Learning from Psalm 109

Today we will be doing a breakdown of Psalm 109. Now this is part of the Psalm Series that I will be doing so expect more of these in the future. We will be going section by section to see the themes of the Psalm and also the lessons we can learn from it. Let’s check it out.

Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love. Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand.

Psalms 109:1‭-‬6 NKJV

From the begining part of this Psalm we can see that David is dealing with a betrayal in his life. He is having to deal with the pain of a friend that has turned their back on him. And many people today deal with this pain. Sadly, betrayal is common in this broken world. But we can learn from David because we see how he responds to it. Instead of seeking revenge, we see that he goes to the Lord in prayer. When we face betrayal and loss of trust, the first thing we should do is seek the Lord. God knows all about betrayal because He has been betrayed. He was betrayed by Satan, and He has been betrayed by Israel countless times. He can and will comfort you.

Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, 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 from their desolate places. Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor 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 before the Lord, And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be continually before the Lord, That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

Psalms 109:6‭-‬15 NKJV

In this section we can really see the bitterness and anger that betrayal causes. It makes you want to destroy that person that you trusted and loved. Now this is some pretty bad stuff, but later on we can see the reason why many of these prayers might actually come to pass.

Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it enter his body like water, And like oil into his bones. Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, And for a belt with which he girds himself continually. Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person.

Psalms 109:16‭-‬20 NKJV

Here we come across a Kingdom Principle. It is the Law that if you speak life, life will come to you. But if you speak death and the curse, then death and the curse will come to you. The more we let our mouth run freely without restaint, the more a curse will come upon us, but if we speak life then life will come. It is interesting that the symbology here to explain this spiritual principle is that your words become your clothing. You wear what you speak.

But You, O God the Lord, Deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, That they may know that this is Your hand— That You, Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.

Psalms 109:21‭-‬29 NKJV

A huge part to focus on here is that David is acknowledging his own weakness. When approaching God, we have to have the same attitude of humility. You will never move past a weakness in your life if you never acknowledge it before God. He wants to help you, but you have to help yourself first by being humble and honest about your situation. The other thing to notice in this passage is that David is saying that he will give God all the glory. He wants God to save him, but also in a way that glorifys God.

I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him.

Psalms 109:30‭-‬31 NKJV

Then lastly the Psalm ends with a reminder of God’s character and nature to rescue the poor and needy. We should remember that it is God’s nature to save those who cannot save themselves. This is why He sent us Christ to redeem us from our sinful ways.

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