Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 109:21
But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy [is] good, deliver thou me.
21. But thou, Jehovah the Lord (or, my Lord), work thou for me] Lit. with me; put forth Thy power so as to shew that Thou art on my side, and prove Thyself all that Thou hast declared Thyself to be. Cp. Psa 119:126; Jer 16:7. God is printed in capitals in A.V., because it represents the sacred Name Jehovah, for which Elhm, ‘God,’ was substituted by the Jews in reading when Adnai, ‘Lord,’ the regular substitute, is joined with it. This combination of names Jehovah Adonai occurs in the Psalter only in Psa 68:20; Psa 140:7; Psa 141:8; and elsewhere only in Hab 3:19.
because &c.] Cp. Psa 69:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
21 25. From the pitilessness of man the Psalmist turns to implore the mercy of God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy names sake – That is, Interpose for me; exert thy power in my behalf. The phrase for thy names sake implies that the motive which prompted him was a desire that God might be honored. It was not primarily or mainly for his own happiness; it was that God might be glorified, that his character might be illustrated, that his plans might be accomplished. Compare the notes at Dan 9:18-19.
Because thy mercy is good – That is, It is the characteristic of mercy to do good; to show kindness.
Deliver thou me – He prays that God would manifest himself as he really was, as a God of mercy.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 109:21
But do Thou for me, O God the Lord, for Thy names sake.
An exemplary prayer
I. It is true in its direction. It is addressed to God the Lord. There is but One all-suffering Being to whom we can address our prayers. Think what is requisite to be able to answer prayer at all times–infinite intelligence, unlimited goodness, universal sovereignty, etc. The petition of the psalmist indicates his belief that he was approaching such a Being. If he could but secure the help of God he would leave everything else to Him.
II. It is personal in its aim. Do Thou for me. Mans first business is to secure the blessing of God for himself. We should not keep the vineyard of another and neglect our own. We should not attempt to lead ethers unto Jesus Christ until we know Him as our own Saviour. This is not selfish, but benevolent.
III. It is submissive in its spirit. The wise and good man leaves the means and the manner of blessing to God. He leaves the time also to God. This submission is both wise and pious.
IV. It is powerful in its plea. For Thy names sake. The name represents the character of God. The honour of the Divine name is bound up with His treatment of His people. If any one trusting in God were to perish, the glory of His name would be sullied. Such a plea–
1. Implies great faith in God on the part of Him who urges it.
2. Honours God by the exalted conception of His character which it implies.
3. Prevails with God. The man who honours God by believing greatly in Him is mighty with God in prayer. (W. Jones.)
The Christians prayer
I. General remarks.
1. The petition may be considered as addressed with equal propriety to each of the Persons in the Godhead, who are the joint objects of religious worship, possessed of the same adorable perfections, and equally concerned in carrying on the work, and conveying the blessings of salvation.
2. Though the good man may and should pray for others, yet he is and ought to be principally concerned for himself. Do Thou for me; for my body, for my soul, especially the latter. Begin Thy work there in conviction and conversion, carry it on in progressive sanctification, and perfect it in eternal glory. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
3. The good man desires that what God does may be for him, and not against him; that He would deal by him as a friend, and not as an enemy.
4. When we desire that God should do for us, it is proper that we should leave the way and manner entirely to Him.
II. What is implied.
1. Do that for me which I cannot do for myself. Reduce my wandering heart, direct my feeble steps, teach me both the way in which Thou walkest towards me, and the way in which I ought to walk toward Thee, the way of duty and of peace.
2. Do that for me which no one else either can or will do. They cannot restore case to a distempered body, nor comfort to a discontented mind; cannot reprieve one moment from the demands of death, nor disarm it of its terrors.
3. Do that for me which Thou knowest to be necessary, and without which I must be undone for ever.
4. Do all that for me which Thou hast appointed and promised, and whereby Thou mayest be glorified. In all our prayers it becomes us to have an eye to
(1) The Divine appointments: for if our petitions do not refer to them, and are not regulated by them, they are not likely to meet with acceptance, nor to procure a blessing.
(2) The Divine promises.
(3) The Divine glory.
III. Improvement.
1. The prayer of the psalmist will apply not only to a state of prosperity, but adversity; not only to Gods merciful dispensations, but also to those which are afflictive. Do Thou for me, in wounding as well as healing, in casting down as well as lifting up.
2. The petition is suitable for those who have most to do for God, or their fellow-creatures; such as magistrates, ministers, masters of families and others. There are also peculiar seasons to which it is especially suited; when our path is intricate, and our work difficult, either in the morning of the Sabbath, or in the near approach of death.
