We know that God will eventually stamp out all evil in the world.  Praying that God would do as He promises that He will eventually do is legitimate, but when a face is applied to that evil, our first reaction should be one of forgiveness and mercy.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“Whether David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, or upon occasion of some other trouble that was given him, is uncertain; and whether the particular enemy he prays against was Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or some other not mentioned in the story, we cannot determine; but it is certain that in penning it he had an eye to Christ, his sufferings and his persecutors, for that imprecation (ver. 8) is applied to Judas, Acts 1:20. The rest of the prayers here against his enemies were the expressions, not of passion, but of the Spirit of prophecy. I. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven of the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies and with it an appeal to the righteous God, ver. 1-5. II. He prays against his enemies, and devotes them to destruction, ver. 6-20. III. He prays for himself, that God would help and succour him in his low condition, ver. 21-29. IV. He concludes with a joyful expectation that God would appear for him, ver. 30, 31. In singing this psalm we must comfort ourselves with the believing foresight of the certain destruction of all the enemies of Christ and his church, and the certain salvation of all those that trust in God and keep close to him.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 109:17 “Curses were common in the ancient world. A curse is a formula of words that when recited or written is supposed to influence the course of another person’s life. A person who suspected that an enemy was using curses could reply with countercurses designed to resist the influence of the curse (Ps. 109:17).”

• Timothy B. Cargal, Chronological Study Bible

My Thoughts

This psalm is attributed to David.  Most of the first half of the Psalms are all psalms of David, but there are a scattering of others that are attributed to him.

The psalm is in the typical fashion of David’s laments, psalms of affliction.  It begins and ends with praised to God.

But unlike most of the psalms, the majority of the psalm between the beginning and end is imprecatory in nature.  He wants his enemies put on trial and justice served.  No one gets off on a technicality.

He asks God to make his enemies childless and ruin them financially.  While these things may seem petty, if there is no income to purchase the weapons of war, there is no war.  And without offspring, the population will dwindle until they do not have the manpower to wage war.  This may sound mean, but it is practical, and it does not harm the enemy directly.  Indirectly, yes.

The psalmist knows that God has His eyes on the poor and needy.  David’s enemies have been cruel to the poor and needy.  And they have spread lies about David.  For these things alone, David feels that God should be equally incensed.

May these enemies who hurl curses at Israel and David be cursed themselves.  May they be wrapped in their curse so that God always sees the troubles these enemies have caused.

Is there a call for genocide here?  In a way, yes, but not at the hands of man.  God can find a nation unworthy and completely eliminate them.  That is what the psalmist is requesting, but we are not God, and eliminating an enemy entirely is up to God, not us.

Psalm 110

The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”
The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
    “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.
The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
He will drink from a brook along the way,
    and so he will lift his head high.

• Psalm 110:1-7

Type of Psalm

Messianic psalms:  These psalms can be shown as being prophetic (or verses within the psalm) and the prophecy relates to the coming Messiah.  Oddly in the lists that follow, Psalm 22 is listed as a psalm of affliction and a prophetic psalm, but not as a Messianic psalm.  Yet, Jesus quotes from this psalm from the cross, the first verse, and there is language within the psalm that could relate to Christ’s suffering, but maybe the person creating the list thought the connection to Messianic prophecy was not strong enough.

Prophetic psalms: Prophetic psalms are those psalms containing prophecy that is not specifically Messianic prophecy.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm is pure gospel; it is only, and wholly, concerning Christ, the Messiah promised to the fathers and expected by them. It is plain that the Jews of old, even the worst of them, so understood it, however the modern Jews have endeavoured to pervert it and to rob us of it; for when the Lord Jesus proposed a question to the Pharisees upon the first words of this psalm, where he takes it for granted that David, in spirit, calls Christ his Lord though he was his Son, they chose rather to say nothing, and to own themselves gravelled, than to make it a question whether David does indeed speak of the Messiah or no; for they freely yield so plain a truth, though they foresee it will turn to their own disgrace, Matt. 22:41-46 Of him therefore, no doubt, the prophet here speaks of him and of no other man. Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, with reference both to his humiliation and his exaltation; and of each of these we have here an account. I. His prophetical office, ver. 2. II. His priestly office, ver. 4. III. His kingly office, ver. 1, 3, 5, 6. IV. His estates of humiliation and exaltation, ver. 7. In singing this psalm we must act faith upon Christ, submit ourselves entirely to him, to his grace and government, and triumph in him as our prophet, priest, and king, by whom we hope to be ruled, and taught, and saved, for ever, and as the prophet, priest, and king, of the whole church, who shall reign till he has put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and delivered up the kingdom to God the Father.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 110:4 ”Because the Christian has the Lord Himself dwelling within, the potential for inner strength (i.e. confidence) is unlimited. This explains why those who gave their lives for whatever righteous cause down through the ages did so with such courage. Often they were physically weak individuals, small in stature, but they refused to back down. Only the indwelling, empowering Christ can give someone that much confidence.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is attributed to David.  Most of the first half of the Psalms are all psalms of David, but there are a scattering of others that are attributed to him.

