Psalm 109 commentary

PSALM 109 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "To The Chief Musician. Intended therefore to be sung, and sung in
the temple service! Yet is it by no means easy to imagine the whole nation singing
such dreadful imprecations. We ourselves, at any rate, under the gospel
dispensation, find it very difficult to infuse into the Psalm a gospel sense, or a sense
at all compatible with the Christian spirit; and therefore one would think the Jews
must have found it hard to chant such strong language without feeling the spirit of
revenge excited; and the arousal of that spirit could never have been the object of
divine worship in any period of timeâ€”under law or under gospel. At the very
outset this title shows that the Psalm has a meaning with which it is fitting for men
of God to have fellowship before the throne of the Most High: but what is that
meaning? This is a question of no small difficulty, and only a very childlike spirit
will ever be able to answer it.
A Psalm of David. ot therefore the ravings of a vicious misanthrope, or the
execrations of a hot, revengeful spirit. David would not smite the man who sought
his blood, he frequently forgave those who treated him shamefully; and therefore
these words cannot be read in a bitter, revengeful sense, for that would be foreign to
the character of the son of Jesse. The imprecatory sentences before us were penned
by one who with all his courage in battle was a man of music and of tender heart,
and they were meant to be addressed to God in the form of a Psalm, and therefore
they cannot possibly have been meant to be mere angry cursing.
Unless it can be proved that the religion of the old dispensation was altogether hard,
morose, and Draconian, and that David was of a malicious, vindictive spirit, it
cannot be conceived that this Psalm contains what one author has ventured to call
"a pitiless hate, a refined and insatiable malignity." To such a suggestion we cannot
give place, no, not for an hour. But what else can we make of such strong language?
Truly this is one of the hard places of Scripture, a passage which the soul trembles
to read; yet as it is a Psalm unto God, and given by inspiration, it is not ours to sit in
judgment upon it, but to bow our ear to what God the Lord would speak to us
therein.
This psalm refers to Judas, for so Peter quoted it; but to ascribe its bitter
denunciations to our Lord in the hour of his sufferings is more than we dare to do.
These are not consistent with the silent Lamb of God, who opened not his mouth
when led to the slaughter. It may seem very pious to put such words into his mouth;

we hope it is our piety which prevents our doing so. (See our first note from
Perowne in the Explanatory otes and Quaint Sayings.)
DIVISIO . In the first five verses (Psalms 109:1-5) David humbly pleads with God
that he may be delivered from his remorseless and false hearted enemies. From
Psalms 109:6-20, filled with a prophetic fervour, which carries him entirely beyond
himself, he denounces judgment upon his foes, and then from Psalms 109:21-31 he
returns to his communion with God in prayer and praise. The central portion of the
Psalm in which the difficulty lies must be regarded not as the personal wish of the
psalmist in cool blood, but as his prophetic denunciation of such persons as he
describes, and emphatically of one special "son of perdition" whom he sees with
prescient eye. We would all pray for the conversion of our worst enemy, and David
would have done the same; but viewing the adversaries of the Lord, and doers of
iniquity, As Such, and as incorrigible we cannot wish them well; on the contrary, we
desire their overthrow, and destruction. The gentlest hearts burn with indignation
when they hear of barbarities to women and children, of crafty plots for ruining the
innocent, of cruel oppression of helpless orphans, and gratuitous ingratitude to the
good and gentle. A curse upon the perpetrators of the atrocities in Turkey may not
be less virtuous than a blessing upon the righteous. We wish well to all mankind,
and for that very reason we sometimes blaze with indignation against the inhuman
wretches by whom every law which protects our fellow creatures is trampled down,
and every dictate of humanity is set at nought.
ELLICOTT, "The peculiar horror of the imprecations in this extraordinary psalm
does not lie in the dreadful consequences they invoke. Shakespeare puts curses
equally fierce and terrible into Timon’s mouth:
“Piety, and fear,
Religion to the gods, peace, justice, truth,
Domestic awe, night-rest, and neighbourhood,
Instruction, manners, mysteries, and trades,
Degrees, observances, customs, and laws,
Decline to your confounding contraries,
And let confusion live!”
or is this horror due to the fact, assuming it to be a fact, that these imprecations
are not general in their direction, like the misanthrope’s curses, but are levelled at a
single individual, for the passions of revenge and hatred intensify by contraction of
their range. The whole difficulty of the psalm lies in the fact that it was, as the
inscription shows, actually, if not primarily, intended for use in the public service of
the sanctuary.

But this very use at once divests the psalm of one of the greatest sources of difficulty,
its personal character. Whatever its origin, whoever the original object of the
imprecations, it is certain that they became public, ecclesiastical, national.
It is quite possible that from the first the writer spoke in the name of the persecuted
nation against some oppressive heathen prince, such as Antiochus Epiphanes.
Certainly, when sung by the congregation it expressed not an individual longing for
revenge, but all the pent-up feeling—religious abhorrence, patriotic hatred, moral
detestation—of the suffering community.
The continuance of its recitation in Christian churches opens up another question,
and has, in a great measure, been the motive for the various apologetic explanations
that have been started for the psalm. It is strange that even yet the old theory, which
justifies the language of the imprecations as prophetically the language of Christ,
should find advocates. The “quotation” theory is noticed in the otes. On the
quotation of the imprecations by St. Peter, see otes, ew Testament Commentary,
Acts 1:20-21. The parallelism is synthetic.
COKE, "Title. ‫למנצח‬ ‫לדוד‬ ‫מזמור‬ lamnatseach ledavid mizmor.— There is no doubt
that this psalm was composed by David; but whether when he was persecuted by
Saul and calumniated by Doeg (see 1 Samuel 26:19.), or whether at the time of
Absalom's rebellion, is uncertain. Several of the Jewish, interpreters think the
former; though the Syriac translators understood it of the latter; if so, it refers to
the traitor Ahithophel, who, in a fit of despair, went and hanged himself, 2 Samuel
17:23. In this last circumstance, he answers most exactly. But certain it is, that either
Doeg or Ahithophel was a fit type and representative of the traitor Judas; who,
without all question, was prophetically intended in this psalm, for so St. Peter
expounds it, Acts 1:26. If therefore we consider it in its first sense as relating to one
of them, yet in its principal and prophetic sense it refers to Judas and the
persecutors of our Lord; against whom the Psalmist denounces the most dreadful
judgments. And in this sense the curses, as they are called, can give no offence to
any well-disposed mind; for in reality they are mere prophetic denunciations, and in
that view should be translated throughout in the future, as we have had occasion to
observe more than once before. To this effect Theodoret observes well, that, though
our Saviour commands us to bless our persecutors, no one should think this
prophesy repugnant to that command: for the Psalmist does not speak here by way
of imprecation, but foretels the future punishment which should attend Judas and
the unmerciful Jews who betrayed and persecuted Christ.

1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
BAR ES,"Hold not thy peace - That is, Speak for my defense - as if God had
looked with unconcern on the wrongs which were done to him. See the notes at Psa_
83:1.
O God of my praise - The God whom I praise; whom I worship and adore. It implies
that he was accustomed to praise him, and desired still to praise him. He sought that
God would interpose now that he might have new occasion for praise.
CLARKE, "Hold not thy peace - Be not silent; arise and defend my cause.
GILL, "Hold not thy peace,.... Or be not as a deaf or dumb man, or like one that
turns a deaf ear and will give no answer; so the Lord seems to his people when he does
not give an immediate answer to their prayers, and does not arise to help them; he seems
to have forsaken them, and to stand at a distance from them; nor does he avenge them of
their enemies; it is the Messiah, as man, that puts up this petition, and it agrees with
Psa_22:2.
O God of my praise; worthy of all praise, because of the perfections of his nature, and
for the mercies he bestows; and is and ought to be the constant object of the praise of his
people, and was the object of the praise of Christ; see Psa_22:22, who praised him for
his wonderful formation as man, having such a holy human nature, so suitable to his
divine Person, and so fit for the service of his people; for his preservation from his
enemies, and the deliverance of him from death and the grave, by his resurrection; for
hearing his petitions, and for the special grace bestowed on his people; see Psa_139:14.
Or, "O God of my glorying (w)"; in whom he gloried, of whom he boasted; as he often
with exultation spoke of him as his God and Father: or, "the God that praises me"; for
his praise was not of men, but of God, who by a voice from heaven declared him his
beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased, Mat_3:17.
HE RY, "It is the unspeakable comfort of all good people that, whoever is against
them, God is for them, and to him they may apply as to one that is pleased to concern
himself for them. Thus David here.
I. He refers himself to God's judgment (Psa_109:1): “Hold not thy peace, but let my
sentence come forth from thy presence, Psa_17:2. Delay not to give judgment upon the
appeal made to thee.” God saw what his enemies did against him, but seemed to connive
at it, and to keep silence: “Lord,” says he, “do not always do so.” The title he gives to God
is observable: “O God of my praise! the God in whom I glory, and not in any wisdom or
strength of my own, from whom I have every thing that is my praise, or the God whom I