3. It is likewise necessary at all seasons, and for all sorts of persons. (B. Beddome, M.A.)
All of grace
Sir James Simpson, the doctor-saint, was waiting for a train at a station, and when it drew up he saw a poor lad, looking very ill, being conveyed by his mother home. He went in beside them into the carriage, and asked all about the boy. By and by he said to the mother, Your boy might be made quite well; why dont you take him to Dr. So-and-So? Because, said the mother, I havent money enough to pay the fees. Well, said the stranger, I am a doctor; and then he told his name, to the poor womans great surprise. Will you put him in my hands, and I will do what I can for him, and it shall cost you nothing? The mother thankfully consented; her boy was carefully treated, and in a few weeks time returned home quite cured. The great Physician does all His cures, bestows all His blessings, and gives all His salvation, for loves sake. And His healing is perfect. (H. O. Mackey.)
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Psa 110:1-7
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. But do thou for me] While they use horrible imprecations against me, and load me with their curses, act thou for me, and deliver me from their maledictions. While they curse, do thou bless. This verse is a farther proof of the correctness of the interpretation given above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Do thou for me, to wit, what I desire, which he expressing the next clause. Or, do thou act for me; be not or still, but stir up thyself to work on my behalf.
For my names sake; for the glory of thy faithfulness, which highly concerned in giving me the deliverance which thou hast promised to me.
Thy mercy is good, i.e. gracious, ready to do good to all, but especially to those that and fear thee. As sin is said to be sinful, Ro 7, so Gods mercy may be said to be merciful, to wit, in degree, and above the mercy of all the creatures
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21, 22. do . . . for methatis, kindness.
woundedliterally,”pierced” (Psa 69:16;Psa 69:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake,…. The sense of the petition is, and which is a prayer of Christ as man, that the Lord God would take his part, be on his side, be present with him, work with him, help and assist him, and that for his own honour and glory, for his truth and faithfulness sake, who had promised him help and assistance, Ps 89:21.
Because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me; or “thy kindness” g; meaning the lovingkindness of God to Christ, which he always bore to him, and was eminently and superlatively good; which he makes use of as an argument for his deliverance out of all his troubles, and from death itself; see Ps 69:14.
g “benignitas tua”, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The thunder and lightning are now as it were followed by a shower of tears of deep sorrowful complaint. Ps 109 here just as strikingly accords with Ps 69, as Ps 69 does with Ps 22 in the last strophe but one. The twofold name Jahve Adonaj (vid., Symbolae, p. 16) corresponds to the deep-breathed complaint. , deal with me, i.e., succouring me, does not greatly differ from in 1Sa 14:6. The confirmation, Psa 109:21, runs like Psa 69:17: Thy loving-kindness is , absolutely good, the ground of everything that is good and the end of all evil. Hitzig conjectures, as in Psa 69:17, , “according to the goodness of Thy loving-kindness;” but this formula is without example: “for Thy loving-kindness is good” is a statement of the motive placed first and corresponding to the “for thy Name’s sake.” In Psa 109:22 (a variation of Psa 55:5) , not , is traditional; this , as being verb. denom. from , signifies to be pierced, and is therefore equivalent to (cf. Luk 2:35). The metaphor of the shadow in Psa 109:23 is as in Psa 102:12. When the day declines, the shadow lengthens, it becomes longer and longer (Virgil, majoresque cadunt altis de montibus umbrae ), till it vanishes in the universal darkness. Thus does the life of the sufferer pass away. The poet intentionally uses the Niph. (another reading is ); it is a power rushing upon him from without that drives him away thus after the manner of a shadow into the night. The locust or grasshopper (apart from the plague of the locusts) is proverbial as being a defenceless, inoffensive little creature that is soon driven away, Job 39:20. , to be shaken out or off (cf. Arabic naura , a water-wheel that fills its clay-vessels in the river and empties them out above, and , Zec 11:16, where Hitzig wishes to read , dispulsio = dispulsi ). The fasting in Psa 109:24 is the result of the loathing of all food which sets in with deep grief. signifies to waste away so that there is no more fat left.
(Note: The verbal group , , Arab. hajda , kahuta , etc. has the primary signification of withdrawal and taking away or decrease; to deny is the same as to withdraw from agreement, and he becomes thin from whom the fat withdraws, goes away. Saadia compares on this passage ( ) , a lean cow, Berachoth 32 a. In like manner Targum II renders Gen 41:27 , the lean kine.)