This entire psalm is a Messianic prophecy.  Some was fulfilled when Jesus dwelt among humankind.  But a few statements include other nations being crushed.  But Jesus is already at the right hand of God.

And, we can count on Jesus to be there for us.

Psalm 111

Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them the lands of other nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established for ever and ever,
    enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people;
    he ordained his covenant forever—
    holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.

• Psalm 111:1-10

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This and divers of the psalms that follow it seem to have been penned by David for the service of the church in their solemn feasts, and not upon any particular occasion. This is a psalm of praise. The title of it is ‘Hallelujah—Praise you the Lord,’” intimating that we must address ourselves to the use of this psalm with hearts disposed to praise God. It is composed alphabetically, each sentence beginning with a several letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order exactly, two sentences to each verse, and three a piece to the last two. The psalmist, exhorting to praise God, I. Sets himself for an example, ver. 1. II. Furnishes us with matter for praise from the works of God. 1. The greatness of his works and the glory of them. 2. The righteousness of them. 3. The goodness of them. 4. The power of them. 5. The conformity of them to his word of promise. 6. The perpetuity of them. These observations are intermixed, ver. 2-9. III. He recommends the holy fear of God, and conscientious obedience to his commands, as the most acceptable way of praising God, ver. 10.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 111:2 “’Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth.’ Let Your praise be according to the greatness of Your mercy. Ah, if we were to measure our devotion thus, with what ardor should we sing! The whole earth with its overhanging dome would seem too scant an orchestra, and all the faculties of an humankind too little for the hallelujah. Angels would be called in to aid us, and surely they would come. They will come in that day when the whole earth shall be filled with the praises of Jehovah. We long for the time when God shall be universally worshiped and His glory in the gospel shall be everywhere made known. This is a truly missionary prayer. David had none of the exclusiveness of the modern Jew or the narrow-heartedness of some nominal Christians. For God’s sake, that His glory might be everywhere revealed, he longed to see heaven and earth full of the divine praise. Amen, so let it be.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

Similar in style, Matthew Henry suggests that David might have written this one also.

Psalms 111 and 112 are complete acrostics, but they are also short.  To get all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in these psalms, the words appearing with the next letter appear in every half verse or more often.

This is a simple psalm of praise, without the acrostic.  It probably jumps around a bit due to the restrictions of the acrostic, but then again, there is a lot of reasons to praise God.

God does so much for us if we have eyes to see His works in our lives.  He has wonderful precepts.  When we can follow them, they work wonders, but the fact that they are outside our present reach is more reason to praise the God who is capable of that way of life.

This little psalm of ten verses uses a few attributes of God that directly relate to our relationship with God: compassion, grace, trustworthy, and faithful.  He has been doing things for us all along, and he will continue doing them until He brings us home.  Then, everything will be so much better.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 109

“1. How does this psalm square with Jesus’ attitude towards false persecution (see Mt 5:11-12)? Which verse of the psalm seems closest to his teaching?
“2. Have you ever been a victim in an intense conflict? What hurt did you sustain? What did you do with your feelings?
“3. Do you tend to feel guilty: (a) Too much? (b) Only when you’re wrong? (c) Not enough? (d) Even when it’s mostly someone else’s responsibility?
4. Are you responsible for your parents’ mistakes? Has God ‘visited’ the sins of the past generation on you and your family? What role does confession and self-awareness play?
“5. Peter saw verse 8 of this psalm fulfilled in Judas (see Ac 1:20). What does this psalm have to do with choosing an apostolic replacement for Judas? What irony do you see in Judas receiving this curse he intended for Jesus?
“6. How do you wrongly accuse yourself? How does the ‘accuser’ take over God’s place at your right hand? How can you let God have his rightful place there? Can the group help?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 110

“1. What point did Je­ sus make with this psalm (see Lk 20:41-44)? Who are the ‘two Lords’? The narrator?
“2. How did Jesus say nations would be judged (see Mt 25:31-46)? How do you think your country will fare?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 111

“1. How has God worked in your recent personal history? Can you think of any ‘works’ you could ponder?
“2. Try writing your own acrostic psalm, using the letters of the words WORKS, FEAR or WISDOM to start the lines.”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.