Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 109:5

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 109:0 Those who afflict others

David complains to God about the unjust attacks of his opponents and the false accusations they bring against him (1-3). He has no desire for personal revenge; rather he has shown love for his enemies and has prayed for them (4-5).

Nevertheless, in the prayer that follows, David uses strong language as he pleads for justice to be done. With the cruelty of his enemies increasing, he hands the case over to God, the righteous judge, who will repay the wicked for their wickedness. In particular David has in mind the leader of his accusers (6-7). (See section ‘Curses on the wicked’ that follows notes on Psalms 7:0.) The evildoer will receive fitting justice if he suffers the sorrows he intended to bring upon David. The curses listed here display the character of the aggressor and the evil he intended to do to David and his family (8-15). The man ruthlessly persecuted those who could not defend themselves, and deserves a punishment that is similarly ruthless (16-20).

As for David, he is weak, sick and despised, as helpless as an insect about to be blown away. Only God can save him now (21-25). He wants God to save him and punish his persecutors in such a way that people will see the events as the direct work of God (26-29). True justice is found with God alone. David is therefore confident that God will rescue him (30-31).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

DESCRIPTION OF DAVID'S ENEMIES

"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).

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

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 Psalms 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.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

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.

(297) In the Hebrew, the sentence is very short and imperfect, “But I prayer;” I am a man of prayer; or, I betake myself to prayer. Thus “I peace” is put for “I am for peace.” — Psalms 120:7.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 109:1-31 makes me glad that I'm not an enemy of David. For this is one of those psalms where he really takes off again against his enemies, and I mean he goes after them with tongs.

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue ( Psalms 109:1-2 ).

So these people were talking about David. They were lying about David. And he's saying, "God, don't hold Your peace. Get angry with them."

For they compassed me about also with words of hatred; and they fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer ( Psalms 109:3-4 ).

Oh, what wisdom there is in verse Psalms 109:4 . I've loved them, but they've become my adversaries. And so I will give myself unto prayer. Rather than striking out against them in kind, rather than trying to get vengeance myself, rather than getting involved, how much better if I will just give myself to prayer. Oh, how many times I wish I'd given myself to prayer rather than getting involved.

You see, it is the trick of Satan to draw you in to a physical conflict, to get you at odds, to get you in this physical area of bantering back and forth. Satan is constantly trying to draw you into the physical arena to do battle with you. Why? Because if he can get you in the flesh, he can clean up on you like nobody's business. Every time he gets me in the flesh, he gives me such a beating you'd think I'd learn not to get in the flesh. But he's always seeking to draw me into the flesh. For he has a decided advantage over me.

Now David said, "I will give myself unto prayer." I'm going to stay in the Spirit. Oh, how important that I stay in the Spirit, because in the spirit realm, I have a decided advantage over him. For you see, he was defeated at the cross. And if I can just stay in the Spirit, I can just wipe him out with the victory of Jesus Christ upon the cross. And prayer is actually the big guns of the Spirit by which I can defeat the enemy.

Now, the world is filled with spirits. And spirits have a decided advantage over us in many ways. For spirits are not bound by the time, space, material things by which we are bound. As we've gathered together here tonight, there are many spirits that have gathered here also, lot of angels around the place tonight. Because they're very curious at the work that God has done in your life, and they desire to look into it.

Peter, in talking about the grace and the goodness of God towards us, he said, "Which things the angels desire to look into" ( 1 Peter 1:12 ). And if He has "given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. To bear thee up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone" ( Psalms 91:11-12 ), that means the angels are here tonight. You know, they're watching over you. They'll be watching over you as you go home tonight.

But there are also other spirits that are here tonight. Spirits that are antagonistic to you as a child of God. Seeking to bring hurt and harm. And in the spirit realm, there is a real warfare that is going on. You remember when Daniel decided to fast and pray and wait upon God. After twenty-one days, the angel came and said, "Daniel, you know, twenty-one days ago when you started this fast, God sent me down here to bring you the answers. But, man, that prince of Persia got hold of me," talking about Satan, "and he took me captive and he held me for twenty-one days until Michael, that great prince, came and set me free. But now I'm come to tell you the things that the Lord wants to reveal unto you. The things that you had upon your heart. God dispatched me. There was a warfare. I got captured for a while until Michael came."

