How do we sing these words? Psalm 109 asks God to destroy someone’s life!
But every court house in America does this every day! Every day there are people who are sentenced to jail – some sentenced to death – whose families will undergo precisely what the Psalmist speaks of. When someone is guilty of a serious crime, we expect that their life should be ruined.
Psalm 109 is not talking about petty neighborhood squabbles! Psalm 109 is talking about a serious conspiracy to destroy an innocent man.
Some think that verses 6-19 are the Psalmist’s prayer against the malicious accusers. Others think that verses 6-19 are the accusers’ curse against the Psalmist. In one sense, it doesn't really matter – since verse 20 then asks God to do to the accusers what they want to do to him!
So there is no way to get around the difficulty of the language in this song!
In Acts 1 the apostle Peter will apply verse 8 to Judas: "may another take his office."
Judas is the best example of what Psalm 109 is talking about. Judas sought to do to Jesus all that is in verses 6-19. So, when verse 20 asks God to do to the malicious accusers all that they had wished upon him, it is fitting that Peter applies this part of the curse to Judas.
And then verse 31 makes it clear that we can sing this song too – because while Jesus is the Son of David who is the singular voice of the Psalm – Jesus assures us in verse 31, that God will stand at the right hand of the needy one – not just himself – but all who flee to him for help!
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