have praised, and will praise, and hope to be for ever praising.” He had before called God
the God of his mercy (Psa_59:10), here he calls him the God of his praise. Forasmuch as
God is the God of our mercies we must make him the God of our praises; if all is of him
and from him, all must be to him and for him.
JAMISO , "Psa_109:1-31. The writer complains of his virulent enemies, on whom
he imprecates God’s righteous punishment, and to a prayer for a divine interposition in
his behalf appends the expression of his confidence and a promise of his praises. This
Psalm is remarkable for the number and severity of its imprecations. Its evident typical
character (compare Psa_109:8) justifies the explanation of these already given, that as
the language of David respecting his own enemies, or those of Christ, it has respect not
to the penitent, but to the impenitent and implacable foes of good men, and of God and
His cause, whose inevitable fate is thus indicated by inspired authority.
God of my praise — its object, thus recognizing God as a certain helper. Be not
silent (compare Psa_17:13; Psa_28:1).
K&D 1-5, "A sign for help and complaints of ungrateful persecutors form the
beginning of the Psalm. “God of my praise” is equivalent to God, who art my praise, Jer_
17:14, cf. Deu_10:21. The God whom the Psalmist has hitherto had reason to praise will
also now show Himself to him as worthy to be praised. Upon this faith he bases the
prayer: be not silent (Psa_28:1; Psa_35:22)! A mouth such as belongs to the “wicked,” a
mouth out of which comes “deceit,” have they opened against him; they have spoken
with him a tongue (accusative, vid., on Psa_64:6), i.e., a language, of falsehood. ‫י‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ְ‫ב‬ ִ of
things and utterances as in Psa_35:20. It would be capricious to take the suffix of ‫י‬ ִ‫ת‬ ָ‫ב‬ ֲ‫ה‬ ֽፍ
in Psa_109:4 as genit. object. (love which they owe me), and in Psa_109:5 as genit.
subject.; from Psa_38:21 it may be seen that the love which he has shown to them is also
meant in Psa_109:4. The assertion that he is “prayer” is intended to say that he,
repudiating all revenges of himself, takes refuge in God in prayer and commits his cause
into His hands. They have loaded him with evil for good, and hatred for the love he has
shown to them. Twice he lays emphasis on the fact that it is love which they have
requited to him with its opposite. Perfects alternate with aorists: it is no enmity of
yesterday; the imprecations that follow presuppose an inflexible obduracy on the side of
the enemies.
BI, 1-31, "Hold not Thy peace, O God of my praise.
A song of imprecation
I. The misdeeds of the wicked (Psa_109:1-5).
II. The imprecation of wrath (verses 6-20).
III. The cry for mercy (Psa_109:21-25). “The thunder and lightning are now followed by
deep, sorrowful complaint like a flood of tears.”
IV. The display of the Divine righteousness (Psa_109:26-31). In this concluding strophe
the cry for help is renewed, together with a confident assurance of being answered. The
suppliant asks relief in such way as to show that it came from God’s own hand. God’s
blessing is set in sharp contrast with men’s cursing. The efforts of the ungodly shall end
in disappointment and shame, but the Lord’s servant will only rejoice. This deliverance
will call forth his thanks, which will not be private, but expressed in the presence of a

multitude. (T. W. Chambers, D. D.)
CALVI , "1O God of my praise! be not silent In these words, which may be
considered as an introduction to the psalm, David declares that he neither could
find nor would desire any other than God to stand forward in vindication of the
integrity of his heart. For in denominating him the God of his praise, he intrusts to
him the vindication of his innocence, in the face of the calumnies by which he was all
but universally assailed. Some are of opinion that this clause is to be understood as
referring to David’s having actually declared that he himself was the publisher of
God’s praises; but the scope of the passage is opposed to such an interpretation; for
we find David appealing to the judgment of God against the unjust and cruel hatred
to which he was subjected in the world. There is in the words an implied contrast,
because, when calumny is rampant, innocence is duly and properly estimated by
none but God only. The meaning of the passage is this: Lord, although I may be
regarded as the vilest of the vile, and exposed to the reproach of the world, yet thou
wilt maintain the uprightness of my character, and on this account thou wilt also set
forth my praise. (295) This interpretation corresponds well with that which is
immediately subjoined, be not silent For when we are overwhelmed by the
aspersions of the wicked, it would surely be improper on the part of God, who is the
witness of our innocence, to remain silent. At the same time, what I formerly stated
must not be forgotten, that while David mourns over the injuries which he in
particular was suffering, yet, in his own person, he represented Christ, and the
whole body of his Church. From this we are taught, when we are subjected to every
species of indignity by men, to repose with perfect confidence under the protection
of God alone. o man, however, can, with sincerity of heart, surrender himself
entirely into the hand of God, except he has first formed the resolution of treating
with contempt the reproaches of the world, and is also fully persuaded that he has
God as the defender of his cause.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Hold not thy peace. Mine enemies speak, be thou pleased to
speak too. Break thy solemn silence, and silence those who slander me. It is the cry
of a man whose confidence in God is deep, and whose communion with him is very
close and bold. ote, that he only asks the Lord to speak: a word from God is all a
believer needs.
O God of my praise. Thou whom my whole soul praises, be pleased to protect my
honour and guard my praise. "My heart is fixed", said he in the former psalm, "I
will sing and give praise", and now he appeals to the God whom he had praised. If
we take care of God's honour he will take care of ours. We may look to him as the
guardian of our character if we truly seek his glory. If we live to God's praise, he
will in the long run give us praise among men.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Whole Psalm. Mysterious was the one word written opposite this psalm in the
pocket Bible of a late devout and popular writer. It represents the utter perplexity
with which it is very generally regarded. â€”Joseph Hammond.

Whole Psalm. In this psalm David is supposed to refer to Doeg the Edomite, or to
Ahithophel. It is the most imprecatory of the psalms, and may well be termed the
Iscariot Psalm. What David here refers to his mortal enemy, finds its
accomplishment in the betrayer of the Son of David. It is from the 8th verse that
Peter infers the necessity of filling up the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judas:
it was, says he, predicted that another should take his office. â€”Paton J. Gloag, in
"A Commentary on the Acts, "1870.
Whole Psalm. We may consider Judas, at the same time, as the virtual head of the
Jewish nation in their daring attempt to dethrone the Son of God. The doom
pronounced, and the reasons for it, apply to the Jews as a nation, as well as to the
leader of the band who took Jesus. â€”Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. Is it possible that this perplexing and distressing Psalm presents us
after all, not with David's maledictions upon his enemies, but with their
maledictions upon him? ot only do I hold this interpretation to be quite legitimate,
I hold it to be by far the more natural and reasonable interpretation. â€”Joseph
Hammond.
(In Dr. Cox's Expositor, Vol. 2. pg 225, this theory is well elaborated by Mr.
Hammond, but we cannot for an instant accept it. â€”C.H.S.
The Imprecations of the Psalm. The language has been justified, not as the language
of David, but as the language of Christ, exercising his office of Judge, or, in so far as
he had laid aside that office during his earthly life, calling upon his Father to
accomplish the curse. It has been alleged that this is the prophetic foreshadowing of
the solemn words, "Woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It had
been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24). The curse in the
words of Chrysostom is, "a prophecy in the form of a curse", (profhteia en eidei
arav).
The strain which such a view compels us to put on much of the language ought to
have led long since to its abandonment. ot even the words denounced by our Lord
against the Pharisees can really be compared to the anathemas which are here
strung together. Much less is there any pretence for saying that those words so full
of deep and holy sorrow, addressed to the traitor in the gospels, are merely another
expression of the appalling denunciations of the psalm. But terrible as these
undoubtedly are, to be accounted for by the spirit of the Old Dispensation, not to be
defended by that of the ew, still let us learn to estimate them aright. â€”J.J.
Stewart Perowne.
The Imprecations. These imprecations are not appropriate in the mouth of the
suffering Saviour. It is not the spirit of Zion but of Sinai which here speaks out of
the mouth of David; the spirit of Elias, which, according to Lu 9:58, is not the spirit
of the ew Testament. This wrathful spirit is overpowered by the spirit of love. But
these anathemas are still not on this account so many beatings of the air. There is in
them a divine energy, as in the blessing and cursing of every man who is united to
God, and more especially of a man whose temper of mind is such as David's. They
possess the same power as the prophetical threatenings, and in this sense they are
regarded in the ew Testament as fulfilled in the son of perdition (John 17:12). To
the generation of the time of Jesus they were a deterrent warning not to offend
against the Holy One of God, and this Psalmus Ischarioticus (Acts 1:20) will ever be
such a mirror of warning to the enemies and persecutors of Christ and his church. â

€”Franz Delitzsch.
The Imprecations. Respecting the imprecations contained in this psalm, it will be
proper to keep in mind what I have said elsewhere, that when David forms such
maledictions, or expresses his desire for them, he is not instigated by any
immoderate carnal propensity, nor is he actuated by zeal without knowledge, nor is
he influenced by any private personal considerations. These three matters must be
carefully weighed, for in proportion to the amount of self esteem which a man
possesses, is he so enamoured with his own interests as to rush headlong upon
revenge. Hence it comes to pass that the more a person is devoted to selfishness, he
will be the more immoderately addicted to advancement of his own individual
interests. This desire for the promotion of personal interest gives birth to another
species of vice: for no one wishes to be avenged upon his enemies because such a
thing would be right and equitable, but because it is the means of gratifying his own
spiteful propensity. Some, indeed, make a pretext of righteousness and equity in the
matter; but the spirit of malignity, by which they are inflamed, effaces every trace of
justice, and blinds their minds.
When the two vices, selfishness and carnality, are corrected, there is still another
thing demanding correction: we must repress the ardour of foolish zeal, in order
that we may follow the Spirit of God as our guide. Should any one, under the
influence of perverse zeal, produce David as an example of it, that would not be an
example in point; for to such a person may be very aptly applied the answer which
Christ returned to his disciples, "Ye know not what spirit ye are of", Lu 9:55. How
detestable a piece of sacrilege is it on the part of the monks, and especially the
Franciscan friars, to pervert this psalm by employing it to countenance the most
nefarious purposes! If a man harbour malice against a neighbour, it is quite a
common thing for him to engage one of these wicked wretches to curse him, which
he would do by daily repeating this psalm. I know a lady in France who hired a
parcel of these friars to curse her own and only son in these words. But I return to
David, who, free from all inordinate passion, breathed forth his prayers under the
influence of the Holy Spirit. â€”John Calvin.
The imprecations. It is possible, as Tholuck thinks, that in some of the utterances in
what are called the vindictive psalms, especially the imprecations in Psalms 109:1-
31, unholy personal zeal may have been mingled with holy zeal, as was the case
seemingly with the two disciples James and John, when the Lord chided their desire
for vengeance (Lu 9:54-56). But, in reality, the feeling expressed in these psalms may
well be considered as virtuous anger, such as Bishop Butler explains and justifies in
his sermons on "Resentment and the Forgiveness of Injuries", and such as Paul
teaches in Ephesians 4:26, "Be ye angry, and sin not." Anger against sin and a
desire that evildoers may be punished, are not opposed to the spirit of the gospel, or
to that love of enemies which our Lord both enjoined and exemplified. If the
emotion or its utterance were essentially sinful, how could Paul wish the enemy of
Christ and the perverter of the gospel to be accursed (anayema, 1 Corinthians 16:22,
Galatians 1:8); and especially, how could the spirit of the martyred saints in heaven
call on God for vengeance (Revelation 6:10), and join to celebrate its final execution
(Revelation 19:1-6)? Yea, resentment against the wicked is so far from being
necessarily sinful, that we find it manifested by the Holy and Just One himself, when
in the days of his flesh he looked around on his hearers "with anger, being grieved

