Psalms 109

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

God - The author and matter of all my praises.

⁴For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

Adversaries - They requite my love with enmity, as it is explained ver.5.

⁶Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

A wicked man - Who will rule him with rigour and cruelty. Satan - To accuse him; for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts.

⁷When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

Sin - Because it is not from his heart.

¹⁰Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Desolate places - Into which they are fled for fear and shame.

¹¹Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

Catch - Heb. ensnare, take away not only by oppression but also by cunning artificers. Stranger - Who hath no right to his goods.

¹⁷As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

Delighted not - In desiring and promoting the welfare of others.

¹⁸As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.

Garment - Which a man wears constantly. Like water - Water in the cavity of the belly, between the bowels, is almost certain death. And oil soaking into any of the bones, will soon utterly destroy it.

²⁰Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

That speak evil against my soul - With design to take away my life.

²¹But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.

Is good - Above the mercy of all the creatures.

²³I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

When - Towards the evening, when the sun is setting. The locust - Which is easily driven away with every wind.