In Psa 109:25 is designedly rendered prominent: in this the form of his affliction he is the butt of their reproaching, and they shake their heads doubtfully, looking upon him as one who is punished of God beyond all hope, and giving him up for lost. It is to be interpreted thus after Psa 69:11.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Humble Petitions; Triumphing in God. | |
21 But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. 24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. 25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads. 26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy: 27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it. 28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. 29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. 30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. 31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
David, having denounced God’s wrath against his enemies, here takes God’s comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner, and without boasting.
I. He pours out his complaint before God concerning the low condition he was in, which, probably, gave advantage to his enemies to insult over him: “I am poor and needy, and therefore a proper object of pity, and one that needs and craves thy help.” 1. He was troubled in mind (v. 22): My heart is wounded within me, not only broken with outward troubles, which sometimes prostrate and sink the spirits, but wounded with a sense of guilt; and a wounded spirit who can bear? who can heal? 2. He apprehended himself drawing near to his end: I am gone like the shadow when it declines, as good as gone already. Man’s life, at best, is like a shadow; sometimes it is like the evening shadow, the presage of night approaching, like the shadow when it declines. 3. He was unsettled, tossed up and down like the locust, his mind fluctuating and unsteady, still putting him upon new counsels, his outward condition far from any fixation, but still upon the remove, hunted like a partridge on the mountains. 4. His body was wasted, and almost worn away (v. 24): My knees are weak through fasting, either forced fasting (for want of food when he was persecuted, or for want of appetite when he was sick) or voluntary fasting, when he chastened his soul either for sin or affliction, his own or other’s, Psa 35:13; Psa 69:10. “My flesh fails of fatness; that is, it has lost the fatness it had, so that I have become a skeleton, nothing but skin and bones.” But it is better to have this leanness in the body, while the soul prospers and is in health, than, like Israel, to have leanness sent into the soul, while the body is feasted. 5. He was ridiculed and reproached by his enemies (v. 25); his devotions and his afflictions they made the matter of their laughter, and, upon both those accounts, God’s people have been exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that were at ease. In all this David was a type of Christ, who in his humiliation was thus wounded, thus weakened, thus reproached; he was also a type of the church, which is often afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted.
II. He prays for mercy for himself. In general (v. 21): “Do thou for me, O God the Lord! appear for me, act for me.” If God be for us, he will do for us, will do more abundantly for us than we are able either to ask or think. He does not prescribe to God what he should do for him, but refers himself to his wisdom: “Lord, do for me what seems good in thy eyes. Do that which thou knowest will be for me, really for me, in the issue for me, though for the present it may seem to make against me.” More particularly, he prays (v. 26): “Help me, O Lord my God! O save me! Help me under my trouble, save me out of my trouble; save me from sin, help me to do my duty.” He prays (v. 28), Though they curse, bless thou. Here (1.) He despises the causeless curses of his enemies: Let them curse. He said of Shimei, So let him curse. They can but show their malice; they can do him no more mischief than the bird by wandering or the swallow by flying, Prov. xxvi. 2. He values the blessing of God as sufficient to counterbalance their curses: Bless thou, and then it is no matter though they curse. If God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse those whom God has not cursed, nay, whom he has blessed? Num. xxiii. 8. Men’s curses are impotent; God’s blessings are omnipotent; and those whom we unjustly curse may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for his confessing Christ, Christ found him, John ix. 35. When men without cause say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our heart to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou. He prays (v. 28), Let thy servant rejoice. Those that know how to value God’s blessing, let them but be sure of it, and they will be glad of it.
III. He prays that his enemies might be ashamed (v. 28), clothed with shame (v. 29), that they might cover themselves with their own confusion, that they might be left to themselves, to do that which would expose them and manifest their folly before all men, or rather that they might be disappointed in their designs and enterprises against David, and thereby might be filled with shame, as the adversaries of the Jews were, Neh. vi. 16. Nay, in this he prays that they might be brought to repentance, which is the chief thing we should beg of God for our enemies. Sinners indeed bring shame upon themselves, but they are true penitents that take shame to themselves and cover themselves with their own confusion.
IV. He pleads God’s glory, the honour of his name:–Do for me, for thy name’s sake (v. 21), especially the honour of his goodness, by which he has proclaimed his name: “Deliver me, because thy mercy is good; it is what thou thyself dost delight in, and it is what I do depend upon. Save me, not according to my merit, for I have none to pretend to, but according to thy mercy; let that be the fountain, the reason, the measure, of my salvation.”