for the hardness of their hearts" (Mr 3:5); and when in "the great day of his wrath"
(Revelation 6:17), he shall say to "all workers of iniquity" (Lu 13:27), "Depart from
me, ye cursed" (Matthew 25:41). â€”Benjamin Davies (1814-1875), in Kitto's
Cyclopaedia.
Imprecations. It is true that this vengeance is invoked on the head of the betrayer of
Christ: and we may profit by reading even the severest of the passages when we
regard them as dictated by a burning zeal for the honour of Jehovah, a righteous
indignation and a jealousy of love, and generally, if not universally, as denunciations
of just judgment against the obstinate enemies of Christ, and all who obey not the
Gospel of God. At the same time, these passages cannot be fully accounted for
without a frank recognition of the fact that the Psalter was conceived and written
under the Old Covenant. That dispensation was more stern than ours. God's people
had with all other peoples a conflict with sword and spear. They wanted to tread
down their enemies, to crush the heathen; and thought it a grand religious triumph
for a righteous man to wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Ps 8:10 68:23. ow
the struggle is without carnal weapons, and the tone of the dispensation is changed.
â€”Donald Fraser. 1873.
Imprecations. Imprecations of judgment on the wicked on the hypothesis their
continued impenitence are not inconsistent with simultaneous efforts of to bring
them to repentance; and Christian charity itself can do no more than labour for the
sinner's conversion. The law of holiness requires us to pray for the fires of divine
retribution: the law of love to seek meanwhile to rescue the brand from the burning.
The last prayer of the martyr Stephen was answered not by any general averting of
doom from a guilty nation, but by the conversion of an individual persecutor to the
service of God. â€”Joseph Francis Thrupp.
Imprecations. That explanation which regards the "enemies" as spiritual foes has a
large measure of truth. It commended itself to a mind so far removed from
mysticism as Arnold's. It is most valuable for devout private use of the Psalter. For,
though we are come to Mount Sion, crested with the eternal calm, the opened ear
can hear the thunder rolling along the peaks of Sinai. In the Gospel, the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Sin is
utterly hateful to God. The broad gates are flung wide open of the city that lies
foursquare towards all the winds of heaven; for its ruler is divinely tolerant. But
there shall in no wise enter it anything that defileth, neither whatever worketh
abomination; for he is divinely intolerant too. And thus when, in public or private,
we read these Psalms of imprecation, there is a lesson that comes home to us. We
must read them, or dishonour God's word. Reading them, we must depart from sin,
or pronounce judgment upon ourselves. Drunkenness, impurity, hatred, every
known sin of flesh or spiritâ€”these, and not mistaken men, are the worst enemies of
God and of his Christ. Against these we pray in our Collects for Peace at Morning
and Evening prayerâ€”"Defend us in all assaults of our enemies, that by thee we
being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and
quietness." These were the dark hosts which swept through the Psalmist's vision
when he cried, "Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed", Psalms 6:10. â€”
William Alexander, in "The Witness of the Psalms to Christ and Christianity",
1877.
Imprecations. â€”I cannot forbear the following little incident that occurred the

other morning at family worship. I happened to be reading one of the imprecatory
psalms, and as I paused to remark, my little boy, a lad of ten years, asked with some
earnestness: "Father, do you think it right for a good man to pray for the
destruction of his enemies like that?" and at the same time referred me to Christ as
praying for his enemies. I paused a moment to know how to shape the reply so as to
fully meet and satisfy his enquiry, and then said, "My son, if an assassin should
enter the house by night, and murder your mother, and then escape, and the sheriff
and citizens were all out in pursuit, trying to catch him, would you not pray to God
that they might succeed and arrest him, and that he might be brought to justice?"
"Oh, yes!" said he, "but I never saw it so before. I did not know that that was the
meaning of these Psalms." "Yes", said I, "my son, the men against whom David
plays were bloody men, men of falsehood and crime, enemies to the peace of society,
seeking his own life, and unless they were arrested and their wicked devices
defeated, many innocent persons must suffer." The explanation perfectly satisfied
his mind. â€”F.G. Hibbard, in "The Psalms chronologically arranged", 1856.
Title. It is worth noting, that the superscription, to the chief Musician, to the
precentor (xunml), proves it to have been designed, such as it is, for the Tabernacle
or Temple service of song. â€”Joseph Hammond, in "The Expositor", 1875.
Title. Syriac inscription. The verbs of the Hebrew text through nearly the whole of
the imprecatory part of this Psalm are read in the singular number, as if some
particular subject were signified by the divine prophet. But our translators always
change the verbs into the plural number; which is not done by the Seventy and the
other translators, who adhere more closely to the Hebrew text. But without doubt
this has arisen, because the Syriac Christians explain this Psalm of the sufferings of
Christ, which may be understood from the Syriac inscription of this Psalm, and
which in Polyglottis Angl. reads thus: â€”"Of David: when they made Absalom
king, be not knowing: and on account of this he was killed. But to us it sets forth the
sufferings of Christ." For this reason all these imprecations are transferred to the
enemies or murderers of Jesus Christ. â€”John Augustus Dathe, 1731-1791.
Ver. 1. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise. All commendation or manifestation
of our innocence is to be sought from God when we are assailed with calumnies on
all sides. When God is silent, we should cry all the more strongly; nor should we
because of such delay despair of help, nor impatiently cease from praying. â€”
Martin Geier.
Ver. 1. Hold not thy peace. How appropriately this phrase is applied to God, with
whom to speak is the same as to do; for by his word he made all things. Rightly,
therefore, is he said to be silent when he seems not to notice the things which are
done by the wicked, and patiently bears with their malice. The Psalmist begs him to
rise up and speak with the wicked in his wrath, and thus take deserved vengeance
on them; which is as easy for him to do as for an angry man to break forth in words
of rebuke and blame. This should be to us a great solace against the wickedness of
this last age, which God, our praise, can restrain with one little word. â€”Wolfgang
Musculus.
Ver. 1. O God. As the most innocent and holy servants of God are subject to heavy
slanders and false calumnies raised against them, so the best remedy and relief in
this case is to go to God, as here the Psalmist doth. â€”David Dickson.
Ver. 1. God of my praise. Thou, who art the constant object of my praise and

thanksgiving, Jeremiah 17:14. â€”William Keatinge Clay.
Ver. 1. O God of my praise. In denominating him the God of his praise, he intrusts
to him the vindication of his innocence, in the face of the calumnies by which he was
all but universally assailed. â€”John Calvin.
Ver. 1. The God of MY praise. Give me leave, in order to expound it the better, to
expostulate. What, David, were there no saints but thyself that gave praise to God?
Why dost thou then seem to appropriate and engross God unto thyself, as the God
of thy praise, as if none praised him else but thee? It is because his soul had devoted
all the praise he was able to bestow on any, unto the Lord alone; as whom he had set
himself to praise, and praise alone. As of a beloved son we use to say, "the son of my
love." And further, it is as if he had said, If I had all the ability of all the spirits of
men and angels wherewith to celebrate him, I would bestow them all on him, he is
the God of my praise. And as he was David's, so he should be ours. â€”Thomas
Goodwin.
ELLICOTT, "(1) God of my praise.—That is, God to whom as covenant God it was
a privilege to make tehillah. (See Deuteronomy 10:20-21, where Jehovah is said to be
“the praise” of those who “swear by His name.” Comp. also Psalms 106:2-3, and
ote, and Psalms 33:1. Perhaps “God of my glory or boast” would more nearly give
the force of the original. The psalmist prays that Jehovah’s silence may not make his
confident glorifying in the covenant promises vain.
BE SO , ". Hold not thy peace — Do not neglect me, but take notice of my extreme
danger and misery, and let my sentence come forth from thy presence, Psalms 17:2.
Delay not to give judgment upon the appeal made to thee. O God of my praise —
The author and matter of all my praises: in whom I glory, and not in any wisdom or
strength of my own: who hast given me continual occasion to praise thee; whom I
have praised, and will praise while I live, and hope to praise to all eternity.
COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 109
THE MOST TERRIBLE PSALM I THE WHOLE PSALTER
We do not intend the title we have given this psalm to be disrespectful or critical. It
is only that the bitter imprecations of this psalm appear to us as wholly antithetical
to the true spirit of Christianity.
There was certainly a glimpse of this same bitter spirit that appeared in the lives of
two of the blessed apostles, namely, "The Sons of Thunder," that is, "Boanerges"
(Mark 3:17). These, of course, were James and John the sons of Zebedee.
The glimpse referred to is recorded in Luke 9:52ff. The apostles went before Jesus
into a village of the Samaritans to prepare the way for Jesus, but the Samaritans did
not receive him. James and John immediately asked, "Lord wilt thou that we bid
fire come down from heaven and consume them?" However, Jesus turned and
rebuked them, and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son

of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:55,56 KJV). In
the light of what Jesus said on that occasion, we cannot believe that our Lord would
have concurred in the bitter imprecations of this psalm.
As Addis said, "These are further from the spirit of Christianity than anything else
in the whole Psalter."[1] Kidner cautioned us that, "These things are written for our
learning, not for our imitation."[2]
All kinds of devices have been proposed by which scholars attempt to soften the
bitterness of these words. We shall enumerate some of these, none of which appear
to us as acceptable interpretations: (a) Rhodes understood the "enemies of the
psalmist" to be the speakers in Psalms 109:21-31, not the psalmist.[3] (b) Jones
speaks of those who consider the psalm a prophetic depiction of the maledictions
heaped upon Christ by his enemies, and (c) of those who attribute the imprecations
as the words of Christ, instead of the words of David.[4] (d) Chrysostom stated that,
"The imprecations are a prophecy in the form of a curse."[5]
"All such devices," as Maclaren said, "Are too obviously makeshifts. It is far better
to recognize the discordance between the temper of the psalmist and that enjoined
by Christ than to try to cover it over."[6]
That there is indeed an impassable gulf between the spirit of the Old Testament and
that of ew Testament was categorically stated by Christ himself, touching on this
very point of one's attitude toward his enemies.
"Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine
enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute
you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:43-45).
According to the superscription, this is "A Psalm of David"; and there is no
dependable information that casts any doubt on it. Rawlinson judged this
assignment to be "not inappropriate,"[7] also suggesting that the enemies here
imprecated might have been Saul, Doeg, Ahithophel, or Shimei, along with their
retainers and followers.
The date of the psalm, therefore, must have been at some point during the life of
David, certainly not in the vicinity of 80 B.C. (according to Addis). The psalm was
included in the LXX version about 250 B.C.
There are three divisions of the psalm. (1) A description of David's enemies (Psalms
109:1-5); (2) a prayer for the punishment of those who had wronged him, citing
especially one of them (Psalms 109:6-20); and (3) a prayer for the sufferer's own
deliverance, including a promise of thanksgiving (Psalms 109:21-31).
Psalms 109:1-5
DESCRIPTIO OF DAVID'S E EMIES

"Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
For the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me:
They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.
They have compassed me about with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
For my love they are my adversaries:
But I give myself unto prayer.
And they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love."
The enemies of David are described here as deceitful liars (Psalms 109:1-2). They
are wicked men who hate him (Psalms 109:2-3). They are carrying on a vendetta
against him and are returning hatred for his love, rewarding him evil for the good
he has done them (Psalms 109:4-5).
CO STABLE, "Verses 1-31
Psalm 109
This individual lament is one of the imprecatory psalms in which the writer called
on God to avenge his enemies (cf. Psalm 3:7; Psalm 5:10; Psalm 6:10; Psalm 7:14-16;
Psalm 28:4-5; Psalm 31:17-18; Psalm 37:2; Psalm 37:9-10; Psalm 37:15; Psalm
37:20; Psalm 37:35-36; Psalm 40:14-15; Psalm 54:5; Psalm 55:9; Psalm 55:15; Psalm
55:23; Psalm 59:12-13; Psalm 63:9-11; Psalm 64:7-9; Psalm 71:13; Psalm 79:6;
Psalm 79:12; Psalm 139:19-22; Psalm 140:9-10). [ ote: See Day, "The Imprecatory .
. .," pp176-80.]
"Whereas Psalm 88 is preoccupied with the absence and silence of God, Psalm 109 is
concerned for vindictiveness toward other human beings who have seriously
violated the speaker. I group them together because I believe the two psalms
embody the main problems of Christian faith: the problem of trusting a God who
seems not available, and the problem of caring for a neighbor who is experienced as
enemy." [ ote: Brueggemann, p81.]
EBC, "THIS is the last and the most terrible of the imprecatory psalms. Its central
portion (Psalms 109:6-20) consists of a series of wishes, addressed to God, for the
heaping of all miseries on the heads of one "adversary" and of all his kith and kin.
These maledictions are enclosed in prayers, which make the most striking contrast
to them; Psalms 109:1-5 being the plaint of a loving soul, shrinkingly conscious of an
atmosphere of hatred, and appealing gently to God; while Psalms 109:21-31

expatiate in the presentation to Him of the suppliant’s feebleness and cries for
deliverance, but barely touch on the wished for requital of enemies. The
combination of devout meekness and trust with the fiery imprecations in the core of
the psalm is startling to Christian consciousness, and calls for an effort of
"historical imagination" to deal with it fairly. The attempts to attenuate the
difficulty, either by making out that the wishes are not wishes, but prophecies of the
fate of evildoers, or that Psalms 109:6-20 are the psalmist’s quotation of his enemies’
wishes about him, or that the whole is Messianic prediction of the fate of Judas or of
the enemies of the Christ, are too obviously makeshifts. It is far better to recognise
the discordance between the temper of the psalmist and that enjoined by Christ
than to try to cover it over. Our Lord Himself has signalised the difference between
His teaching and that addressed to "them of old time" on the very point of
forgiveness of enemies, and we are but following His guidance when we recognise
that the psalmist’s mood is distinctly inferior to that which has now become the law
for devout men.
Divine retribution for evil was the truth of the Old Testament, as forgiveness is that
of the ew. The conflict between God’s kingdom and its enemies was being keenly
and perpetually waged, in most literal fashion.
Devout men could not but long for the triumph of that with which all good was
associated, and therefore for the defeat and destruction of its opposite. For no
private injuries, or for these only in so far as the suffering singer is a member of the
community which represents God’s cause, does he ask the descent of God’s
vengeance, but for the insults and hurts inflicted on righteousness. The form of these
maledictions belongs to a lower stage of revelation; the substance of them,
considered as passionate desires for the destruction of evil, burning zeal for the
triumph of Truth, which is God’s cause, and unquenchable faith that He is just, is a
part of Christian perfection.
The usual variety of conjectures as to authorship exists. Delitzsch hesitatingly
accepts the superscription as correct in assigning the psalm to David. Olshausen, as
is his custom, says, "Maccabean"; Cheyne inclines to "the time of ehemiah (in
which case the enemy might be Sanballat), or even perhaps the close of the Persian
age" ("Orig. of Psalt.," 65). He thinks that the "magnanimous David" could not
have uttered "these laboured imprecations," and that the speaker is "not a brave
and bold warrior, but a sensitive poet." Might he not be both?
To address God as the "God of my praise," even at such a moment of dejection, is a
triumph of faith. The name recalls to the psalmist past mercies, and expresses his
confidence that he will still have cause to extol his Deliverer, while it also pleads
with God what He has done as a reason for doing the like in new circumstances of
need. The suppliant speaks in praise and prayer; he asks God to speak in acts of
rescuing power. A praying man cannot have a dumb God. And His mighty Voice,
which hushes all others and sets His suppliants free from fears and foes, is all the
more longed for and required, because of those cruel voices that yelp and snarl
round the psalmist. The contrast between the three utterances-his, God’s, and his

enemies’-is most vivid. The foes have come at him with open mouths. "A wicked
man’s mouth" would read, by a slight alteration, "a mouth of wickedness": but the
recurrence of the word "wicked man" in Psalms 109:6 seems to look back to this
verse, and to make the rendering above probable. Lies and hatred ring the psalmist
round, but his conscience is clear. "They have hated me without a cause" is the
experience of this ancient sufferer for righteousness’ sake, as of the Prince of all
such. This singer, who is charged with pouring out a flood of "unpurified passion,"
had, at any rate, striven to win over hatred by meekness; and if he is bitter, it is the
pain and bitterness of love flung back with contumely, and only serving to
exacerbate enmity. or had he met with evil the first returns of evil for good, but, as
he says, "I was [all] prayer". {compare Psalms 120:7, "I am-peace"} Repelled, his
whole being turned to God, and in calm communion with Him found defence and
repose. But his patient meekness availed nothing, for his foes still "laid evil" on him
in return for good. The prayer is a short record of a long martyrdom. Many a foiled
attempt of patient love preceded the psalm. ot till the other way had been tried
tong enough to show that malignity was beyond the reach of conciliation did the
psalmist appeal to the God of recompenses. Let that be remembered in judging the
next part of the psalm.
PULPIT, "THE title of this psalm—"To the chief musician, a psalm of David"—is
thought to be not inappropriate. We may have here David's own appeal to God
against his persecutors, and especially against a chief persecutor, who may be Saul,
or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or Shimei. The psalm opens with mingled complaint and
prayer. The adversaries are spoken of in the plural (Psalms 109:2-5). They have
abused and maligned the writer, have returned evil for the good that he has sought
to do them, and given him hatred for his love (Psalms 109:5). The psalmist, in
return, utters against them, or rather against his chief persecutor, a series of male
dictions (Psalms 109:6-15) which constitute a standing difficulty to all biblical
apologists. They are certainly entirely alien to the Christian, though not perhaps to
the Jewish spirit. It is impossible to read or re hearse them without pain. The
attempt made to explain them as the utterances of David's adversaries (Kennicott,
Mendelssohn, Westcott) is unsatisfactory. We must admit that they are the
psalmist's own anathemas, and judge them from this standpoint (see the comment
on Psalms 109:6-15). They are followed by an analysis of the evil tern-per in the
adversaries which has led them into their evil courses (Psalms 109:15-20). The
psalmist then turns to God in prayer, on-treating his help, and setting forth his own
necessities (Psalms 109:21-29). Finally, he winds up with a short burst of praise,
since he is confident that his prayer is heard, and that he will be delivered from his
persecutors (Psalms 109:30, Psalms 109:31).
Psalms 109:1-5
The initial prayer and complaint. The prayer occupies one verse only (Psalms
109:1); the complaint four verses (Psalms 109:2-5).
Psalms 109:1

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise (comp. Psalms 28:1; Psalms 35:22; Psalms
39:12). If God makes no sign when men arc grievously persecuted, he seems to be
indifferent to their sufferings. Surely he will not thus treat one who praises him
continually (Psalms 22:26; Psalms 71:6).
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
BAR ES,"For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful -
literally, “The mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit.” This acquaints us with the
nature of the wrong which had been done him. It was slander; undeserved reproach.
Are opened against me - Margin, “have opened;” that is, have opened themselves.
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue - They have accused me of
things which are not true; they have made false charges against me. David, as has not
been uncommon with good people, was called repeatedly to this trial.
CLARKE, "The mouth of the wicked and - the deceitful are opened against
me - Many persons are continually uttering calumnies against me. Thou knowest my
heart and its innocence; vindicate my uprightness against these calumniators.
GILL, "For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are
opened against me,.... Or "of deceit" (x) itself; most wicked and very deceitful men,
who sometimes flattered and pretended friendship, as the Jews did to Christ, when they
designed ill against him; though at other times their mouths were opened, and they
poured out their calumnies and reproaches very freely and largely; traducing his person,
and aspersing his character as a wicked man; blaspheming his miracles, as if done by the
help of the devil; charging his doctrine with novelty, falsehood, and blasphemy; loading
him with invidious names, as Samaritan, madman, &c; representing him as an enemy to
the state, as a seditious person, and a disturber of the nation's peace; particularly their
mouths were opened against him when they called for his crucifixion, and would have no
denial; and especially when he was on the cross, where they gaped upon him with their
mouths, and poured out their scoffs and jeers at him; see Psa_22:14.
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue, false witnesses rose up against

