Psalms 109:1

The Bible says in Psalm 109:1-2, “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.” According to verse two the wicked are speaking deceit and lies. If you want to know what someone is really like, just listen to them talk. But the problem here is that the deceit and the lies were being used to make attacks against the innocent one. These are some of the things that Jesus suffered when He was falsely accused and crucified. What should be done when such attacks come your way? Turn to God and ask Him to defend you. As it says in verse one, “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise.” Just make sure that you continue praising God no matter what happens.

The Psalmist goes into more detail about those who were attacking him, and the Bible says in Psalm 109:3-5, “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.” In the previous verses the wicked used deceit and lies, and now they use “hatred.” Why do they hate? They hate “without a cause.” There is no logical reason for the hatred, but even so it is very vicious. As a matter of fact, according to verse four, they hate because they are loved. It is as though in order to reject love, they use hate to make sure the love does not get through to them. How crazy is that? What should our response be when we are treated this way: prayer. It says in verse four, “I give myself unto prayer.” Sadly, for some people, no matter how much we pray for them, they continue to do what it says in verse five: “And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”

What will be the final destiny of those who never respond to the love of God that is offered through Christ? The next verses speak to that. The Bible says in Psalm 109:6-20, “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.” That is a lot of terrible things to happen to one person. But the final destiny of those who reject Jesus will be terrible. We are talking eternal punishment in hell. Those who hate believers also hate God. Those who reject Jesus will not be allowed into the kingdom of God. All of your sins will be forever connected to you, and you will have the judgment of those sins unless you come to know Jesus as your personal Savior. The wicked ones will get what they deserve and right at the time appointed by the Judge.

The Bible says in Psalm 109:21, “But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.” In the face of so many enemies the Psalmist did what every believer should do: turned to the Lord for help. That is one of the great advantages that we have once we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We can always pray this very important one-word prayer, “Help.” God will always answer that prayer. Two reasons are given in this verse for why God always helps us when we call upon Him. The first reason is for His “name's sake.” Once we believe on Jesus, His name is attached to each of us and to our identities. God wants His name to be honored and revered. God added to the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” When the Bible talks about the final judgment, it says in Philippians 2:10 that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” When we pray, we pray in the name of Jesus. Here is one of the great reasons that God answers our prayers including the prayers for help: because of the name of Jesus.

The second reason given in verse twenty-one that God will do for us and deliver us is because His “mercy is good.” We are sinners. Some of our troubles we have brought upon ourselves. Why should God help me? Because He is merciful. God is kindly disposed for those who call upon Him. Once we believe on Jesus, God no longer sees our sins, but He sees the righteousness of Christ instead. If God did not help us because of how sinful we are, that would mean that He was not merciful. But Jesus took our chastisements upon Himself, and so there is always abundant mercy available from the throne of God.

In the next verses the Psalmist tells why he cannot help himself, and why he needs the higher power. The Bible says in Psalm 109:22-25, “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.” The Psalmist was honest. He was humble. Anyone who is not humble does not have a true view of himself or herself. The Psalmist knew that he was poor and needy from a spiritual standpoint. Christ can heal someone who is poor and needy because of the unlimited riches of His glory. And the Psalmist was hurting with a “wounded” heart. Jesus can heal any heart. As a matter of fact, the healing of the heart is the greatest healing of all. In verse twenty-three the Psalmist describes himself as a declining shadow, and as a locust tossed in the wind. In verse twenty-four the Psalmist says that he was weak-kneed and losing weight. He was reproached by those that knew him. This is a description that would fit Job very well and anyone who is suffering some of the great misfortunes of life.

The Bible says in Psalm 109:26-27, “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.” The Psalmist does what anyone should do who is hurting: he turns to God. Notice the first world of verse twenty-six: “Help.” That is one of the best one-word prayers, and it is a prayer that God always answers. It is the prayer for salvation. When a person calls upon Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, that is a prayer for help. And then other times (sometimes daily) when believers will need help, they turn to the Lord. Here is the most important result that we pray for when we ask God to help, as it says in verse twenty-seven, “That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.” We should always pray like the following: “Lord please deliver from this problem, or please heal this person, or please save this soul; and Lord please do it in a way that people will realize that you have done it so that your name will be glorified.”

The Bible says in Psalm 109:28, “Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.” In talking to God, the Psalmist used the word “let.” What happens in any situation is whatever God lets happen. In the first part of verse twenty-eight the Psalmist said, “Let them curse.” It does not matter if the unbelievers curse. What matters is that God blesses. It does not matter that the unbelievers increase in power, but what really matters is what God decides to do after that. God can make them “ashamed” because of their failure. And while that is happening, God can make us “rejoice” through praising the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All that we need is for God to act.

The Bible says in Psalm 109:29, “Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.” The Psalmist asked God to give two things to his adversaries: shame and confusion. Of course, we should pray for our enemies, but if they do not repent, this verse describes what will be their final judgment. All of their plans, all of their schemes, and all of their deceit will lead to shame and confusion forever.

The Bible says in Psalm 109:30-31, “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.” Serving God involves both the heart and the mouth. It is not enough to just believe in the heart. God also wants us to speak with the mouth. It says in Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” It says elsewhere in the Psalms, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Put the “go” into the gospel. Part of the armor of a Christian according to Ephesians chapter six is to “have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

Notice that the Psalmist said that he would praise God “among the multitude.” That means that we will not allow ourselves to be affected by peer pressure. We are going to be leaders, not followers. We want to please God, not man.

The last statement that the Psalmist makes in verse thirty-one is the fact that he knows the Lord will save believers from whoever condemns us: and that means devil or man. A believer can always look to the future and know that better things are yet to come. Jesus will return. The judgment is coming. We will be in heaven forever. The wicked ones will lose everything, and we will gain everything. “For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.”

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