Catholic Commentary on Psalm 109

"With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshippers I will praise him." (Psalm 109:30)

The Psalm of the Slandered

Psalm 109 is the most intense of the imprecatory psalms, a prayer of one who has been deeply wronged and who calls down specific judgments on his tormentors. The accusers have repaid good with evil and love with hatred, and the psalmist responds with a cascade of curses. This psalm is one of the most difficult in the Christian tradition, and the Church has never pretended otherwise.

Several interpretive approaches have been offered by the tradition. St. Augustine read the curses not as the psalmist's own prayer but as a description of what the enemies have brought upon themselves by their own wickedness: these judgments are the natural consequence of their choices. The Church also reads the psalm Christologically: Acts 1:20 quotes verse 8, let another take his place of leadership, with reference to Judas. In this reading, Judas is the arch-betrayer whose fate is described, not desired. The psalm ends, however, not with curses but with a personal resolution that the whole community of the Church can adopt: With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshippers I will praise him. The psalmist's ultimate response to being wronged is praise. That is always the final word.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, when you have been slandered, when good has been repaid with evil, the temptation is to nurse the wound or seek revenge. The psalmist brings his wound directly to God and leaves the judgment there. Then he turns to praise. Leave what needs to be left with God. Turn your mouth to the praise that is his due. The great throng of worshippers is waiting.

Prayer

Lord God, you hear the poor and the needy. When we are slandered and wronged, receive our complaint, take up our cause, and let our mouths return quickly to praise. You stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn him. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

109
The Song of the Slandered
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
 
1 O God of my praise,
be not silent.
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
 
6 Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his position.* 109:8 Cited in Acts 1:20
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenance † 109:10 Hebrew; LXX may they be driven far from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
 
16 For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
17 The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
18 The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.
 
21 But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
22 For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
 
26 Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
27 Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.

*109:8 109:8 Cited in Acts 1:20

†109:10 109:10 Hebrew; LXX may they be driven

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