![]() Now according to the next verses it sounds as though he gives up. This is the problem that faces him at this point. His enemies have not ceased their attack they are just as vicious, just as malicious, just as fiercely hostile as they were before, and now he does not know what to do next. This man has done that yet it has not altered the situation. We are to love those who persecute us and try to do good toward them. It is remarkable, is it not, that here in the Old Testament you find such a clear demonstration of the fulfillment of the New Testament requirement to pray for our enemies. He has followed the New Testament standard of praying for those who hate him and despitefully use him. This man understands that "a soft answer turns away wrath," and he has tried that with them. He has tried to answer these people in the right way. In Verses 4-5 it is apparent that this man has tried to remedy the situation, but it has come to a place where it is humanly hopeless. They are afflicting him, upsetting him, and attacking him without him having given them any reason to do so. He sees absolutely no reason for their accusations. He says they do this "without a cause," at least as far as the Psalmist can see, and we take him to be an honest man. Furthermore, these people are wholly unjustified in this attack. You have been unjustly accused by someone who has deliberately sought to slander you, to besmirch your character, or ruin your reputation, and you know just how this man felt. Perhaps some of you have had this experience. With lying tongues they are out to destroy. "They are deceitful," he says, "they are wicked," i.e., they are determined upon evil, and they are thoroughly unscrupulous they do not care what they say or what they do. Those who attack him so bitterly are obviously not to be trusted. Here is a man who is under attack and that from rather unscrupulous persons. The opening words of the psalm set before us the problem this man faces.įor wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,Īnd hatred for my love. It is clearly a psalm of someone who is deeply, deeply disturbed. I think this psalm best fits on that occasion. ![]() Later, God judged Nabal and took him in death and David married Abigail. Personally I think it probably is the time when he was railed upon by Nabal, the husband of Abigail, as recorded in the twenty-fifth chapter of First Samuel. It is difficult to tell exactly which of his recorded experiences is referred to. Notice that it is a psalm of David and therefore reflects an experience which David went through. We shall attempt an answer to that as we go through the exposition of this psalm. Why should this strange, extravagant language of hostility against another human being be included in the Book of Psalms. One need only read it to be troubled about this psalm. He has been set upon by those who are attempting to destroy him, yet without a cause. The psalm describes the reactions of a man who has been unjustly accused, wrongly treated. Psalm 109 reflects a common problem which we have all experienced.
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