How should Christians read this Psalm?

Psalm 109 is not an easy psalm. David asks God to judge people who have attacked him with lies and hatred, and some of his words sound more than a little severe. This is especially for those of us who are christians, who have the words of Jesus in our minds, calling us to “love our enemies.” Difficult passages of Scripture are worth our careful attention. This psalm is realistic about suffering and injustice, and it teaches God’s people how to pray when evil is shouting at us.

Psalm 109 is one of the imprecatory psalms: prayers that call upon God to judge his enemies. David is not holding onto a grudge or taking revenge into his own hands. He is God’s anointed king, and the attack upon him is also opposition to God’s rule and God’s people. David therefore brings the case to God and leaves justice with him.

That helps us hold together the desire for justice and the call that we should love. Jesus commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We should desire that sinners repent, believe the gospel and receive mercy. Yet it is also right to hate cruelty, ask God to restrain wickedness and long for him to put the world right. Love does not require indifference to evil.

The psalm begins with David surrounded by accusations: “With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause” (v. 3). David’s friendship has been repaid with hatred. The lies are loud, so David cries, “My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent” (v. 1).

Some people, perhaps yourself, know the pain of deliberate character assassination. Many have felt the force of careless or unfeeling words at work, within the family or even in the church. More broadly, Christians may hear the Bible mocked, the gospel misrepresented and Christ’s church accused. Psalm 109 does not pretend that words are harmless. They can harm reputations, isolate people and make faithful service difficult to do and painful.

But in the Psalm, for all that’s going on, David does not believe that even though the lies are loud, that this voice is not the strongest voice. The God who spoke the world into being needs only to speak and “not remain silent.” David therefore becomes “a man of prayer” (v. 4). He calls upon the one who knows the truth, preserves his people and is able to silence every false accusation.

If God did not answer prayers like this, the church would have disappeared long ago. He does not remove all opposition now, but he remains present and powerful. The church continues because Christ preserves it, often through the prayers of ordinary believers who ask God not to remain silent.

Verses 6–20 contain the Psalm’s most confronting words. David asks that the wicked accuser be judged and that his own curses return upon him. These words remind us that opposing God is not morally neutral and that cruelty deserves judgment.

When we hear of terrorism, abuse, neglect or the persecution of Christians, having feelings of indignation is not necessarily a failure to love our enemies as Christ calls us to. Because people matter, and what destroys them matters. Revelation pictures the martyrs in heaven asking how long it will be until God judges and avenges their blood (Revelation 6:9–11). Their cry is not a licence for personal vengeance. It is an appeal to the holy and just God.

At the same time, the gospel removes every trace of superiority from our prayers. Apart from grace, we too stand under God’s judgment. We have wronged God and walked away from him. Yet Jesus willingly took the curse his people deserved. At the cross he stood in our place so that all who trust him receive mercy rather than condemnation. Christians can ask for justice while also praying for enemies to receive the same mercy that has rescued us.

David’s prayer turns in verse 21: “But you, Sovereign LORD, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.” He does not base his appeal upon his own strength. He appeals to God’s name, goodness and unfailing love.

This gives us words for many kinds of suffering. Our trial may be false accusation, but it may also be illness, bereavement, loneliness, rejection or the slow grief of an ageing body. Many trials arise where we expected blessing such as from work, family, relationships or health. In those moments, we can pray because the God revealed in Scripture is neither absent nor uncaring. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

God’s care may come through healing, wise medical help, a friend who quietly serves us, the support of the church family, or a deepened knowledge of God in the trial. We cannot dictate the form of his answer. We can, however, entrust ourselves to the goodness of his love.

The psalm ends with confidence: “For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them” (v. 31). David promises to praise God publicly because he trusts that God will deliver.

This picture finds a beautiful echo in Acts 7. As Stephen is condemned and stoned for bearing witness to Jesus, he sees heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen entrusts himself to Christ and even prays for his murderers. His Lord is not absent. The risen King stands for his suffering servant.

Jesus was himself falsely accused and unjustly condemned. He entrusted himself to the Father who judges justly, bore the curse of sin and rose in victory. Now he always lives to intercede for those who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). When accusations, suffering or injustice seem overwhelming, the Christian does not stand alone. The accuser may speak, but Jesus speaks for his people. No enemy can finally prevail against him.

So Psalm 109 teaches us to bring evil before God in pray, to leave judgment in his hands, to appeal to his unfailing love and to praise him in hope of what he will do. When lies shout loudly, we pray to the God who will not remain silent.