There is a fierce warfare going on in the spiritual realm. But that warfare was climaxed at the cross. In that, on the cross, Jesus defeated the spirit forces of Satan and darkness. In Colossians, chapter 2, we are told that He triumphed over the principalities and powers, which are names for spiritual entities, spiritual forces. He said He triumphed over them through the cross, making an open display of His victory as He triumphed over them in the cross. So that Satan is a defeated foe. So that if I stay in the spiritual realm, I have a decided advantage over Satan because he was defeated at the cross, and I can come against him in the power of the victory of Jesus Christ. And he's got to back down. He's got to back down. He was defeated at the cross.

Now these spirit forces, as I say, are not restricted to time and space and material obstacles as are we. Therefore, they have a decided advantage over us. Some of the spirits that are here tonight visiting with us in this service could quite possibly have been over a few moments ago watching the Syrian troops at the border of Jordan to see if anything was going to happen tonight. When nothing was going to happen, they decided, "Come on over, let's go to Calvary Chapel to see what's happening there tonight, you know." And as fast as you can think it, because they are not bound by, despite the time, space limitations as we are, as fast as you can think it, they were here. You see, they can they can get around really in a hurry. And if things get boring here, they might head for China or something and see what's going on there tonight, or tomorrow morning which over there.

Now, when we came in tonight, we came in through the doors. Hopefully. But the spirits that are here, they came through the ceiling or through the walls, or actually, if they were in China they may have just made a shortcut and come right through, because they are not restricted by material obstacles. They are able to pass through.

Now, it is difficult to fight with an enemy that you can't see. That can only bring spiritual pressures. That you can only feel but without being able to see them, it's extremely difficult to fight against them. But we have spiritual weapons. The Bible said, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal," they're not fleshly, "but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds of the enemy" ( 2 Corinthians 10:4 ). And the big gun in the spiritual warfare is prayer.

And it is interesting, because the prayer itself takes on the nature of a spirit in that the prayer does not become restricted to time or space or material. So that we can pray here tonight for a friend in Florida who is maybe going through a real spiritual trial. The enemy is really oppressing them, giving them a bad time. I can go into my closet. I can get on my knees. And I can begin to intercede for my friend in Florida. And as I pray for them, my prayer takes on the nature of a spirit in that it goes immediately to Florida, right into the home where they are and begins to do business for God right there in their house. Driving back the forces of darkness. Binding the forces of the enemy, and releasing God's work in their lives. Doing spiritual battle.

And so God has given us weapons whereby we have a decided advantage over the enemy. But whenever he gets you into the flesh, then he has the advantage. And Satan is always trying to get us into the flesh for that reason. So the best thing when someone is lying about me, someone is trying to cut me down and all, the best thing you can do is what David did, give yourself to prayer. Don't get into the physical. You'll only get wiped out. But retreat into prayer, and man, you can blast him to pieces and they don't even know where it's coming from. As you enter into the spiritual warfare and you do battle in the spirit through prayer. Oh, the change that you can bring in the lives of people.

Several years ago there was a United States senator from Missouri, very popular senator. He had a very keen mind. And he was sitting in the Senate in Washington during an especially busy session. His wife was in a prayer group with some ladies in their home state in Missouri. And her husband, because of his popularity, was actually being considered as a possible candidate for the presidency of the United States. One day, she and a group of the ladies at the prayer meeting decided that they were going to band together to pray for her husband's salvation. A brilliant man, but he was an atheist.

And so these ladies began every day at ten o'clock, no matter what they were doing, they would stop and agree together in prayer that God would get hold of the heart of this lady's husband and bring him to Jesus Christ. Binding the work of the enemy that had blinded him; was holding him captive. During the Congressional recess, he came home. And on Sunday as she got up to go to church, she was surprised that he also got up. And she said, "Well, where are you going today?" He said, "I'm going to church with you." And it rather surprised her, but she played it cool. And that morning in the service, when the invitation was given, he went forward to publicly receive Jesus Christ.

And, of course, she was absolutely ecstatic, as were all of the ladies that were in her prayer group who had been praying for his salvation. Afterwards, she told him of this prayer pact that these ladies had made. He said, "When did you start?" And so she said, "Well, let's see, it was you know, Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday morning, and let's see, it was just before... " and she figured out the date and she said, "March the twelfth, ten o'clock, Tuesday morning."