Lastly, He concludes the psalm with joy, the joy of faith, joy in assurance that his present conflicts would end in triumphs. 1. He promises God that he will praise him (v. 30): “I will greatly praise the Lord, not only with my heart, but with my mouth; I will praise him, not in secret only, but among the multitude.” 2. He promises himself that he shall have cause to praise God (v. 31): He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, night to him, a present help; he shall stand at his right hand as his patron and advocate to plead his cause against his accusers and to bring him off, to save him from those that condemn his soul and would execute their sentence if they could. God was David’s protector in his sufferings, and was present also with the Lord Jesus in his, stood at his right hand, so that he was not moved (Ps. xvi. 8), saved his soul from those that pretended to be the judges of it, and received it into his own hands. Let all those that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
21 And thou, O Jehovah my Lord! From the pouring out of complaints and imprecations against his enemies, the Psalmist passes to prayers; or rather, after having betaken himself to God as his guardian and deliverer, he appears to take occasion, from this circumstance, to encourage himself in prayer; even as all the pious reflections by which the faithful exercise and strengthen their faith, stimulate them to call upon the name of God. At the same time, he does not pique himself upon any service which he has rendered to God, as deserving of his help, nor does he rely upon his own worthiness, but he places all his confidence in the free grace and mercy of God. That integrity of which he was conscious, he placed in opposition to his enemies, for the purpose of making their iniquity more manifest; but he does not aspire after any recompense from God, because he adopts the nobler principle, that of owing every thing to God’s voluntary choice, upon which also he acknowledges his safety depends. Were it lawful for any one to boast of his virtues and merits, certainly David was not the man who was least entitled to do so; and, moreover, he was the representative of Christ, and of the whole Church. Hence it follows, that all our prayers will vanish in smoke, unless they are grounded upon the mercy of God. The case of Christ was indeed a peculiar one, inasmuch as it was by his own righteousness that he appeased the wrath of his Father towards us. As, however, his human nature was entirely dependant on the good pleasure of God, so it was his will, by his own example, to direct us to the same source. What can we do, seeing that the most upright among us is constrained to acknowledge that he is chargeable with the commission of much sin; surely we never can make God our debtor? It follows, therefore, that God, on account of the benignity of his nature, takes us under his protection; and that, because of the goodness of his mercy, he desires his grace may shine forth in us. In coming to God, we must always remember that we must possess the testimony of a good conscience, and must beware of harbouring the thought that we have any inherent righteousness which would render God our debtor, or that we deserve any recompense at his hands. For if, in the preservation of this short and frail life, God manifests the glory of his name and of his goodness, how much more ought all confidence in good works to be laid aside, when the subject-matter referred to is life heavenly and eternal? If, in the prolonging of my life for a short time on earth, his name is thereby glorified, by manifesting of his own accord towards me his benignity and liberality; when, therefore, having delivered me from the tyranny of Satan, he adopts me into his family, washes away my impurity in the blood of Christ, regenerates me by his Holy Spirit, unites me to his Son, and conducts me to the life of heaven, — then, assuredly, the more bountifully he treats me, the less should I be disposed to arrogate to myself any portion of the praise. How different a part does David act, who, in order to procure favor for himself, publishes his own poverty and misery? And as outward affliction is of no avail, unless a man, at the same time, be humbled, and his proud and rebellious spirit be subdued, the Psalmist here repeats, that his heart was wounded within him. From which we may learn, that God will be a physician to none, except to such as in the spirit of genuine humility send up their sighs and groans to him, and do not become hardened under their afflictions.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Do thou for me.It is almost impossible in English to retain the emphasis of this appeal, made still more emphatic by the sudden change from imprecation on an enemy to prayer for mercy towards self.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. But do thou for me, O God The phrase is peculiar. The object of the verb is not expressed. The psalmist does not specify what he would have done, but leaves all to God, with the reverent and qualifying words “for thy name’s sake.” Similar forms elsewhere occur, as Psa 119:124; Jer 14:7
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Here we have the blessed Jesus, in his human nature addressing the Father, as in the days of his flesh. How very interesting to his people are those cries! How impossible but to take part in them! and when the soul is led out by faith to view him in all the circum stances of his life and ministry; when performing and finishing redemption-work; what subject can be equally tender and affecting! Reader! turn to that sweet scripture, Heb 5:7-9 , and see whether, at every renewed reading of it, somewhat inexpressibly lovely doth not arise out of it, in beholding him, who though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 109:21 But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy [is] good, deliver thou me.
Ver. 21. But do thou for me ] Fac mecum, sis mihi a latere, stick to me, act on my behalf, and for my benefit.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 109:21-25
21But You, O God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;
22For I am afflicted and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
23I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like the locust.
24My knees are weak from fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25I also have become a reproach to them;
When they see me, they wag their head.
