Psalms 109: God of My Praise
An imprecatory psalm of David who, slandered and repaid evil for good, hands his cause over to God and trusts the Lord to stand at the needy's side.
Psalms 109 (WEB)
1 God of my praise, don’t remain silent,
2 for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.
5 They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come out guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few. Let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.
11 Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth;
16 because he didn’t remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them.
17 Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him.
20 This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake, because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;
22 for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.
25 I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;
27 that they may know that this is your hand; that you, Yahweh, have done it.
28 They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice.
29 Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
Psalms 109 (KJV)
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.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with 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 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Psalms 109 (ASV)
1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2 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.
3 They have compassed me about also with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: But Igive myself untoprayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him; And let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few; Andlet another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; And let strangers make spoil of his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto him; Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16 Because he remembered not to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, And the broken in heart, to slay them.
17 Yea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name’s sake: Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;
22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I am become also a reproach unto them: When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, O Jehovah my God; Oh save me according to thy lovingkindness:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; That thou, Jehovah, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with dishonor, And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth; Yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from them that judge his soul.
Summary
Psalm 109 is one of the imprecatory psalms, a raw cry for justice from David, who is surrounded by lying tongues and repaid evil for good. He begs the God of his praise not to remain silent while accusers attack him without cause. The long central section calls down judgment on the wicked accuser, asking that his days be few, his office be taken, and his family suffer—language that is shocking until we see it as David handing his vengeance over to God rather than taking it himself. He grounds these requests in the accuser's own cruelty: this is a man who loved cursing and never delighted in blessing the poor and broken-hearted. David then turns from cursing to pleading, asking the Lord to deal kindly with him for his name's sake, for he is poor and needy and his heart is wounded. He longs for his enemies to know that this is God's hand at work. The psalm ends with a vow of thanksgiving and a beautiful confidence: the Lord stands at the right hand of the needy to save him. The New Testament applies verse 8 to Judas (Acts 1:20), reminding us that this betrayed sufferer points toward Christ, who likewise was hated without cause and entrusted himself to the righteous Judge.
Voices
- David — The slandered psalmist, repaid evil for good, who refuses private revenge and instead lays his cause before God in prayer.
- The wicked accuser — The lying, hateful enemy who persecuted the poor and broken-hearted and against whom David calls down judgment.
- Yahweh the Lord — The righteous Judge appealed to for justice, who deals with David for his name's sake and stands at the right hand of the needy.
Key Verse
Psalm 109:31 (WEB)
For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
Lessons Learned
- We can bring even our rawest anger and desire for justice to God in honest prayer (Psalm 109:1-5).
- Handing our case to God means refusing to take revenge into our own hands.
- God's help is sought "for your name’s sake," anchored in his loving kindness rather than our merit (Psalm 109:21).
- The Lord stands beside the poor and needy to save them from their accusers (Psalm 109:31).
- David's suffering as one hated without cause points us to Christ, betrayed and yet trusting the Father.
- Prayer is the place for our pain. "In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer" (Psalm 109:4, WEB). David takes his hurt to God rather than to retaliation.
- Vengeance belongs to God. By calling down judgment in prayer, David leaves justice to "the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh" (Psalm 109:20, WEB) rather than seizing it himself.
- We plead God's name, not our worth. "Deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake" (Psalm 109:21, WEB). Our hope in trouble is his character, not ours.
- God sides with the needy. "He will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him" (Psalm 109:31, WEB). The accused poor have a defender.
- The innocent sufferer foreshadows Christ. Hated "without a cause" (Psalm 109:3, WEB), David anticipates Jesus, who was likewise hated and committed himself to the righteous Judge.
- How does it help to know we can bring even our anger and desire for justice to God in prayer?
- What is the difference between calling down judgment in prayer and taking revenge ourselves?
- Why does David ask God to act "for your name’s sake" rather than because he deserves it?
- How does this psalm point forward to Christ, who was also hated without cause (see Acts 1:20)?
- Where do you need to entrust a hurt or injustice to God rather than carrying the weight of vengeance yourself?
- David does not bottle up his pain or act on it; he pours it out to "the God of my praise" (109:1). These hard psalms give us permission to be honest with God about deep wounds, trusting him to handle what we cannot.
- Calling down judgment in prayer actually surrenders the matter to God's justice rather than our own (109:20). The very act of asking God to judge is a refusal to take vengeance into our hands. Help the group hold both the rawness and the restraint.
- David appeals to God's "name" and "loving kindness" (109:21), not his own goodness. Our security in trouble rests on who God is. Encourage members to ground their prayers in God's character rather than their performance.
- Acts 1:20 applies verse 8 to Judas, and David's portrait of innocent suffering points to Jesus, hated without cause yet trusting the Father. Draw the line gently: the Lord who stands at the right hand of the needy (109:31) ultimately stood with his own Son and with us.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a hurt they are tempted to avenge and to release it to God in prayer. As leader, keep the tone tender, and close by resting in the One who defends the needy.