Psalms 41:10

But thou, O Jehovah, in contrast to their malignity, be thou gracious unto me:though they say -he shall rise up no more," raise me up.

that I may requite them The words have a vindictive ring, which is startling, and seems inconsistent with Psalms 7:4; Proverbs 20:22. Yet if the speaker was David, conscious of his divine appointment to be king, he might well pray that he might be restored to punish traitors as they deserved. For the most part he would leave vengeance to Jehovah (1 Samuel 25:33; 2 Samuel 3:39), yet in this instance he might feel that he would be acting as Jehovah's instrument, in punishing those who were conspiring to resist His purposes. See Introd. p. xc f.