him, and laid things to his charge he knew nothing of, and which they could not prove,
Mat_26:59.
HE RY 2-3, " He complains of his enemies, showing that they were such as it was fit
for the righteous God to appear against. 1. They were very spiteful and malicious: They
are wicked; they delight in doing mischief (Psa_109:2); their words are words of hatred,
Psa_109:3. They had an implacable enmity to a good man because of his goodness.
“They open their mouths against me to swallow me up, and fight against me to cut me
off if they could.” 2. They were notorious liars; and lying comprehends two of the seven
things which the Lord hates. “They are deceitful in their protestations and professions of
kindness, while at the same time they speak against me behind my back, with a lying
tongue.” They were equally false in their flatteries and in their calumnies. 3. They were
both public and restless in their designs; “They compassed me about on all sides, so
that, which way soever I looked, I could see nothing but what made against me.” 4. They
were unjust; their accusations of him, and sentence against him, were all groundless:
“They have fought against me without a cause; I never gave them any provocation.”
Nay, which was worst of all,
JAMISO , "For the mouth ... opened — or, “They have opened a wicked mouth”
against me — literally, “with me,” that is, Their intercourse is lying, or, they slander
me to my face (Mat_26:59).
CALVI , "2Because the mouth of the wicked David here very plainly declares, that
he was the more solicitous to obtain help from God, in consequence of justice not
being found among men. And though it is probable that he was rashly and furiously
assailed, nevertheless, he complains that the mouth of deceit and fraud had been
opened against him, and that he was surrounded with false tongues. Whence, to
those who were ignorant of his real situation, there would appear to be some
plausible pretext for his being loaded with reproaches, so much so indeed, that he
would not be able to evade the charge of criminality.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
are opened against me. Wicked men must needs say wicked things, and these we
have reason to dread; but in addition they utter false and deceitful things, and these
are worst of all. There is no knowing what may come out of mouths which are at
once lewd and lying. The misery caused to a good man by slanderous reports no
heart can imagine but that which is wounded by them: in all Satan's armoury there
are no worse weapons than deceitful tongues. To have a reputation, over which we
have watched with daily care, suddenly bespattered with the foulest aspersions, is
painful beyond description; but when wicked and deceitful men get their mouths
fully opened we can hardly expect to escape any more than others.
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. Lying tongues cannot lie still. Bad
tongues are not content to vilify bad men, but choose the most gracious of saints to
be the objects of their attacks. Here is reason enough for prayer. The heart sinks
when assailed with slander, for we know not what may be said next, what friend
may be alienated, what evil may be threatened, or what misery may be caused to us

and others. The air is full of rumours, and shadows impalpable flit around; the
mind is confused with dread of unseen foes, and invisible arrows. What ill can be
worse than to be assailed with slander,
"Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Out venoms all the worms of ile"?
Ver. 2. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened
against me. Speak, says Arnobius, to thine own conscience, O man of God, thou who
art following Christ; and when the mouth of the wicked and deceitful man is opened
concerning thee, rejoice and be secure; because while the mouth of the wicked is
opened for thy slander in the earth, the mouth of God is opened for thy praise in
heaven. â€”Lorinus.
Ver. 2-3. ote, first, the detractor opens his mouth, that he may pour forth his
poison, and that he may devour his victim. Hence, David says, "the mouth of the
wicked is opened against me." ote, secondly, the detractor is talkativeâ€”They
have spoken, etc. The mouth of the detractor is a broken pitcher leaking all over.
ote, thirdly, detraction springs from hatred, "they compassed me about also with
words of hatred." In Greek, ekuklwoan me, ie., as in a circle they have enclosed me.
St. Climacus says, "Detraction is odii partus, a subtle disease, a fat but hidden leech
which sucks the blood of charity and after destroys it." â€”Lorinus.
Ver. 2-5. The mouth of the wicked, etc.
Viceâ€”deformed
Itself, and ugly, and of flavour rankâ€”
To rob fair Virtue of so sweet an incense
And with it to anoint and salve its own
Rotten ulcers, and perfume the path that led
To death, strove daily by a thousand means:
And oft succeeded to make Virtue sour
In the world's nostrils, and its loathly self
Smell sweetly. Rumour was the messenger
Of defamation, and so swift that none
Could be the first to tell an evil tale.
It was Slander filled her mouth with lying words;
Slander, the foulest whelp of Sin. The man
In whom this spirit entered was undone.
His tongue was set on fire of hell; his heart
Was black as death; his legs were faint with haste
To propagate the lie his tongue had framed
His pillow was the peace of families
Destroyed, the sigh of innocence reproached,
Broken friendships, and the strife of brotherhoods.
Yet did he spare his sleep, and hear the clock
umber the midnight watches, on bis bed
Devising mischief more; and early rose
And made most hellish meals of good men's names.
Peace fled the neighbourhood in which he made
His haunts; and, like a moral pestilence,

Before his breath the healthy shoots and blooms
Of social joy and happiness decayed.
Fools only in his company were seen,
And those forsaken of God, and to themselves
Given up. The prudent man shunned him and his house
As one who had a deadly moral plague. â€”Robert Pollok.
ELLICOTT, "(2) Of the deceitful.—Properly, as in margin, of deceit; consequently,
to make the two expressions alike, it is proposed to read, instead of “mouth of the
wicked” (properly, of a wicked man), “mouth of wickedness.” In any case the best
English equivalent will be, “a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth.” “A blow with a
word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword” (Whichcote).
Spoken against me.—Rather (comp. Psalms 12:3), talked with me.
BE SO , "Verses 2-4
Psalms 109:2-4. The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful — Of those
who add hypocrisy and perfidiousness to their malice; are opened against me —
They speak against me freely, boldly, and publicly, without any fear or shame. They
have spoken against me — Hebrew, ‫,אתי‬ itti, to, or with me, as this particle
commonly signifies; with a lying tongue — With deep dissimulation, and professions
of friendship and kindness: or, against me, with calumnies, or false and malicious
reports. They compassed me with words of hatred — Which, though covered with
specious pretences, proceeded from deep malice and hatred, and were designed to
work my destruction. Without a cause — Without any just provocation given by me.
For my love they are my adversaries — They requite my love and goodwill with
enmity and mischief, Psalms 109:5 ; but I give myself unto prayer —
Hebrew, ‫תפלה‬ ‫,ואני‬ vaani tephillah, but I prayer, that is, I am a man of prayer. Thus,
I peace, is put for, I am for peace, as we render it, Psalms 120:7 . The sense here is,
While they reproach and curse me, I pray, either, 1st, For them, as Psalms 35:13; or,
2d, For himself: I do not render unto them evil for evil, but quietly commit myself
and my cause to God by prayer, desiring him to plead my cause against them.
PULPIT, "Psalms 109:2
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful; literally, of deceit—the
abstract for the concrete. Are opened against me; literally, hare they opened upon
me (Kay, Cheyne, Revised Version). They have spoken against ms with a lying
tongue (comp. Psalms 27:12; Psalms 35:11). Calumny and misrepresentation are
ever the portion of the children of God. David was calumniated by Saul (1 Samuel
22:7-13), by Absalom (2 Samuel 15:3, 2 Samuel 15:4), by Shimei (2 Samuel 16:8),
and others. One more perfect than David was even more calumniated (Matthew
11:19; Matthew 12:24; Matthew 26:61; Luke 23:2, etc.).

3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
BAR ES,"They compassed me about also with words of hatred - They
attacked me on every side; they assailed me, not merely in one form and direction, but in
every form, and in every direction. I could turn no way - I could go nowhere - where I did
not encounter these slanderous reports.
And fought against me without a cause - Contended against me, or fought
against me, with “words.” They sought to do me all the harm they could. The phrase
“without a cause “means that he had given them no occasion for this conduct; he had not
wronged them; it was mere malignity. See Psa_35:7; Psa_69:4. Compare Joh_15:25.
GILL, "They compassed me about also with words of hatred,.... They
surrounded him as he hung on the cross, and expressed their malice and hatred against
him; then was he enclosed with these spiteful snarling dogs, and encompassed by them
as with so many bees, who everyone left their sting in him, Psa_22:16.
And fought against me without a cause: they were of an hostile spirit, enemies and
enmity itself against him; fought against him both with words and blows, with their
tongues and with their fists; sought his life, and at length took it away; he was attacked
by the body of the Jewish nation, and by the whole posse of devils; and all this without
any cause or just reason: he gave them no occasion for this enmity and malice, and
opposition to him; and it was in the issue without effect, it was in vain and to no
purpose; for though they gained their point in putting him to death, yet he rose again a
triumphant Conqueror over them all.
JAMISO , "(Compare Psa_35:7; Psa_69:4).
CALVI , "3And they have encompassed me He complains, that from all quarters
he was assailed with the most hostile and abusive epithets, and that, too, most
undeservedly. And, under a beautiful similitude, he shows that the tongues of his
enemies were so full of deadly poison, that it was harder for him to endure their
attacks than that of a great army, and the more so that he merited no such
treatment at their hands. This species of warfare, to the exercise of which God very
frequently summons his children, must be carefully considered by us. For though
Satan may assault them with open violence, yet as he is the father of lies, he
endeavors, by the amazing dexterity which he possesses in heaping calumny upon
them, to tarnish their reputation, as if they were the most abandoned of mankind.
ow, as that which was prefigured by David was fulfilled in Christ, so we must
remember, that that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ is daily filling up in

believers, Colossians 1:24; because, he having once suffered in himself, calls them to
be sharers and associates with him in his sufferings.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. They compassed me about also with words of hatred. Turn
which way he would they hedged him in with falsehood, misrepresentation,
accusation, and scorn. Whispers, sneers, insinuations, satires, and open charges
filled his ear with a perpetual buzz, and all for no reason, but sheer hate. Each word
was as full of venom as an egg is full of meat: they could not speak without showing
their teeth.
And fought against me without a cause. He had not provoked the quarrel or
contributed to it, yet in a thousand ways they laboured to "corrode his comfort, and
destroy his ease." All this tended to make the suppliant feel the more acutely the
wrongs which were done to him.
Ver. 3. Although an individual may be absent, so that he cannot corporeally be
encompassed and fought with; nevertheless, so great is the force and malice of an
envenomed tongue, that an absent man may be none the less dangerously
surrounded and warred against. Thus David, though absent and driven into exile,
was nevertheless surrounded and assailed by the calumnies of Doeg and the other
flatterers of Saul, so that at length he was also corporeally surrounded; in which
contest he would clearly have perished unless he had been divinely delivered: see 1
Samuel 23:1-29. And this kind of surrounding and assault is so much the more
deadly as it is so much the less possible to be avoided. For who can be so innocent as
to escape the snares of a back biting and calumnious tongue? What place can be so
remote and obscure as that this evil will not intrude when David could not be safe in
the mountains and caves of the rocks? â€”Wolfgang Musculus.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
BAR ES,"For my love ... - As a recompence for my love; or, this is the return
which I get for all the expressions of my love to them. The enemies referred to were
those whom he had treated kindly; to whom he had done good. This is not uncommon in
the world. It was illustrated in an eminent degree in the life of the Saviour.
But I give myself unto prayer - literally, “I - prayer;” that is, I am all prayer; I
continually pray. This may mean, either, that he bore these trials with a meek spirit, and
did not allow these things to disturb his devotions; or, more probably, that he prayed