Psa 109:21 for Your name’s sake This is a recurrent theme (cf. Psa 23:3; Psa 25:11; Psa 31:3; Psa 79:9; Psa 106:8). The name represents the person. See Special Topic: The Name of YHWH .
Psa 109:24 This verse can be interpreted in two ways (see UBS Handbook, p. 944).
1. the psalmist has been voluntarily fasting
2. the psalmist has had no
a. good food
b. olive oil for anointing
Psa 109:25 they wag their head This was a gesture of contempt (cf. 2Ki 19:21; Job 16:4; Psa 22:7; Isa 37:22; Jer 18:16; Jer 48:27; Lam 2:15; Mat 27:39; Mar 15:29).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
GOD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
the Lord. Hebrew Adonai. App-4.
name’s. See note on Psa 20:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 109:21-25
Psa 109:21-25
“But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name’s sake:
Because thy lovingkindness is good, believe me;
For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth:
I am tossed up and down as the locust.
My knees are weak through fasting;
And my flesh faileth of fatness.
I am become also a reproach unto them:
When they see me, they shake their head.”
“My heart is wounded within me” (Psa 109:22). Two things, among many others, might have broken David’s heart, namely: (1) the malignity of Saul for whom David had risked his life in the encounter with Goliath; and (2) the treachery of Ahithophel, David’s trusted friend and advisor, who betrayed him in favor of Absalom.
“Tossed up and down as the locust” (Psa 109:23). Dummelow suggested that this could be rendered, “I am shaken off like a locust. A reproach unto them (Psa 109:25). The “them” here would have included David’s acquaintances and perhaps even his relatives.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 109:21. Do thou for me means for God to act on behalf of David. This was in keeping with the sentiments expressed in the preceding verses.
Psa 109:22. Poor and needy referred to his condition of affliction brought on by his enemies. He was in prosperous circumstances as far as temporal things were concerned.
Psa 109:23. These figures of speech again refer to the helpless situation surrounding the Psalmist. It was the result of hatred from his envious foes.
Psa 109:24. This weakness may have been literal and physical. However, it was not from lack of food or other necessities at hand. David often resorted to deep devotions when great distress and worry surrounded him. At such times he engaged in prolonged fasting (see 2Sa 12:21-22) which would cause the weakness he mentioned.
Psa 109:25. When his enemies saw the wretched condition of David’s body, they took much satisfaction from it. They pretended to think it was some just punishment placed upon him for his sins and they reproached him for it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
But do: Psa 25:11, Psa 31:3, Psa 69:29, Psa 79:9, Psa 79:10, Psa 143:11, Psa 143:12, Joh 17:1, Phi 2:8-11
thy mercy: Psa 36:7-9, Psa 63:3, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15
Reciprocal: Job 10:2 – Do not Psa 41:10 – be merciful Psa 51:1 – O God Psa 69:14 – let me Psa 69:16 – for thy Psa 119:149 – according unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 109:21-22. But do thou for me, O God Namely, what I desire, which he expresses in the next clause, saying, Deliver thou me Or, he means, Do thou act for me; be not silent or still, but stir up thyself to work on my behalf; for thy names sake For the glory of thy faithfulness, which is highly concerned in giving me the deliverance which thou hast promised me; because thy mercy is good That is, gracious, and ready to do good to all, but especially to those that love and fear thee. For I am poor and needy And therefore a very proper object for thy pity and help. And my heart is wounded within me I am wounded not slightly, but even to the very heart, with soul-piercing sorrows.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
109:21 But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy {l} name’s sake: because thy mercy [is] good, deliver thou me.
(l) As you are named merciful, gracious and long suffering, so show yourself in effect.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. Request for help 109:21-31
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David asked the Lord to deal with him in harmony with His loyal love: for the sake of God’s reputation, David’s need, and the sinfulness of the wicked. David had sought to follow the Lord faithfully, and God had promised to bless people who did that. However, David was not experiencing God’s blessing. This made other people question God’s justice and faithfulness. If God would again bless David and curse his enemy, this would show onlookers that God’s promises are trustworthy. In these verses, David described how he felt in his downtrodden condition.
The Israelites usually practiced fasting (Psa 109:24) for spiritual reasons, rather than for physical reasons like losing weight. They went without food and sometimes drink, temporarily, to spend that time in a more important activity, specifically: seeking God in prayer. Therefore we should probably understand David’s reference to fasting as including prayer. He had prayed earnestly about the situation this psalm reflects. His extended prayer and fasting had made him physically weak.
The people who reproached David (Psa 109:25) were evidently his enemies. These are the other people in view throughout the psalm.