My Thoughts
Several of the commentators listed below call this psalm an “imprecatory psalm”, the best definition I could find of imprecatory is “to invoke judgment, calamity, or curses upon someone or something.” The other common theme among the commentators was this psalm was prophetic, referring to Judas :
“For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’ Acts 1:20 NKJV
As part of his summary, Matthew Henry writes “but it is certain that in penning it he had an eye to Christ, his sufferings and his persecutors, for that imprecation (v. 8) ” (see Matthew Henry below).
Over the next few days, we’ll follow Henry’s outline of the psalm, which is listed below.
I. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven of the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies and with it an appeal to the righteous God (v. 1-5).
II. He prays against his enemies and devotes them to destruction (v. 6-20).
III. He prays for himself, that God would help and succor him in his low condition (v. 21-29).
IV. He concludes with a joyful expectation that God would appear for him (v. 30, 31).
Bill
__________________________________
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
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 time—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.—Not 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.
__________________________________
Enduring Word
Psalm 109 is titled To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Some think the Chief Musician was the choirmaster for King David; others think it was a poetic reference to God Himself, the author of music itself. (Guzik)
This is a Psalm of David, and is thought to be the strongest of what are known as the imprecatory psalms, David’s songs that call down curses upon his enemies. It is important to remember that these are prayers, committing vengeance unto God. With the greater revelation of grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, we understand that we are to pray for the good of our enemies, and not for their ruin.
Yet, we remind ourselves that David refused to act upon these curses; he left vengeance up to God. This is especially relevant regarding David, who knew what it was to take life with the sword. When David withheld vengeance, it was because he chose to, not because he lacked the opportunity, skill, or courage. (Guzik)
__________________________________
Barnes
This psalm is ascribed to David, and there is nothing in the psalm to make us doubt the correctness of the title. Kimchi supposes that it refers to the enemies of David in the time of Saul. Grotius and Knapp suppose that it refers to Ahithophel; Dathe, to Shimei; DeWette, that it refers to national foes at a later period than the time of David. It is impossible now to ascertain the occasion on which it was composed. It would seem to have been one of the most trying in the life of David when his enemies were most bitter against him. It is one of the “imprecatory” psalms and one which is as difficult to reconcile with a kind and forgiving spirit as any other in the book.
In the New Testament Acts 1:20 a part of the psalm is applied to Judas the traitor, but without its being necessary to conclude that it had any original reference to him. The conduct of Judas was like the conduct of the enemy of David; the language used in the one case might be properly used in the other.
The psalm consists of three parts:
I. A description of the enemies of the psalmist Psalms 109:1-5, as
(a) deceitful and lying;
(b) as using words of hatred;
(c) as fighting against him without cause;
(d) as returning evil for good, and hatred for love.
From this, it would seem that the persons referred to were some who had been closely connected with the author; who had received important benefits from him; who had been the subjects of his prayer; and who pursued him from mere malice.
II. A prayer for the punishment of those who had thus wronged him – referring particularly to some one person who had been prominent, or who had instigated others, imploring the infliction of just punishment on him as if he were alone responsible Psalms 109:6-20. It is in this part of the psalm that the principal difficulty in the interpretation consists, as this is made up of severe and apparently harsh and revengeful imprecations. All is in fact invoked on him that any man could ever desire to see inflicted on an enemy.
III. A prayer for the sufferer’s own deliverance, with a promise of thanksgiving, Psalms 109:21-31. The psalmist here describes his miserable and suffering condition, and prays that God would interpose – expressing a willingness to suffer anything at the hand of man if God would be his friend – a willingness that they should continue to “curse,” if God would “bless.” As the result of all, he says that he would find delight in praise – in the public acknowledgment of the goodness of God.
__________________________________
John Gill
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, concerning Judas the betrayer of Christ, as is certain from Acts 1:16 hence it is used to be called by the ancients the Iscariotic psalm. Whether the occasion of it was the rebellion of Absalom, as some, or the persecution of Saul, as Kimchi; and whoever David might have in view particularly, whether Ahithophel, or Doeg the Edomite, as is most likely; yet it is evident that the Holy Ghost foresaw the sin of Judas, and prophesies of that, and of the ruin and misery that should come upon him; for the imprecations in this psalm are no other than predictions of future events, and so are not to be drawn into an example by men; nor do they breathe out anything contrary to the spirit of Christianity, but are proofs of it, since what is here predicted has been exactly accomplished. The title in the Syriac version is, “a psalm of David when they created Absalom king without his knowledge, and for this cause, he was slain; but to us it expounds the sufferings of the Christ of God;” and indeed he is the person that is all along speaking in this psalm.
__________________________________
Matthew Henry
Whether David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, or upon occasion of some other trouble that was given him, is uncertain; and whether the particular enemy he prays against was Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or some other not mentioned in the story, we cannot determine; but it is certain that in penning it he had an eye to Christ, his sufferings and his persecutors, for that imprecation (v. 8) is applied to Judas, Acts 1:20. The rest of the prayers here against his enemies were the expressions, not of passion, but of the Spirit of prophecy.
I. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven of the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies and with it an appeal to the righteous God (v. 1-5).
II. He prays against his enemies and devotes them to destruction (v. 6-20).
III. He prays for himself, that God would help and succor him in his low condition (v. 21-29).
IV. He concludes with a joyful expectation that God would appear for him (v. 30, 31).
In singing this psalm we must comfort ourselves with the believing foresight of the certain destruction of all the enemies of Christ and his church, and the certain salvation of all those that trust in God and keep close to him.
__________________________________
Clarke
The title of this Psalm, To the Chief Musician, A Psalm of David, has already often occurred, and on it the Versions offer nothing new. The Syriac says it is “a Psalm of David, when the people, without his knowledge, made Absalom king; on which account he was slain: but to us (Christians) he details the passion of Christ.” That it contains a prophecy against Judas and the enemies of our Lord, is evident from Acts 1:20. Probably, in its primary meaning, (for such a meaning it certainly has,) it may refer to Ahithophel. The execrations in it should be rendered in the future tense, as they are mere prophetic denunciations of God’s displeasure against sinners. Taken in this light, it cannot be a stumbling block to any person. God has a right to denounce those judgments which he will inflict on the workers of iniquity. But perhaps the whole may be the execrations of David’s enemies against himself. See on Psalms 107:20. Ahithophel, who gave evil counsel against David, and being frustrated hanged himself, was no mean prototype of Judas the traitor; it was probably on this account that St. Peter, Acts 1:20, applied it to the case of Judas, as a prophetic declaration concerning him, or at least a subject that might be accommodated to his case.
- Exploring the Beauty of Psalms: Insights and Commentaries
- Monthly Breakdown of Our Blog Content
- Psalms Commentary: Faith and Inspiration
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Ps 19:14 NKJV
Leave a Reply