constantly “for them;” he desired their good, and sought it from above.
CLARKE, "For my love they are my adversaries - In their behalf I have
performed many acts of kindness, and they are my adversaries notwithstanding; this
shows principles the most vicious, and hearts the most corrupt. Many of the fathers and
commentators have understood the principal part of the things spoken here as referring
to our Lord, and the treatment he received from the Jews; and whatever the original
intention was, they may safely be applied to this case, as the Psa_109:2, Psa_109:3, Psa_
109:4, and Psa_109:5 are as highly illustrative of the conduct of the Jewish rulers
towards our Lord as the following verses are of the conduct of Judas; but allowing these
passages to be prophetic, it is the Jewish state rather than an individual, against which
these awful denunciations are made, as it seems to be represented here under the person
and character of an extremely hardened and wicked man; unless we consider the curses
to be those of David’s enemies. See the note on Psa_109:20 (note).
But I give myself unto prayer - ‫תפלה‬ ‫ואני‬ vaani thephillah; “And I prayer.” The
Chaldee: ‫אצלי‬ ‫ואנא‬ vaana atsalley, “but I pray.” This gives a good sense, which is followed
by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. The Syriac, “I will pray
for them.” This, not so correctly; as dreadful imprecations, not prayers, follow. But
probably the whole ought to be interpreted according to the mode laid down, Psa_
109:20. The translation and paraphrase in the old Psalter are very simple: -
Trans. For that thyng that thai sulde hafe lufed me, thai bakbited me; bot I prayed.
Par - That is, that sulde haf lufed me for I was godson, and thai bakbited me sayande,
in Belzebub he castes oute fendes; bot I prayed for thaim.
GILL, "For my love they are my adversaries,.... For the love that Christ showed to
the Jews; to their bodies, in going about and healing all manner of diseases among them;
to their souls, in preaching, the Gospel to them in each of their cities; and for the love he
showed to mankind in coming into the world to save them, which should have
commanded love again; but instead of this they became his implacable adversaries: they
acted the part of Satan; they were as so many Satans to him, as the word signifies.
But I give myself unto prayer; or "I am a man of prayer" (y); as Aben Ezra and
Kimchi supply it; so he was in the days of his flesh, Heb_5:7, he was constant at it, and
fervent in it; sometimes a whole night together at it: his usual method was, when at
Jerusalem, to teach in the temple in the daytime, and at night to go to the mount of
Olives, and there abide and pray, Luk_6:12. This was the armour he alone made use of
against his enemies, when they fought against him, and acted the part of an adversary to
him; he betook himself to nothing else but prayer; he did not return railing for railing,
but committed himself in prayer to God, who judgeth righteously, 1Pe_2:23, yea, he
prayed for those his adversaries: and so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it, that he was a
man of prayer for them, and prayed for them; as it is certain Christ did, when he was
encompassed by his enemies, and they were venting all their spite and malice against
him, Luk_23:34.
HE RY, "He resolves to keep close to his duty and take the comfort of that: But I
give myself unto prayer (Psa_109:4), I prayer (so it is in the original); “I am for prayer,

I am a man of prayer, I love prayer, and prize prayer, and practise prayer, and make a
business of prayer, and am in my element when I am at prayer.” A good man is made up
of prayer, gives himself to prayer, as the apostles, Act_6:4. When David's enemies
falsely accused him, and misrepresented him, he applied to God and by prayer
committed his cause to him. Though they were his adversaries for his love, yet he
continued to pray for them; if others are abusive and injurious to us, yet let not us fail to
do our duty to them, nor sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them, 1Sa_12:23.
Though they hated and persecuted him for his religion, yet he kept close to it; they
laughed at him for his devotion, but they could not laugh him out of it. “Let them say
what they will, I give myself unto prayer.” Now herein David was a type of Christ, who
was compassed about with words of hatred and lying words, whose enemies not only
persecuted him without cause, but for his love and his good works (Joh_10:32); and yet
he gave himself to prayer, to pray for them. Father, forgive them.
JAMISO , "They return evil for good (compare Psa_27:12; Pro_17:13).
I give myself unto prayer — or literally, “I (am) prayer,” or, “as for me, prayer,”
that is, it is my resource for comfort in distress.
BI, "But I give myself unto prayer.
The universal suitability of prayer
This is the great resource of God’s children. Observe the disjunctive particle “but” with
which the text begins. Let others do this or that (he would say), “but I give myself unto
prayer,” or, as it stands in the original, But I—prayer; as though he meant to imply that
prayer was everything to him;—I have no other resource, and I need none. What shall we
do, asks the pious parent, to secure our children, who will soon be beyond the control of
parental authority, and will have to encounter the snares of a world which “lieth in
wickedness”? Give yourselves unto prayer. Let us take another case; namely, the feelings
and anxieties of the junior touching the senior members of the household. Here I desire
to speak a word in favour of family prayer. Give yourselves unto prayer, as Abraham did,
who wherever he went, “there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the
name of the Lord.” The opening of the new year calls for a review of the past, and that
review is fraught with matter for humiliation. Be humbled: yet let not humiliation take
the gloomy and unbelieving character of despondency. And in order to prevent this, give
yourself unto prayer. (T. E. Hankinson, M.A.)
Constancy in prayer
When a pump is frequently used, but little pains are necessary to have water; the water
pours out at the first stroke, because it is high. But if the pump has not been used for a
long time, the water gets low, and when you want it you must pump a long while, and the
water comes only after great effort. It is so with prayer; if we are instant in prayer, every
little circumstance awakens the disposition to pray, and desires and words are always
ready. But if we neglect prayer it is difficult for us to pray, for the water in the well gets
low. (Felix Neff.)
CALVI , "4On account of my love they have been opposed to me (296) The

Psalmist had already solemnly declared, that his adversaries, unprovoked by any
injury inflicted upon them by him, and without any just cause, became, through
mere diabolical rage, his most implacable foes. Here he confirms the truth of that
declaration by saying, that he had been their friend. For there is far more merit in
showing kindness to an enemy than simply abstaining from doing that which is evil.
And from this we may perceive, that the influence of Satan must be awfully
powerful when he takes the hearts of men captive at his will. For nothing can be
more unnatural than to hate and cruelly persecute those who love us. To love he also
adds deeds of kindness, meaning, that it was his aim to secure their good will by
outward acts of beneficence.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. For my love they are my adversaries. They hate me because I
love them. One of our poets says of the Lord Jesusâ€”"Found guilty of excess of
love." Surely it was his only fault. Our Lord might have used all the language of this
complaint most emphaticallyâ€”they hated him without a cause and returned him
hatred for love. What a smart this is to the soul, to be hated in proportion to the
gratitude which it deserved, hated by those it loved, and hated because of its love.
This was a cruel case, and the sensitive mind of the psalmist writhed under it.
But give myself unto prayer. He did nothing else but pray. He became prayer as
they became malice. This was his answer to his enemies, he appealed from men and
their injustice to the Judge of all the earth, who must do right. True bravery alone
can teach a man to leave his traducers unanswered, and carry the case unto the
Lord.
"Men cannot help but reverence the courage that walketh amid calumnies
unanswering."
"He standeth as a gallant chief unheeding shot or shell."
Ver. 4. (first clause). one prove worse enemies than those that have received the
greatest kindnesses, when once they turn unkind. As the sharpest vinegar is made of
the purest wine, and pleasant meats turn to the bitterest humours in the stomach; so
the highest love bestowed upon friends, being ill digested or corrupt, turns to the
most unfriendly hatred, proximorum odia sunt acerrima. â€”Abraham Wright.
Ver. 4. For my love they are my adversaries; that's an ill requital; but how did
David requite them? We may take his own word for it; he tells us how, "But I give
myself unto prayer"; yea, he seemed a man wholly given unto prayer. The elegant
conciseness of the Hebrew is, "But I prayer"; we supply it thus, "But I give myself
unto prayer." They are sinning against me, requiting my love with hatred, "But I
give myself unto prayer." But for whom did he pray? Doubtless he prayed and
prayed much for himself; he prayed also for them. We may understand these words,
"I give myself unto prayer", two ways. First I pray against their plots and evil
dealings with me (prayer was David's best strength always against his enemies), yet
that was not all. But, secondly, "I give myself unto prayer", that the Lord would
pardon their sin, and turn their hearts, when they are doing me mischief; or, though
they have done me mischief, I am wishing them the best good. David (in another
place) showed what a spirit of charity he was clothed with, when no reproof could
hinder him from praying for others, Psalms 141:5. â€”Joseph Caryl.

