Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out;
Verse 14 sits in the fiercest part of this psalm, where the prayer against one enemy widens to take in his children, his fathers, and his mother. Two questions arise: why does the guilt of earlier generations matter here, and whose words are these?
Many read this psalm as a portrait of Judas. One writer warns against pressing that reading too far:
It is certain that this psalm applies to Judas. But as we read it, we shall see that we cannot apply all of it to him alone... Most of it is in the plural... Judas was a special instance of this wicked hatred against Christ. But I have no doubt that even this part applies more widely. The judgments called for are general. They are not a prophetic revelation that Judas had a wife and children, or anything of the sort.
The prayer does not ask that an innocent man inherit someone else's guilt. It treats the man as walking the same road as those before him:
Because the wicked here keep walking in the evil way of their father, they are counted one with the evil for which their fathers are judged (v. 14). Wicked motives are to blame, as we see with Jezebel and Athaliah... So the prayer of verse 15 is answered: "may the memory of them be cut off from the earth."
God does say He visits a father's sin on the children. But He never says it without a limit attached:
He has Himself assured us that He "visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation." But then He adds words that guard against a misreading: "of those who hate me." And elsewhere the Lord condemns, in the strongest terms, the proverb Israel had taken up from just such a misreading: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." He not only says but swears that they will have no reason to use such a proverb. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor the father bear the iniquity of the son... and the repentance of anyone will turn aside his doom.
The same writer then turns to verse 14 itself:
So far as this touches his children, it is overruled for blessing to them, as surely as they heed the lesson. And no sin can be fastened on anyone apart from the consent of their own character. Verse 14 here shows it plainly. The very prayer that the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD rests on the man's own character (see v. 16).
This prayer calls down nothing random. The man gets back what he himself loved:
The psalm says of the betrayer, "He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!" But this is true of all who reject Christ. All the cursing and punishment that comes on those who reject Christ is self-chosen.
One writer applies the phrase about the mother to the whole nation. He pictures Israel as a wife suspected of unfaithfulness, made to drink the water of the test set out in the law, who answers the curse with her own "Amen":
At last He pleads with her through this ordeal. She defies divine justice, like a hardened wife who would dare to face the trial knowing she is guilty. "His blood be on us and on our children," from the lips of Israel, was like the woman's "Amen" to the curse spoken over her. But their confidence has been their shame. The sin of their mother was not blotted out in the trial. The water went in and did its deadly work. To this day they are under the penalties of proven unfaithfulness.
Commentators differ on how far believers today may take such words on their own lips. One writer points to the kind of righteousness that fills these psalms:
Yet we may suppose that no believer has ever used them this way, in private and in public, without running straight into difficulties he cannot answer... The air of these psalms is always earthly judicial righteousness, not the heavenly grace by which the Christian is now called to feel and pray, to worship and walk.
- Remembered — and why. The fathers' iniquity comes up because the man kept walking in their line. He is judged with the evil he chose to continue.
- Remembered — but grounded. Verse 16 is the reason for verse 14. The prayer rests on the man's own character. No sin can be fastened on anyone whose own character does not agree to it.
- Remembered — yet limited. God visits fathers' sin on "those who hate me." He swears that a son shall not bear his father's guilt, and repentance turns the sentence aside.
- Remembered — self-chosen. The curse invoked here is the curse the man loved. What falls on those who reject Christ is what they chose.
- Remembered — as a nation. Applied to Israel, the mother's sin was not blotted out. The nation answered "His blood be on us," and the consequences followed.
Let them be before Jehovah continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth
Psalm 109 is the prayer of a hated and betrayed man. Verses 6–15 call on God to judge his enemy. Verse 15 closes that call: let the guilt stay before God until the memory of that family is gone from the earth. Two questions follow. Who is this prayer against, and how can such a prayer be right?
The psalm carries the complaint of the rejected Christ. Its first fulfilment has a name.
Psalm 109 gives us once more the story of His rejection. We hear the complaints from Himself, put into words by His Spirit. He is the hated One. They fight against Him without a cause. They reward Him with evil for good, and His love, the love which sought them, they answer with hatred. Verses 6–15 refer to Judas who betrayed Him, and apply to all those who reject Him.
But the prayer is not aimed at one man only, and the plural "them" in verse 15 shows it.
Verse 20, however, shows that it is not only one outstandingly wicked man who is in view, but all the "adversaries" of the Lord who have spoken evil against His soul. No doubt these verses have in view Judas and the guilty nation in the day of Christ's humiliation. They also have in view Antichrist, and the mass of the Jews who abandon God under his leadership in a day still to come.