He pulled out his diary to that date and with the time difference, he said, "Though I am sitting here in the Senate," in his diary, "and there is debate going on, suddenly I have become conscious of a great need in my life for God." Spirit force, the Spirit power by which lives can be changed.

"I will give myself," the psalmist said, "unto prayer." The wisest thing you can do. Now I don't really believe that you should give yourself to prayer as the psalmist did. For he says in verse Psalms 109:5 , concerning the wicked and his enemies,

They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. [Therefore, Lord,] Set a wicked man over him: let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, condemn him: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he has; and let the strangers spoil his labor. And let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any favor for his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and the needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing like with a garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covers him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul ( Psalms 109:5-20 ).

Boy, he's really out for blood! How far this is, of course, from the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, who said, "Bless those that curse you, do good unto those that despitefully use you" ( Matthew 5:44 ). But this is David, and this is what I feel many times when someone's done me wrong. I feel, "Lord, give them one." So though I can identify with the prayer, yet I realize that this is not the new nature in Christ of forgiveness. Realizing how much God has forgiven me, I also am to forgive.

Now, "Let another take his office," verse Psalms 109:8 . In the first chapter of the book of Acts, after Jesus had ascended into heaven and the disciples were meeting together in Jerusalem waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter said to them, "You know, it's necessary that we get someone to take Judas' place who by transgression fell. For, the scriptures said, 'Let another take his bishopric,'" ( Acts 1:20 ). And Peter is quoting this particular psalm, verse Psalms 109:8 , "Let another take his office," and he applies it unto Judas Iscariot. And as you read David's vilification against this traitor, the man who lied against him and all, Satan standing at his right hand, condemned and all, there is a shadow of Judas behind it.

Now David prayed that for his enemies, but now he's praying for himself in verse Psalms 109:21 , and he sure changes the tune.

But for me, O God the LORD, do for me for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth ( Psalms 109:21-23 ):

Referring to the sundial.

I am tossed up and down as the locust. My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness ( Psalms 109:23-24 ).

I'm skinny and weak.

I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads ( Psalms 109:25 ).

And if you go over there today, you'll see them when they are fighting with each other or talking with each other, they just shake their heads violently as they're yelling at one another.

Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy: That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it. Let them curse, but You bless: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let your servant rejoice. Let my adversaries be clothed with shame; and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. And I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul ( Psalms 109:26-31 ).

Interesting psalm. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Lament over enemies 109:1-5

David asked God to respond to his prayer for vindication. He had shown love to an unidentified group of people, but they had returned hatred, lying, and evil. He did not avenge their injustice but pleaded with God to do so.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 109

This individual lament is one of the imprecatory psalms in which the writer called on God to avenge his enemies (cf. Psalms 3:7; Psalms 5:10; Psalms 6:10; Psalms 7:14-16; Psalms 28:4-5; Psalms 31:17-18; Psalms 37:2; Psalms 37:9-10; Psalms 37:15; Psalms 37:20; Psalms 37:35-36; Psalms 40:14-15; Psalms 54:5; Psalms 55:9; Psalms 55:15; Psalms 55:23; Psalms 59:12-13; Psalms 63:9-11; Psalms 64:7-9; Psalms 71:13; Psalms 79:6; Psalms 79:12; Psalms 139:19-22; Psalms 140:9-10). [Note: See Day, "The Imprecatory . . .," pp. 176-80.]

"Whereas Psalms 88 is preoccupied with the absence and silence of God, Psalms 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." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 81.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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 John 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,

Luke 19:10.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief Musician. A psalm of David.

      1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;   2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.   3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.   4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.   5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

      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 (Psalms 109:1; Psalms 109:1): "Hold not thy peace, but let my sentence come forth from thy presence,Psalms 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 (Psalms 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.

      II. 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 (Psalms 109:2; Psalms 109:2); their words are words of hatred,Psalms 109:3; Psalms 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, 5. They were very ungrateful, and rewarded him evil for good,Psalms 109:5; Psalms 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 (Psalms 109:4; Psalms 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.

      III. He resolves to keep close to his duty and take the comfort of that: But I give myself unto prayer (Psalms 109:4; Psalms 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, Acts 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,1 Samuel 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 (John 10:32); and yet he gave himself to prayer, to pray for them. Father, forgive them.