Ver. 4. The translator of the Syriac version has inserted in Psalms 109:4 Arabic
"and I have prayed for them", as if he had copied them from the words of our Lord
in Matthew 5:44, where in the Syriac version of the ew Testament we have exactly
the same construction. It is in keeping with the inscription of the Psalm, which
applies it directly to Christ. It would seem as if the Translator understood this verse
of the crucifixion and of the Redeemer's prayer for his murderers, or as if the only
way to understand the elliptical language of the Psalmist was from the teaching and
example of our Lord. â€”E.T. Gibson, of Crayford.
Ver. 4. I prayer. The Messiah says in this prophetic psalm, "I am prayer." During
his pilgrimage on earth, his whole life was communion with God; and now in his
glory, he is constantly making intercession for us. But this does not exhaust the idea,
"I am prayer." He not merely prayed and is now praying, he not merely teaches and
influences us to pray, but he is prayer, the fountain and source of all prayer, as well
as the foundation and basis of all answers to our petitions. He is the Word in this
sense also. From all eternity his Father heard him, heard him as interceding for that
world which, created through him, he represented, and in which, through him,
divine glory was to be revealed. In the same sense, therefore, in which he is light and
gives light, in which he is life and resurrection, and therefore quickens, Jesus is
prayer. â€”Adolph Saphir, in Lectures on the Lord's Prayer, 1870.
Ver. 4. Persecuted saints are men of prayer, yea, they are as it were made up all of
prayer. David prayed before; but, oh, when his enemies fell a persecuting of him,
then he gave himself up wholly to prayer. Oh, then he was more earnest; more
fervent, more frequent, more diligent, more constant, and more abundant in the
work of prayer! When uma, king of the Romans, was told that his enemies were in
arms against him, he did but laugh at it, and answered, "And I do sacrifice"; so
when persecutors arm themselves against the people of God, they do but divinely
smile and laugh at it, and give themselves the more up to prayer. When men arm
against them, then they arm themselves with all their might to the work of prayer;
and woe, woe to them that have armies of prayers marching against them. â€”
Thomas Brooks.
Ver. 4. I give myself unto prayer. The instruction to ourselves from these words is
most comforting and precious. Are we bowed down with sorrow and distress? "I
give myself unto prayer." Are we persecuted, and reviled, and compassed about
with words of hatred? "I give myself unto prayer." Has death entered our
dwellings? And as we gaze in heart-broken anguish on the no longer answering look
of one who was our earthly stay, and we feel as if all hope as well as all help were
gone, still there remains the same blessed refuge for all the Lord's sorrowing ones,
"I give myself unto prayer." In the allegory of the ancients. Hope was left at the
bottom of the casket, as the sweetener of human life; but God, in far richer mercy,
gives prayer as the balm of human trial. â€”Barton Bouchier.
Ver. 4. A Christian is all over prayer: he prays at rising, at lying down, and as he
walks: like a prime favourite at court, who has the key to the privy stairs, and can
wake his prince by night. â€”Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740-1778.
ELLICOTT, "(4) For my love . . .—i.e., in return for my love I give myself unto
prayer. For a concise expression of the same kind as “I prayer,” see Psalms 120:7, “I
peace.” Of course the psalmist means, that in the face of all the taunts and

reproaches of his maligners, he simply and naturally has recourse to prayer, and, as
the context seems to indicate, prayer for them.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
BAR ES,"And they have rewarded me evil for good - literally, “They have
placed against me.” They have put it in my way; it is what they had to set before me. See
the notes at Psa_35:12, where the same expression occurs.
And hatred for my love - Instead of loving me in return for my love, they have met
me with the expressions of hatred. This often occurred in the life of David; it was
constant in the life of the Saviour; it is habitually manifested by people toward God; it is
often experienced by good men now; it “may” occur in the life of any man - and if it
“does” occur to us, we should not think that any strange thing has happened to us.
GILL, "And they have rewarded me evil for good,.... For the good words and
sound doctrine he delivered to them; for the good works and miracles he wrought
among them, to the healing of them; see Joh_10:32.
And hatred for my love; he came to seek and save that which was lost, and yet they
hated him, and would not have him to rule over them, Luk_19:10
HE RY, "They were very ungrateful, and rewarded him evil for good, Psa_109:5.
Many a kindness he had done them, and was upon all occasions ready to do them, and
yet he could not work upon them to abate their malice against him, but, on the contrary,
they were the more exasperated because they could not provoke him to give them some
occasion against him (Psa_109:4): For my love they are my adversaries. The more he
endeavoured to gratify them the more they hated him. We may wonder that it is possible
that any should be so wicked; and yet, since there have been so many instances of it, we
should not wonder if any be so wicked against us.
BI, "They have rewarded me evil for good.
Evil for good
Florence, when dominated by the preaching of Savonarola, became transformed; high-
born ladies threw aside their jewels and finery, men turned from evil ways into sobriety,
the churches were crowded with all classes of the people, from nobles to peasants; the
very children were turned into instruments of the good work, going through the streets

in procession, singing hymns and collecting money for the poor—and then the tide
turned, and, when Savonarola was in the crisis of his struggle with the pope, almost the
whole city was against him; a mob attacked his convent of San Marco; and the great friar
went to his martyrdom, with the sorer martyrdom of his heart at the thought that all his
work was overturned. (Hugh Black.)
CALVI , "5But I gave myself to prayer (297) Some are of opinion, that these words
refer to David’s pouring out a prayer for his enemies at the very moment when they
were furiously assaulting him, and with this opinion corresponds that which we
have stated in Psalms 35:13. But the more plain, and, to me, the preferable
interpretation, is, that when he was attacked in a cruel and hostile manner, he did
not betake himself to such unlawful means as the rendering of evil for evil, but
committed himself into the hand of God, fully satisfied that he alone could guard
him from all ill. And it is assuredly a great and desirable attainment for a man so to
restrain his passions as directly and immediately to make his appeal to God’s
tribunal, at the very time when he is abused without a cause, and when the very
injuries which he sustains are calculated to excite him to avenge them. For there are
some persons who, while it is their aim to live in terms of friendship with the good,
coming in contact with ill men, imagine that they are at perfect liberty to return
injury for injury; and to this temptation all the godly feel that they are liable. The
Holy Spirit, however, restrains us, so that though oftimes provoked by the cruelty of
our enemies to seek revenge, we yet abandon all fraudulent and violent means, and
betake ourselves by prayer to God alone. By this example, which David here sets
before us, we are instructed that we must have recourse to the same means if we
would wish to overcome our enemies through the power and protection of God. In
Psalms 69:13, we have a parallel passage: “They that sit in the gate spake against
me; and I was the song of those who drink strong drink. But my prayer was made to
thee, O Jehovah!” In that passage, as well as in the one under review, the mode of
expression is elliptical. Besides, it is the design of David in these words to inform us,
that although he was aware that the whole world was opposed to him, yet he could
cast all his cares upon God, and this was enough to render his mind calm and
composed. And as the Holy Spirit taught David and all the godly to offer up prayers
like these, it must follow, that those who, in this respect, imitate them, will be
promptly helped by God when he beholds them reproachfully and vilely persecuted.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my
love. Evil for good is devil like. This is Satan's line of action, and his children upon
earth follow it greedily; it is cruel, and wounds to the quick. The revenge which pays
a man back in his own coin has a kind of natural justice in it; but what shall be said
of that baseness which returns to goodness the very opposite of what it has a right to
expect? Our Lord endured such base treatment all his days, and, alas, in his
members, endures it still.
Thus we see the harmless and innocent man upon his knees pouring out his
lamentation: we are now to observe him rising from the mercy seat, inspired with
prophetic energy, and pouring forth upon his foes the forewarning of their doom.

We shall hear him speak like a judge clothed with stern severity, or like the angel of
doom robed in vengeance, or as the naked sword of justice when she bares her arm
for execution. It is not for himself that he speaks so much as for all the slandered
and the down trodden, of whom he feels himself to be the representative and
mouthpiece. He asks for justice, and as his soul is stung with cruel wrongs he asks
with solemn deliberation, making no stint in his demands. To pity malice would be
malice to mankind; to screen the crafty seekers of human blood would be cruelty to
the oppressed. ay, love, and truth, and pity lift their wounds to heaven, and
implore vengeance on the enemies of the innocent and oppressed; those who render
goodness itself a crime, and make innocence a motive for hate, deserve to find no
mercy from the great Preserver of men. Vengeance is the prerogative of God, and as
it would be a boundless calamity if evil were for ever to go unpunished, so it is an
unspeakable blessing that the Lord will recompense the wicked and cruel man, and
there are times and seasons when a good man ought to pray for that blessing. When
the Judge of all threatens to punish tyrannical cruelty and false hearted treachery,
virtue gives her assent and consent. Amen, so let it be, saith every just man in his
inmost soul
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
BAR ES,"Set thou a wicked man over him - This commences the imprecatory
part of the psalm, extending to Psa_109:20. The first thing that the psalmist asks is, that
his foe might be subjected to the evil of having a man placed over him like himself: a
man regardless of justice, truth, and right; a man who would respect character and
propriety no more than he had himself done. It is, in fact, a prayer that he might be
punished “in the line of his offences.” It cannot be wrong that a man should be treated as
he treats others; and it cannot be in itself wrong to desire that a man should be treated
according to his character and deserts, for this is the object of all law, and this is what all
magistrates and legislators are endeavoring to secure.
And let Satan stand at his right hand - As his counselor and adviser. The
language would be properly applicable to one who had been a counselor or adviser to a
king in the administration of the government; and the prayer is, that he might know
what it was to have such a one as his counselor and adviser. The language used would
seem to make it not improbable that David here refers particularly to someone who had
occupied this position in reference to himself, and who had betrayed his trust; who had
given him crafty and malignant counsel; who had led him into bad measures; who had
used his position to promote his own interests at the expense of his master’s. David had
such counselors, as anyone in authority may have. The prayer, then, would be, that such

