Psalms 109:15

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. -God's visitation on the wicked man's property (Psalms 109:11); on his name and memorial (Psalms 109:13). The inspired prophetic prayer rests on the principle that divine justice is an all-consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), which does not rest until it has utterly extirpated the hardened transgressor. Verse 11. AND LET THE STRANGER SPOIL HIS LABOUR - the fruit of "his labour:" instead of his own family and kindred enjoying it. Verse 12. LET THERE BE NONE TO EXTEND MERCY UNTO HIM - as a creditor does to a debtor; or an almsgiver does to the...

21-31 The psalmist takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner. He was troubled in mind. His body was wasted, and almost worn away. But it is better to have leanness in the body, while the soul prospers and is in health, than to have leanness in the soul, while the body is feasted. He was ridiculed and reproached by his enemies. But if God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse whom God has not cursed; nay, whom he has blessed? He pleads God's glory, and the honour of his name. Save me, not according to my merit, for I pretend to none, but according to thy-mercy. He concludes with the joy of faith, in assurance that his present conflicts would end in triumphs. Let all that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him. Jesus, unjustly put to death, and now risen again, is an Advocate and Intercessor for his people...

LET THEM BE BEFORE THE LORD CONTINUALLY - Let their sins never pass from the mind of God. Let him never so forget them as not to inflict punishment for them. THAT HE MAY CUT OFF THE MEMORY OF THEM FROM THE EARTH - That they may be wholly forgotten among people. Let their very name perish; and let the offender in this case be in the condition of those who have no ancestors to whom they can refer with pride and pleasure. The idea here is drawn from the honor which is felt in being able to refer to ancestors worthy of being remembered for their virtues....

EXPOSITION THE title of this psalm—"To the chief musician, a psalm of David"—is thought to be not inappropriate. We may have here David's own appeal to God against his persecutors, and especially against a chief persecutor, who may be Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or Shimei. The psalm opens with mingled complaint and prayer. The adversaries are spoken of in the plural (Psalms 109:2). They have abused and maligned the writer, have returned evil for the good that he has sought to do them, and given him hatred for his love (Psalms 109:5). The psalmist, in return, utters against them, or rather against his chief persecutor, a series of male dictions (Psalms 109:6) which constitute a stand

LET THEM BE BEFORE THE LORD CONTINUALLY,.... And not cast behind his back, or into the depths of the sea, never to be seen more, as sins are when forgiven; but be always in sight, as loathsome and abominable, and causing those that committed them to be abhorred for them; and be before him, as a Judge, to examine them, the nature and kind of them, and to condemn and punish for them; see Exodus 20:5. The Targum is, "let them be before the Word of the Lord always;'' see Hebrews 4:13. THAT HE MAY CUT OFF THE MEMORY OF THEM FROM THE EARTH; so that they may not be remembered with any applause, or their name spoken of with any commendation; see Job 18:17....

PSALM 109-113 Psalms 109 Christ in Humiliation _ 1. Despised and rejected (Psalms 109:1)_ 2. The rejectors and their fate (Psalms 109:6) 3. The Christ in His sorrow (Psalms 109:21) The five Psalms which are next grouped together belong to the most interesting in the whole collection. They give a marvellous prophecy concerning Christ, His rejection, exaltation and coming glory. In Psalms 109:1 we see Him rejected. In Psalms 110:

CIX. A PSALM OF CURSING. This Ps. is further than anything else in the whole Psalter from the spirit of Christianity. It falls into three parts: Psalms 109:1. The Psalmist's distress in persecution; Psalms 109:6. Bitter curses against his foes; in Psalms 109:21 he recurs to his suffering but is confident of final deliverance. Note that in Psalms 109:6 he does not merely assert that God will punish. Had he done so, he would have felt his pain of body and soul much softened. As it is, he is in utter wretchedness, and curses his foes in the anguish of his spirit. No doubt he regards his enemies as utterly wicked. But we do not

LET THEM BE, &C. This verse is the end of the Parenthesis, which begins with Psalms 109:6....

PSALMS 109 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE David, Rehearsing how His Enemies have Cursed him, Refers his Cause to Jehovah. ANALYSIS Stanza I., Psalms 109:1-5, The Psalmist Entreats Jehovah to speak up for him against his Accusers, of whose Groundless Hatred he Complains. Stanzas II.-VI., Psalms 109:6-15, He Records, at length, his Enemies-' Imprecations; and, Stanza VII., Psalms 109:16-19, Their False Accusations, regarding these as Permitted by Jehovah, In Stanzas VIII-XII., Psalms 109:21-31, the Psalmis

The strongest of the imprecatory Pss. (see Intro.). Probably it is just to regard the Psalmist as speaking in the name of the whole nation, vexed and harried by foreign enemies, e.g. Antiochus Epiphanes. The theory that the Psalmist recounts the curses used against him by his enemies is untenable. Calvin notes the awful use of this Ps. by certain monks, who hired themselves out to recite it against private enemies....