This prayer is not the first thing tried. It is what is left when everything else has failed.
Hatred without a cause is hatred whose only cause lies in the heart it comes from, and it shows what that heart is. But this is more than that. Love is what wakes it. It is moral opposition to what is good and lovely. It is the corruption that the sun breeds in the dead, while it gives life to the living. And this is death, and hopeless by nature, as death is. Good can only be looked for from what is good, yet here the good itself produces only evil. So every means fails. Hope fails. Once that is fully proved, nothing is left but to call for judgment, and that is what the next ten verses are: a cry for judgment.
Verse 15 asks that the sins of verse 14 — his parents' sins — stay in God's sight. God's own rule sets a limit on that.
He has Himself assured us that He "visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation." But then He adds a much needed guard, or the words would be read wrongly: "of those who hate Me." And elsewhere the Lord condemns, in the strongest terms, the proverb Israel had taken up from just such a misreading: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." (Ezekiel 18.) He not only says it, He swears it: they will have no reason to use such a proverb.
The children here are not innocent bystanders.
The wicked here keep walking in their father's evil way. So they are counted as one with the evil for which their fathers are judged (v. 14). So God answers the prayer of verse 15: "that He may cut off the memory of them from the earth."
Verse 15 is the last and heaviest step in a sentence that has been building since verse 8.
We learn the judgment that will come upon such. His days are cut off (v. 8); his offspring are forsaken (vv. 9–10); his possessions are lost (v. 11); he is beyond the reach of mercy (vv. 12–15).
This is not a private grudge settled. It is a world swept clean.
The children of Judas cut off (Psalm 109), the little ones of Edom dashed against the stones (Psalm 137), Haman's sons, all hanged after himself — these teach us the complete downfall and removal of all that now offends. They show God's judgment clearing out everything, like a broom.
This is not the Christian's prayer today. The reason lies in the way God is dealing with the world now.
How would Psalm 109:4–13 suit you? It is utterly opposed to all we have been reading of the principles of the kingdom, and to the spirit of the Christian, but it will be quite right for the remnant, so unless we learn to rightly divide the word of truth, we get into terrible difficulties. The whole Bible is for us, but not all about us.
The difference lies in how God deals with people. That clears all this up without forcing the text. When God judges enemies, as He did long ago and will again, His people share in it to some degree. Now He is displaying sovereign grace, and a different spirit of action suits them. Even so, the Psalms remain a rich treasure from God to the believer.
- Cause: Love itself woke this hatred. When good produces only evil, hope fails, and nothing is left but to ask for judgment.
- Case: Judas came first. But "them" reaches wider: all the adversaries of Christ, and Antichrist with those who follow him.
- Condition: The children fall under the sentence because they keep walking their father's evil road. God visits the fathers' sin on "those who hate Me" — and on no one else.
- Close: Days cut off. Family forsaken. Goods lost. Then the memory erased — the last step for a man beyond the reach of mercy.
- Contrast: Here God clears the earth of all that offends. Today He is displaying grace, so a different spirit suits His people — yet the Psalms stay a rich treasure for the believer.
Because he remembered not to shew kindness, but persecuted the afflicted and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay him.
For ten verses Psalm 109 calls down judgment; verse 16 gives the reason: a man who would not remember mercy hunted down someone already crushed. Who is this poor and needy man, and how far does the guilt reach?
Verses 6-15 pile up requests for judgment without saying why. Verse 16 says why: the man "did not remember to show kindness."
The moral reason is now noted clearly. The antichrist will be such a character, with no heart for showing mercy, but a determination to persecute the poor and needy, willing even to murder those who have genuinely broken hearts before God.
Commentators read the sufferer here as Christ in the days of His humility. One lists what men did to Him through this psalm, step by step, up to this verse:
Such will be the judgment of those who without cause spurned the love and goodness of Christ. In the days of His humility He became the poor and needy Man. They spoke against Him (v. 2). They lied against Him (v. 2). They fought against Him (v. 3). They repaid Him only evil (v. 5). They persecuted Him, and at last they put "the brokenhearted" to death (v. 16).
