Psalm 109

Save me from the liars

I’m under attack by liars

For the music leader: A psalm of David. [1]

1You are the only God I praise.
Please don’t give me the silent treatment.
2Some terrible people are lying about me.
They’re attacking me with lies.
3For no reason,
They’re assaulting me with hateful words.
They follow me wherever I go.
I can’t get away from them.
4I show them love.
They show me lies and accusations.
I’m praying about this.
5I was good to them,
But they were bad to me in return.
I showed them love,
But they showed me hatefulness in return.

They trash my name with lies

6This is what they say about me:
“Let’s find someone really bad to go after him.
Someone willing to publicly accuse him.
7And when the testimony is over
The judge will find him guilty as charged.
8Let’s make his life short.
Let’s give everything he owned to someone else.
9Let’s see his children living without a dad.
Let’s make his wife a widow.
10Let’s enjoy the sight of his children
Wandering aimlessly,
Begging for food,
Far from the ruins of their home.
11Let the banker repossess his house,
While opportunists and scavengers take everything else.
12Let’s not have anyone treating him kindly,
Or showing compassion to his kids when he’s dead.
13May his entire family drop dead,
So that by the time today’s children are grown
They won’t even remember his name.
14The guilt of this man’s family
Goes back for generations.
May the LORD remember that
And refuse to forgive.
15May the LORD never forget their sins,
And may he erase them from human memory.
16After all, he’s a merciless man.
He exploited the poor.
He crushed the life out of depressed souls.
17He loved wishing the worst on people.
So, let’s give him a taste of the worst.
He didn’t bless people with good wishes.
So, let’s not bless him with any.
18He wished the worst on others.
He did that as consistently as he wore his clothes.
He was as full of evil wishes as his body and bones
Were full of water and oil.
19So let’s dress him up in evil
And strap it tight with a belt.”

Payback

20I’d like the LORD to grant them
Every evil wish they made for me,
But to give it all to them instead.
I wish that for all my accusers,
And for anyone else who badmouthed me.

Save me, I’m dying

21LORD God, please be kind to me.
Then, others will see it and respect you for it.
Rescue me because you’re good and compassionate.
22I’m poor and I need help.
My heart is broken.
23I’m fading away,
Like a shadow stretching into nothing.
I’ve been discarded,
Like a locust pest shaken off a plant.
24My knees are weak because I haven’t eaten.
My fat is gone and I’m too thin.
25My enemies treat me like trash.
They look at me and just shake their heads.
26LORD, you’re my God. Help me.
You’re merciful. Please rescue me.
27Then my enemies will realize you helped me.
They’ll see that you did it, LORD.
28They wish the worst for me.
But you bless me with goodness.
Let them wake up to shame,
But make me, your servant, happy.
29Wrap my accusers in shame for what they’ve done.
Dress them head to toe in it.

God to the rescue

30I’m going to sing praise songs to the LORD,
And lots of them.
I’m going to sing his praises to the crowds.
31I’ll sing because he stands with the helpless.
He rescues them from bad people
Who would put them on trial and condemn them.

Footnotes

Intro Notes for Psalms

Intro Notes for Book 5 of 5 In Psalms

1109:1

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.