Psalm 109: An Expression of Righteous Anger

The Book of Psalms is full of expressions of human emotion — from joy to sorrow, praise to anger, confidence to confusion. While we are perfectly comfortable expressing joy and singing God’s praises, as we should be, there are emotions that we tend to shy away from when it comes to our relationship with God. But why? What if I were to tell you that we should be equally comfortable singing curses against evil? How would that make you feel? I think the answer is obvious: pretty uncomfortable. Perhaps even angry that I would suggest such a notion. But the divinely-inspired Book of Psalms models that very action for us. Enter the Imprecatory Psalms — that is, a type of psalm that invokes a curse, or evil, upon an enemy. Psalm 109 is one such example.

Psalm 109

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

6 Appoint a wicked man against him;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few;
may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg,
seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off;
may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the LORD continually,
that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
of those who speak evil against my life!

21 But you, O GOD my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads.

26 Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. (ESV)

Summary

Written by David in response to the suffering he experienced at the hands of his persecutors, Psalm 109 eventually came to be used in a liturgical context (as indicated by the preface — To the Choirmaster). Compared to the other Imprecatory Psalms it is one of the most passionate and severe, calling for retribution not only to David’s enemies, but also extending to their families (vv. 9–15).

The psalm contains five sections, structured in such a way that brings about the image of David standing in God’s courtroom, arguing his case before the righteous judge.

- Verses 1–5 describe David’s suffering, beginning with an invocation (v. 1) and describing the charges against his persecutors (vv. 2–5)

- Verses 6–15 contain the imprecations: first against the persecutor, then against his family and possessions

- Verses 21–25 describe David’s complete dependence on the Lord

- Verses 26–29 appeal to the Lord for salvation

- Verses 30–32 praise the Lord for his salvation

Description

Rather unique for a Psalm of Lament, Psalm 109 is bookended with acclamations of praise to the Lord (verses one and thirty), thereby showing the confidence that David has that his prayer will be heard.[1] David begins to describe the attacks of his persecutors in verse two, drawing another connection to verse thirty. This time, he juxtaposes the “wicked and deceitful mouths” of his persecutors (v. 2) with the mouth that will “give great praise to the Lord” (v. 30). The subject in this section is plural (“they”), but this is soon shifted to the singular (“he”) starting in verse six. While there are various interpretations of this, the most plausible seems to be that David is singling out the ringleader of the group — perhaps the most vile — as an example.

The offense to David was great (v. 4, “in return for my love they accuse me”); in response, David prays for their defeat. Verse six draws another parallel, this time to the last verse of the psalm (v. 31), juxtaposing the accuser (Heb. s̆āp̱aṭ, alluding to satan), who stands at the right hand of the wicked, with the Lord, who stands at the right hand of the needy one. David desires that the persecutor have no chance to redeem himself, asking that even his prayers be counted as sin (v. 7). In verse eight, he prays that this person’s days might be few, cutting short the amount of time the corruption will last. In David’s mind, this person is a sinner who has failed to keep the commandments of God, and must face the consequence (see Proverbs 3:1–2). The latter half of verse eight (“may another take his office”) is directly quoted in Acts as being fulfilled in Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ and his ultimate replacement by Matthias (Acts 1:16–20).

Verses nine through twelve extended the imprecations to the family, that their name might be disgraced, and that they might become destitute because of the father’s sins. Leupold argues that the family is judged because they have given evidence of hating God, just as the father, and as a result have come under the same judgment (see Exodus 20:5).[2] Verse fifteen takes the imprecations to the extreme, asking the Lord to revoke their covenant blessings and “cut them off from the memory of the earth” (v. 15). As harsh as this may sound, it is justified in David’s eyes; the persecutor’s failure to practice kindness to the poor and needy (v. 16) is a breach of covenant stipulations (see Leviticus 19:18 and Micah 6:8). So vile was this person, that cursing is said to be a very part of his being (vv. 17–19).

What are we to do with such harsh statements? How can we, as Christians, reconcile the inspired text of Psalm 109, and any of the other Imprecatory Psalms, with the New Testament command to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44)? First, it is important to realize that what is being said here is not personal vengeance but a call for divine justice and honor. While it may seem that David is making this personal, it is important to realize that he is condemning sin. Indeed, in Jewish thought, there is no sharp distinction between the sin and the sinner.[3] Luther, interpreting the imprecations as wrath against those who oppose the gospel, says

“To understand this, you must distinguish between … persons and issues. Where God and issues are involved, there is neither patience nor blessings but only zeal, wrath, vengeance, and cursing. When the wicked persecute the Gospel, for example, this strikes at God and at His cause. We are not to bless them or wish them any luck when they do this. Otherwise no one could preach or write even against heresy, because that is impossible without cursing. Anyone who preaches against heresy wishes that it be destroyed and tries as hard as possible to destroy it … in short, it is permissible to curse on account of the Word of God; but it is wrong to curse on your own account for personal vengeance or some other personal end.”[4]

The New Testament also models this for us. In Matthew 10:14–15, Jesus curses those who oppose the gospel, and commands his followers to do likewise. In calling out for salvation, David is condemning wickedness and asking the Lord to intervene by removing that wickedness from existence. He does not do so with a malicious intent, but from a posture of righteous anger. A lack of repentance leads to defeat. Those who persecute the gospel will experience God’s wrath and judgment, and will perish.

Physically and emotionally exhausted (v. 24), David concludes Psalm 109 by leaving the issue in God’s hands, trusting that God will do what is right: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay” (Exodus 32:25). The Lord is a righteous judge, and putting the matter in his hands is the appropriate response. David appeals to the Lord’s steadfast love (Heb. hesed) — that same covenant-keeping love that God had demonstrated countless times before. He pleads that the Lord would honor his reputation of saving his people in their times of trouble, and remains confident that he will do so (vv. 30–31).

Christians and the Imprecatory Psalms

The Book of Psalms is the inspired hymnal, given to the Church to sing and pray. It covers the entire spectrum of real human emotion, of which righteous anger is a part. While it may be difficult for us to see how the Imprecatory Psalms are appropriate for private or corporate worship, we should be confident that we can join our voices with the psalmist. Through them, we exhibit our love for the gospel, and a righteous hatred for those ideas which oppose it. We curse that evil which is anti-Christ, and pray through our anger and frustration. Most importantly, we are reminded of the ultimate imprecations: those curses that God the Father directed toward his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the one who bore the entire weight of your wickedness so that you might have life. Trust in him, and know that the God who has always delivered his people will continue to keep his promise to you.

Singing the Psalms

There are numerous resources to aid in private, congregational, and choral psalm singing. The Western liturgical traditions (Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic) are often the best places to look for full-text versions of the psalms, set to various types of chant tones. For metrical versions of the psalms, look to the Reformed tradition. Some contemporary artists, such as Cardiphonia, have tried their hand at psalm settings over the past few years. Additionally, many hymns are inspired by the psalms. Check the index of your denominational hymnal for psalm paraphrases.

[1] Frank E. Gaebelein et al., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991).

[2] Herbert C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 1970), 767.

[3] Roger Ellsworth, Opening up Psalms (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2006), 157.

[4] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 14 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968), 258.