The verse assumes his enemies had broken his heart before they moved to kill him. In verse 22 the sufferer says his own heart is wounded. The same hands did both:
Man's heartless treatment drew out no expression of anger from Christ. No bitter or vengeful word fell from His lips. When He was reviled, He did not revile back, and when He suffered He did not threaten. The hardness of our hearts only called out a sorrow that found expression in His tears. We broke His heart at last, for He could say, "I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me." And having broken His heart we sought to put "the brokenhearted" to death. So we read that "the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men of the people sought to destroy Him." What a scene! Outside the city, the heartbroken Saviour weeping over sinners; inside, hardened sinners seeking to destroy the Saviour.
Peter applied verse 8 of this psalm to Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. But the merciless figure of verse 16 is not confined to him:
Then follows a description of an individual who showed no mercy to the suffering one (6-19). We cannot say who David had in mind when he wrote the words. But we know this psalm speaks of Judas Iscariot. Peter (Acts 1:20) applied verse 8 directly to the traitor. Yet it is plain that the whole passage does not refer to him alone. Others are in view as well: "my accusers and those who speak evil against my soul" (20) shows that it takes in a number of people.
Verse 17 follows as effect follows cause. The man who would not show mercy loved cursing, and it came back on him:
The psalm says of the betrayer, "He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!" But this is true of all who reject Christ. All the cursing and punishment that come on those who reject Christ are self-chosen.
From verse 21 the psalm turns from judgment to prayer. The plea it uses is the need named in verse 16:
After the call for judgment on the adversaries comes a prayer to God to act on behalf of the godly. The prayer opens with the highest plea — the maintenance of what is due to God's Name. Then comes the plea of the deep need of the godly soul (vv. 22-25). The very need that gave vile men the occasion to persecute calls out the delivering mercy of God (compare vv. 16 and 20).
- Mercy forgotten. Verse 16 gives the moral reason for everything asked in verses 6-15. The man had no heart for mercy and a settled will to hunt the poor and needy.
- Mercy embodied. Commentators read the poor and needy man as Christ in His humility. Men spoke against Him, lied about Him, fought Him without cause, repaid His good with evil, and at last killed Him.
- Mercy refused twice. They broke His heart first, then sought to destroy Him. Outside the city the Saviour wept over sinners; inside, sinners plotted His death.
- Mercy's reach. Peter applied verse 8 to Judas. Verse 20 widens the guilt to all His accusers, and one writer sees the antichrist in the same portrait.
- Mercy returned. The curse falls on the man who loved it; his judgment is self-chosen. The need that invited cruelty becomes the plea that calls out God's mercy.
And he loved cursing; so let it come unto him. And he delighted not in blessing; and let it be far from him.
Psalm 109 is the cry of a man hunted without cause, and verse 17 turns on the man who hunted him. Two questions press: who is this man, and is this a burst of personal spite or the plain working of God's justice?
The verse does not invent a punishment. It hands the man back what he picked up and put on himself.
This overwhelming judgment comes upon one who showed no mercy. He persecuted the poor and needy man. He killed the one whose heart was broken by man's hatred, a hatred with no cause (v. 16). The cursing that he loved falls on himself; the blessing that he spurned is removed far from him. The garments of cursing with which he clothed himself, he will wear forever (vv. 17-19).
That principle is not locked in the past. One writer reads the verse as the standing rule for everyone who turns Christ away.
The psalm says of the betrayer, "He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!" But this is true of all who reject Christ. All the cursing and punishment that come on those who reject Christ are self-chosen.
The word is not about swear words. One writer defines it as an attitude, held by a man who never imagines it could turn back on him.
Such people love to curse others. They never see that the curse might recoil on their own heads (v. 17). But so it will be, and blessing will be as far from him as it is from his own lips. Cursing is the cold criticism of others, with no desire for their blessing at all. The wicked clothe themselves with this character (v. 18).
Commentators differ over the exact occasion behind the psalm. One traces it to the revolt of David's son Absalom, where three men each supply a line of the portrait.
Judging by its contents, this psalm very likely came out of the terrible experiences connected with the rebellion of Absalom. David was then the victim of deceitful mouths, repaid evil for good and hatred for love. Ahithophel fitted this description remarkably in what he did, just as Shimei seemed to love cursing and to wear it like his own clothing. Absalom himself, whom David loved dearly, fits the words about those who repay love with hostility.
Another writer sets the same verse against King Saul. Saul cursed the young man who had just saved the nation.
He had won salvation for Israel, and Israel's chief had called down the curse on him. Now the curse had recoiled. Saul had loved it — it had now come to him. He had not delighted in blessing, so now it was far from him.
One writer follows the psalm out from one man to a whole people. The man is Judas, the disciple who handed Jesus over.
