When I was a child, I used to parrot the rhyme: “Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” But even then I knew that was a bald-faced lie, even as I tried to remain stoical & unmoved by my classmates’ teasing. Words DO hurt, and that hurt can go very deep into one’s heart and do serious harm. That was David’s experience recorded in Psalm 109, where he was being falsely accused. As a result he was in much emotional pain that even led to his physical suffering from extreme weight loss (22-25). David was being lied about (2) and hated and verbally attacked without cause (3). The accusations were especially hurtful because he loved his accusers (4-5). Because of this, he wanted God to say something: “Be not silent, O God of my praise!” (1). He wanted God to speak into his situation and come to his defense. What David asked for the leader of his character assassination might seem harsh to us who live under the New Covenant. But what he asked for was what the law allowed in Deuteronomy 19:16-21. IOW, what the false witness/evil accuser wanted to happen to David, David prayed would happen to the accuser (6-20). David’s appeal to God in verses 21 and following was for God to act on his behalf for God’s honor (“name’s sake”), not just for David’s own vindication. He asked for God’s help “according to [his] steadfast love” (26). He wanted his accusers to know that it was GOD who helped him (27). He’s trusting God to reverse the situation (28-29). In the end, David committed to giving “great thanks to Yahweh” and publicly praising him (30). He knew where he stood with God – as his “servant” (28) and “needy one” (31) – but more importantly he knew where the LORD stood, at his right hand as his defender and savior (31).
I can’t help but think of Jesus Christ when I read David’s words. I see Christ clearly in verses 2-5; and the scene that comes to mind is Christ before the Jewish council and before Pilate surrounded by his vicious accusers, who were all clearly motivated by Satan, the chief accuser & liar. The apostle Peter saw Judas in this psalm in verse 8, because he quotes it in Acts 1:20 as the basis for selecting another person to serve as an apostle to replace the betrayer. I see Jesus as God’s glad servant appealing to his Father for help (26) in the form of the removal of the bitter cup from him; nevertheless, not HIS will but GOD’s be done. God’s will WAS done in NOT saving Christ from those who condemned his soul to death (31), because had God done so none of God’s people, who rightly stand accused of sin and guilt, would ever have been saved from the same. “In my place condemned he stood, and sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior!” Because of this, my response will be David’s: “With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.” 1 John 2:1 tells me that Jesus is right now at God’s right hand (and mine) as my defense attorney against Satan’s accusations, whether they be warranted or not. Jesus is God’s answer to Satan’s accusations. In Jesus God has spoken!
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