Plea for Judgment of False Accusers
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. Let the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy to him, nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be continually before the Lord, that He may cut off the memory of them from the earth; because he did not remember to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; as he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. as he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, so let it enter his body like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, and for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers, and to those who speak evil against my person. But You, O God the Lord, deal with me for Your name’s sake; because Your mercy is good, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. I also have become a reproach to them; when they look at me, they shake their heads. Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand—that You, Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but You bless; when they arise, let them be ashamed, but let Your servant rejoice. Let my accusers be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those who condemn him.”
“Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”
Most of us would agree that King David was one of the heroes of the faith, albeit with flaws. But if you think a walk of faith consists of floating around on a pink cloud, think again! We can’t be sure at whom this psalm is directed, but David is absolutely furious! Someone David trusted and loved has wickedly betrayed him and now is fighting him and spreading lies about him. David spends the rest of the psalm begging God to avenge him in vivid details, employing eloquence and imagination. You might almost feel sorry for the object of David’s wrath.
“Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. Let the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy to him, nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.” David not only curses his aggressor but also the man’s entire family. Worst of all, David begs God to blot out the family’s name. Family names and inheritances were so important in Israel that daughters could inherit from their fathers to preserve a heritage, provided they married within their tribe. David goes on to beg God to remember the sins of his accusers parents, that their memories may also be cut off.
“As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; as he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. as he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, so let it enter his body like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, and for a belt with which he girds himself continually.” Obviously, this man has gone all over Jerusalem cursing David, but curses are dangerous things; they can easily turn back on those who utter them. One of the laws of the Kingdom of God is that the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. The curses you have uttered against others will return to plague you as well.
“Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand—that You, Lord, have done it! …I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those who condemn him.” David ends the psalm by begging God to save him and bless him and to humble all his accusers and to vindicate him.
APPLICATION: WHOOF! We don’t know David’s target for this psalm, but we can almost feel sorry for the objects of David’s wrath. Assuming God answered every one of David’s petitions, entire families were blotted out. While this might seem harsh, it’s likely these men were not merely trying to undermine David but to obliterate him and his family completely.
Assume a position of leadership and at some point you will become a target of envy, jealousy, and plots. Shakespeare once wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Remain in leadership and you will certainly be able to identify with David’s sentiments in this psalm. During the years when I headed our hospital, I could easily sympathize with David. Blessedly, there were many times when God insulated me so that I failed to realize those playing a double game. Those times when I recognized some staff were two-faced, I simply asked God to deal with them and went on caring for sick people.
You might ask, “Are we ever justified in cursing our enemies as David is doing here?” Good question. Short answer: No, not if you remain vengeful. This psalm teaches us that even heroes of the faith can become angry and bitter. What saves David from being trapped in his bitterness are his final requests: “Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand—that You, Lord, have done it! …I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.” David moves on from anger and bitterness to release his accusers to the Lord for the Lord to deal with them.
You only have so much energy. If you waste your energy in bitterness and plotting vengeance, it will pervade your entire life and blight it. We are about to enter a new year. How much emotional baggage are you hauling? Do you really want to drag the hurts and offenses from 2023 into 2024? Let’s pray!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us are dragging so much emotional baggage we can scarcely move. Help us to drop those griefs and hurts at Your cross and leave them for You to handle. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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