a man might be punished in his own line; that he might know what it was to have a bad
and wicked adviser. The word rendered “Satan” - ‫שׂטן‬ śâᑛân - is in the margin rendered
“adversary.” In the Septuagint it is διάβολος diabolos; in the Vulgate, “diabolus.” See the
notes at Job_1:6, for its meaning. The prayer here seems not to be that the devil or Satan
might stand near him as his counselor; but that a man - a real adversary - an accuser -
one with a malignant heart - one who would make use of his position to accomplish his
own purposes, and to betray the interests of his master, might give him counsel, as
seems to have been done in the case of David.
CLARKE, "Let Satan stand at his right hand - As the word ‫שטן‬ satan means an
adversary simply, though sometimes it is used to express the evil spirit Satan, I think it
best to preserve here its grammatical meaning: “Let an adversary stand at his right
hand:” i.e., Let him be opposed and thwarted in all his purposes.
All the Versions have devil, or some equivocal word. The Arabic has eblees, the chief of
the apostate spirits; but the name is probably corrupted from the Greek διαβολος
diabolos; from which the Latin diabolus. the Italian diavolo, the Spanish diablo, the
French diable, the Irish or Celtic diabal, the Dutch duivel, the German teufel, the Anglo-
Saxon deofal, and the English devil, are all derived. The original, διαβολος, comes from
δια βαλλειν to shoot or pierce through.
GILL, "Set thou a wicked man over him,.... Or "them", as the Syriac version; over
everyone of his adversaries, and all of them: and which may be interpreted, as it is by
Cocceius, of tyrannical princes and governors, set over the Jews, as Tiberius, Caius,
Claudius, Nero, &c. and their deputies, Pilate, Felix, Festus, Florus; all wicked men, and
which were a judgment on them for their usage of Christ. Though here some single
person is designed, even Judas, notorious for his enmity and ingratitude to Christ; and
by the wicked one set over him may be meant Satan, as in the next clause, as he is
sometimes called, Mat_13:38, into whose hands and power Judas was put, under whose
influence he was; who entered into him, took possession of him, and put it into his heart
to betray his Master, Joh_13:2.
And let Satan stand at his right hand; to direct and influence him, to solicit and
tempt him to do the evil he did, and to accuse him for it when done; see Zec_3:1.
HE RY 6-7, "David here fastens upon some one particular person that was worse
than the rest of his enemies, and the ringleader of them, and in a devout and pious
manner, not from a principle of malice and revenge, but in a holy zeal for God and
against sin and with an eye to the enemies of Christ, particularly Judas who betrayed
him, whose sin was greater than Pilate's that condemned him (Joh_19:11), he
imprecates and predicts his destruction, foresees and pronounces him completely
miserable, and such a one as our Saviour calls him, A son of perdition. Calvin speaks of it
as a detestable piece of sacrilege, common in his time among Franciscan friars and other
monks, that if any one had malice against a neighbour he might hire some of them to

curse him every day, which he would do in the words of these verses; and particularly he
tells of a lady in France who, being at variance with her own and only son, hired a parcel
of friars to curse him in these words. Greater impiety can scarcely be imagined than to
vent a devilish passion in the language of sacred writ, to kindle strife with coals snatched
from God's altar, and to call for fire from heaven with a tongue set on fire of hell.
I. The imprecations here are very terrible - woe, and a thousand woes, to that man
against whom God says Amen to them; and they are all in full force against the
implacable enemies and persecutors of God's church and people, that will not repent, to
give him glory. It is here foretold concerning this bad man,
1. That he should be cast and sentenced as a criminal, with all the dreadful pomp of a
trial, conviction, and condemnation (Psa_109:6, Psa_109:7): Set thou a wicked man
over him, to be as cruel and oppressive to him as he has been to others; for God often
makes one wicked man a scourge to another, to spoil the spoilers and to deal
treacherously with those that have dealt treacherously. Set the wicked one over him (so
some), that is, Satan, as it follows; and then it was fulfilled in Judas, into whom Satan
entered, to hurry him into sin first and then into despair. Set his own wicked heart over
him, set his own conscience against him; let that fly in his face. Let Satan stand on his
right hand, and be let loose against him to deceive him, as he did Ahab to his
destruction, and then to accuse him and resist him, and then he is certainly cast, having
no interest in that advocate who alone can say, The Lord rebuke thee, Satan (Zec_3:1,
Zec_3:2); when he shall be judged at men's bar let not his usual arts to evade justice do
him any service, but let his sin find him out and let him be condemned; nor shall he
escape before God's tribunal, but be condemned there when the day of inquisition and
recompence shall come. Let his prayer become sin, as the clamours of a condemned
malefactor not only find no acceptance, but are looked upon as an affront to the court.
The prayers of the wicked now become sin, because soured with the leaven of hypocrisy
and malice; and so they will in the great day, because then it will be too late to cry, Lord,
Lord, open to us. Let every thing be turned against him and improved to his
disadvantage, even his prayers.
JAMISO , "over him — one of his enemies prominent in malignity (Psa_55:12).
let Satan stand — as an accuser, whose place was the right hand of the accused
(Zec_3:1, Zec_3:2).
CALVI , "6Set thou over him a wicked person. (305) Hitherto he poured out his
complaint against a vast number of persons; now he seems to direct it against a
single individual. Probably he speaks of each of them individually. It is, however,
equally probable that he refers in very marked terms to some one in particular
among these wicked persons, the most notorious transgressor of any of them. Some
conjecture, and not without reason, that Doeg is the person here aimed at, who, by
his treason and revolt, sought to bring ruin, not only upon David, but also upon all
the holy priests; and we know that this psalm is applied by Peter to Judas, (Acts
1:20) But with equal propriety, and certainly not less forcibly, may this complaint
be considered as applicable to some most intimate and particular friend of the
Psalmist. Respecting the imprecations contained in this psalm, it will be proper to
keep in mind what I have said elsewhere, that when David forms such maledictions,
or expresses his desires for them, he is not instigated by any immoderate carnal

propensity, nor is he actuated by zeal without knowledge, nor is he influenced by
any private personal considerations. These three matters must be carefully weighed,
for in proportion to the amount of self-esteem which a man possesses, is he so
enamoured with his own interests as to rush headlong upon revenge. Hence it comes
to pass, that the more a person is devoted to selfishness, he will be the more
immoderately addicted to the advancement of his own individual interests. This
desire for the promotion of personal interest gives birth to another species of vice.
For no one wishes to be avenged upon his enemies because that such a thing would
be right and equitable, but because it is the means of gratifying his own spiteful
propensity. Some, indeed, make a pretext of righteousness and equity in the matter,
but the spirit of malignity, by which they are inflamed, effaces every trace of justice,
and blinds their minds.
When these two vices, selfishness and carnality, are corrected, there is still another
thing demanding correction, the repressing the ardor of foolish zeal, in order that
we may follow the Spirit of God as our guide. Should any one, under the influence
of perverse zeal, produce David as an example of it, that would not be an example in
point; for to such a person may be very aptly applied the answer which Christ
returned to his disciples, “Ye know not what spirit ye are of,” Luke 9:55. How
detestable a piece of sacrilege is it on the part of the monks, and especially the
Franciscan friars, to pervert this psalm by employing it to countenance the most
nefarious purposes! If a man harbour malice against a neighbor, it is quite a
common thing for him to engage one of these wicked wretches to curse him, which
he would do by daily repeating this psalm. I know a lady in France who hired a
parcel of these friars to curse her own and only son in these words.
But I return to David, who, free from all inordinate passion, breathed forth his
prayers under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Then, as to the ungodly, who live as
the contemners of God, and who are constantly plotting the overthrow of the
unsuspecting and the good, casting off all restraint, so that neither modesty nor
honesty proves a check to them, surely they are deserving of the punishment of
having a wicked person set over them And since, by means of intrigue and perfidy,
they are constantly aiming at the extermination of the good, they are most justly
punished by God, who raises up against them an adversary that should never depart
from their side. Only let believers be on their guard, lest they should betray too
much haste in their prayers, and let them rather leave room for the grace of God to
manifest itself in their behalf; because it may turn out that the man, who to-day
bears towards us a deadly enmity, may by to-morrow through that grace become
our friend.
“May he be tried by a wicked judge;
And at his right had be placed the accuser.”
On which he has the following note: — “May he be tried by a wicked judge. He
alludes to courts of judicature: and wishes that his enemy may have asevere, nay,
wicked judge, — certainly one of the greatest curses that can befall one. — And at
his right hand be placed the accuser. Instead of a friend or advocate to stand by

him, let his only attendant be an accuser. What imagery this! But the height of the
metaphor is in the next verse: —
‘When he is judged, may he be found guilty:
And may his deprecation only aggravate his crime.’”
With this corresponds the interpretation of Phillips. With Hammond, he
understands to set over as denoting to set over as a judge or inspector. “This notion
of setting over,” he observes, “corresponds with the next member; for there it says,
and an enemy shall stand at his right hand, which shows that the wicked man was to
be appointed to act as a judge. The man at his right hand denotes an accuser,
agreeably to the custom which prevailed in a Jewish court of justice, of placing the
accuser at the right hand of the accused, (see Zechariah 3:1;) and hence we
understand in this verse ‫רשע‬ to be mentioned as acting in the capacity of a judge,
and ‫רטן‬ in that of an accuser.” Cresswell gives a similar explanation of the passage.
Green, who follows Dr Sykes in thinking that the imprecations from this verse to
verse 17 were pronounced not by David upon his enemies, but by David’s enemies
upon him, reads the verse thus: — “Set a wicked man over him, say they, to hear his
cause, and let a false accuser stand at his right hand.”
SPURGEO , "Ver. 6. Set thou a wicked man over him. What worse punishment
could a man have? The proud man cannot endure the proud, nor the oppressor
brook the rule of another like himself. The righteous in their patience find the rule
of the wicked a sore bondage; but those who are full of resentful passions, and
haughty aspirations, are slaves indeed when men of their own class have the whip
hand of them. For Herod to be ruled by another Herod would be wretchedness
enough, and yet what retribution could be more just? What unrighteous man can
complain if he finds himself governed by one of like character? What can the
wicked expect but that their rulers should be like themselves? Who does not admire
the justice of God when he sees fierce Romans ruled by Tiberius and ero, and Red
Republicans governed by Marat and Robespierre?
And let Satan stand at his right hand. Should not like come to like? Should not the
father of lies stand near his children? Who is a better right hand friend for an
adversary of the righteous than the great adversary himself? The curse is an awful
one, but it is most natural that it should come to pass: those who serve Satan may
expect to have his company, his assistance, his temptations, and at last his doom.
Ver. 6. Set thou a wicked man over him, etc. Here commences that terrible series of
maledictions, unparalleled in Holy Writ, as directed against an individual sinner,
albeit it is little more than a special reduplication of the national woes denounced in
Leviticus 26:1-46 and De 28:1-68. â€” eale and Littledale.
Ver. 6. Set thou a wicked man over him. The first thing that the Psalmist asks is,
that his foe might be subjected to the evil of having a man placed over him like
himself: â€”a man regardless of justice, truth, and right; a man who would respect
character and propriety no more than he had himself done. It is, in fact, a prayer
that he might be punished in the line of his offences. It cannot be wrong that a man
should be treated as he treats others; and it cannot be in itself wrong to desire that a

Psalm 109 commentary

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Psalm 109 commentary