28
Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.
My Thoughts
Psalm 109:28 conveys a powerful message about the contrast between the curses of enemies and God’s blessings. Despite opposition and slander, the believer can find joy in divine favor, rendering earthly insults insignificant. The psalm emphasizes that God’s blessings outweigh any curses, leading to the shame of adversaries and rejoicing for His servant………Bill
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Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Let them curse, but bless thou,” or, “they will curse and thou wilt bless.” Their cursing will then be of such little consequence that it will not matter a straw. One blessing from the Lord will take the poison out of ten thousand curses of men.
“When they arise, let them be ashamed.” They lift up themselves to deal out another blow, to utter another falsehood, and to watch for its injurious effects upon their victim, but they see their own defeat and are filled with shame.
“But let thy servant rejoice.” Not merely as a man protected and rescued, but as God’s servant in whom his master’s goodness and glory are displayed when he is saved from his foes. It ought to be our greatest joy that the Lord is honored in our experience; the mercy itself ought not so much to rejoice us as the glory which is thereby brought to him who so graciously bestows it.
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Enduring Word
Let them curse, but You bless: David understood that the curses of his enemies could never triumph over the blessings of God in his life. This would make David rejoice and his enemies be clothed with shame, wearing their disgrace as if it were a mantle. (Guzik)
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Barnes
Let them curse, but bless thou – See Psalms 109:17. Let them continue to curse me, provided thou wilt bless me. I am willing to bear all these reproaches, if I may have thy favor. That favor I value infinitely more than I do theirs; and it is a small matter that I am reviled and cursed by people, if I may secure the favor and friendship of God.
When they arise – When they rise up against me; when they attempt to persecute me.
Let them be ashamed … – Let them be disappointed; let them not be successful in their designs against me. On the word “ashamed,” see Job 6:20, note; Psalms 25:2-3, note.
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John Gill
Let them curse, but bless thou,…. Let them curse me, as Shimei did David, the type of Christ; let them curse themselves, as they did; or my people: or “let them be cursed,” as the Syriac version; cursed in life and at death, and to all eternity: but “bless thou [me],” the Messiah; as he did, when he raised him front the dead, set him at his right hand, and gave him a name above everyone, and made him most blessed for evermore; and bless my people with all spiritual blessings of grace, and with eternal glory and happiness. Or “be thou blessed”; let honour, blessing, and praise, be continually ascribed to thee; if God does but bless, it is no matter if wicked men curse, so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it; see 2 Samuel 16:11.
When they arise, let them be ashamed; be suffered to do those things which may bring shame and disgrace upon them; or let them be disappointed and so confounded, as the Jews were; who though they so far gained their point as to bring Christ to the dust of death and the grave, yet to their great confusion he arose again from the dead; or let them be ashamed at the last day, as they will be when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven and be their Judge, who will then be glad to shelter themselves in rocks and caves. This is imprecated to be done
when they shall arise: rise up against Christ to take away his life; rise up against his disciples to persecute them, against his Gospel to contradict and blaspheme it, and against his cause and interest to crush it; or against the Romans, to shake off their yoke, when they were brought to great shame and confusion; or when they shall arise at the resurrection of the dead, which will be to shame and everlasting contempt, Daniel 12:2.
But let thy servant rejoice; the Messiah, who appeared in the form of a servant; came not as a temporal lord and prince, to be ministered unto, but as a servant, to minister to others; and who is a servant of God’s choosing, calling, and sending, and whom he faithfully served; and who, as prayed for, did rejoice in the strength of the Lord, given him as man; and in the salvation wrought for and by him, Psalm 21:1, in the work of the Lord prospering in his hand; in his victory over sin, Satan, the world, and death; in the presence of God he was made glad with, and in the glory promised him, which he had with his Father before the world was, Psalm 16:11.
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Matthew Henry
He prays (v. 28), Though they curse, bless thou. Here:
(1.) He despises the causeless curses of his enemies: Let them curse. He said of Shimei, So let him curse. They can but show their malice; they can do him no more mischief than the bird by wandering or the swallow by flying, Prov. 26
(2.) He values the blessing of God as sufficient to counterbalance their curses: Bless thou, and then it is no matter though they curse. If God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse those whom God has not cursed, nay, whom he has blessed? Num. 23:8. Men’s curses are impotent; God’s blessings are omnipotent; and those whom we unjustly curse may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for his confessing Christ, Christ found him, Jn. 9:35. When men without cause say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our heart to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou. He prays (v. 28), Let thy servant rejoice. Those that know how to value God’s blessing, let them but be sure of it, and they will be glad of it.
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Cross-References
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Numbers 22:12.
10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? 11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. 13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, 2 Samuel 16:10–13.
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Hebrews 12:2.
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KJV W/Strongs Bible
109:28 Let them curse 7043 8762, but bless 1288 8762 thou: when they arise 6965 8804, let them be ashamed 954 8799; but let thy servant 5650 rejoice 8055 8799.
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Geneva Bible 1560
Psalm 109:28
28 Though they (p) curse, yet thou wilt bless: they shal arise and be confounded, but thy servant shal rejoyce.
(p) They shall gain nothing by cursing me.
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2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
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