#840 Let Them Curse

Be not silent, O God of my praise!

2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

3 They encircle me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

4 In return for my love they accuse me,

but I give myself to prayer.

5 So they reward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

6 Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser stand at his right hand.

7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin!

8 May his days be few;

may another take his office!

9 May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

10 May his children wander about and beg,

seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11 May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,

nor any to pity his fatherless children!

13 May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before 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 For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!

He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!

18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;

may it soak into his body like water,

like oil into his bones!

19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,

like a belt that he puts on every day!

20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

21 But you, O God my Lord,

deal on my behalf for your name's sake;

because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!

22 For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24 My knees are weak through fasting;

my body has become gaunt, with no fat.

25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they wag their heads.

26 Help me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love!

27 Let them know that this is your hand;

you, O Lord, have done it!

28 Let them curse, but you will bless!

They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!

29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;

may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,

to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. Psalm 109 ESV

A Psalm of David to the chief musician.

- The gentlest hearts burn with indignation when they hear of barbarities to women and children, of crafty plots for ruining the innocent, of cruel oppression of helpless orphans, and gratuitous ingratitude to the good and gentle. A curse upon the perpetrators of the atrocities in Turkey may not be less virtuous than a blessing upon the righteous. We wish well to all mankind, and for that very reason we sometimes blaze with indignation against the inhuman wretches by whom every law which protects our fellow creatures is trampled down, and every dictate of humanity is set at nought. - C. H. Spurgeon

Be not silent, O God of my praise - The Psalmist cries out to God for help against those who are not at all silent about him. It is not just that they speak, but they speak lies, and though we say innocent until proven guilty, too often minds are already made up. When my only defense is to tell the truth, I find myself at a disadvantage in this world, but wait, what if my hope is not in this world? What if I tell the truth without exchanging insult for insult, without taking up the weapons of this present age? There was a man who I spoke out often against, but he turned out to be the better man than I. He said he decided at the beginning of his ministry that he would not defend himself, only the gospel. The honor of his Savior was more precious than his own name.

But I give myself to prayer - Lord, You hear what they say about me, and I pray that none of it will ever be true. That part that is or may be, please forgive me of, and remove from me all iniquity. 

Let his prayers be counted as sin - Do not answer him, O Lord, in the way that he would want. Let his curses fall upon him, let his own prayers be in vain, as to an idol or other god. 

9 To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.…

…12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”… Luke 18: 9-14

May another take his office - This is quoted by Peter of Judas. What can be wished for a man that returns evil for good, hate for love? We may and should wish that his heart be convicted, changed, but if left to it's sinful state, may he be removed, stepped down from his sniper's perch, put away from doing other's any more harm. 

…19 This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem; so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his dwelling be deserted; let there be no one to live in it,’ and, ‘May another take his office.’ 21 Therefore it is necessary to select one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,… Acts 1: 19-21

May his children wander about and beg - These are hard sayings, and songs left not visited by many a professor of the faith. I refuse to turn my eyes away though, and I look from history past. When Adam fell all of creation fell with him. I remember the history of the kings, and the sword that did not depart from the writer's own house after he had plundered another's. Ahab and Jezebel worked witchcraft and murder, and when we do other's harm with our words or the sword, those that live by it, die by it. This is the dowry of ungodly parents, a chest full of horrors. Have I taught my children deceit, slandered the innocent before their ears, gossiped about and punished better men than myself? What have we left the next generation, who will they be?

28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,…

…30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.… Romans 1: 28-32

But pursued the poor and needy - He was not in want of hunger or lacking, but he showed no pity on those who were. For so many, the plight of others becomes their might. They look for the quick sale, the foreclosure of the man's house who lost his job. The widow that needs to feed her children becomes the slave of the pimp. He had children of his own that he said were dear to him, but he cannot find such humanity in the eyes of another's child. They could be sold, abused, starved, and left for dead, what was that to him?

He loved to curse, let curses come upon him - This is what came out of the abundance of his heart, he lied so much, he must love lies. He cursed those more righteous than himself, so surely he hated righteousness. Let him reap what he has planted. 

Deal on my behalf for Your name's sake - There is none just like God, and so to Him I make my appeal. What has been said of me is not true in this case. I am poor and needy though, for I am not altogether innocent in all things, but often I have sinned against you. Show mercy to me, O Lord, let me not forget the poor, to do justice for the widow and the orphan.

To save him from those who condemn his soul to death - We have an accuser, but we have a Mediator Who has defeated him, Who has stood in the gap, taken our charges upon Himself. He was falsely accused, given a kangaroo court, a trial before wicked men, sentenced to death, but went quietly in my stead.

…20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”… Luke 23: 20-22