In Psalm 109 the rejected Messiah first complains of His adversary, and we know Judas is meant. Afterwards He speaks of His adversaries, calling for judgment on them as the children of His adversary; and the Jews are meant. They were the ones who did not delight in blessing (v. 17), refusing to say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"; and blessing is therefore far from them. They were the ones who loved to curse, saying of Jesus, "Crucify Him, crucify Him"; so the curse has come upon them.
Some have tried to soften these verses. They read the words as a prediction of what will come, not a call for it to come. One writer rejects that move and points to the real answer.
The man who suggests this has to admit that the New Testament keeps the command form, instead of changing it into the future. But the criticism is as bad as the doctrine. The wording undoubtedly stands in Hebrew as in English, and in every other language. It is the difference in divine dealing that clears it all up without violence. When God is judging enemies, as He did of old and will again, His people share in it in measure. Now He is displaying sovereign grace, and another spirit of action suits them.
- Loved. God judges him by what he loved. Cursing was his taste, not his slip, and the psalm lets him keep it.
- Recoiled. The curse he aimed outward comes home. He never saw it coming, which is why it lands.
- Refused. Blessing goes far from him because he pushed it away first. So it was with those who would not say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
- Worn. The garment he chose becomes clothing he can never take off. His choice hardens into a permanent state.
- Reversed. God's way of dealing changes with the season. He judged then and will judge again. Now He is displaying sovereign grace, so a believer facing the same treatment answers in another spirit.
And he clothed himself with cursing like his vestment; so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones;
A man wears cursing like a coat, and it soaks into him like water and oil. The psalm shows both what he chose and what God lets that choice become.
One writer takes this cursing as an attitude toward other people, not just words. He reads what follows as God giving the man what he chose.
Such people love to curse others, but they are completely blind to how the curse might come back on their own heads (v. 17). But so it will be. Blessing will be as far from him as it is from his own lips. Cursing is the cold criticism of others with no heart for their blessing in any way, and with this character the wicked clothe themselves (v. 18). Since this is what he chooses, then let it soak through his whole being. It leaves him useless — and not only useless, but repulsive (v. 19), wearing the curse he loves like a belt he can never remove.
Clothing can be changed. This garment cannot. What he put on by choice he must wear forever, and the blessing he refused moves far away.
This overwhelming judgment comes on a man who showed no mercy. He persecuted the poor and needy man, and killed the one whose heart was broken by hatred without cause (v. 16). The cursing that he loved falls on himself; the blessing that he spurned is removed far from him. The garments of cursing with which he clothed himself, he shall wear forever (vv. 17-19).
Commentators differ on who these words first described. One links the psalm to the rebellion of David's son Absalom, and names two men from that time.
Judging from its contents, it seems very likely that this psalm, like Psalm 13, sprang out of the terrible experiences connected with the rebellion of Absalom. Then it was that David became the victim of "the mouth of the deceitful," and was rewarded "evil for good, and hatred for … love." Ahithophel remarkably fitted this description in his actions, just as Shimei seemed to love cursing, and to clothe himself with it, "as his coat."
Another writer applies the verse to King Saul. Saul called down a curse on David, and the writer sees that curse come back on Saul himself.
Israel's chief had called down the curse on him, and now the curse had recoiled. Saul had loved it — it had now come to him. He had not delighted in blessing, so now it was far from him. He had clothed himself with cursing like a garment. Now it came into him like water, and like oil into his bones.
The New Testament applies these words to Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. But one writer shows the psalm does not stop with him.
Judas was a special instance of the hatred that took advantage of the humility of Christ. That hatred persecuted the poor and needy man, and killed the broken in heart. So the Spirit of God has applied expressions used in these verses to Judas (compare Luke 22:47-48; Acts 1:20). Verse 20, however, shows that one outstandingly wicked man is not all that is in view. It takes in all the "adversaries" of the Lord who have spoken evil against His soul.
One writer reads the verse through an old trial for a wife suspected of unfaithfulness. She drank water that carried a curse, and if she was guilty it did its work inside her. He applies that picture to the nation that called down Christ's blood on itself.
But at last He puts her through this ordeal. She defies divine justice, like a hardened wife who would dare to face the trial while knowing her own sin. "His blood be on us and on our children," from the lips of Israel, was like the woman's "Amen" to the calling down of the curse. But their confidence has been their shame. The sin of their mother was not blotted out in the trial (Ps. 109:14). The water entered in and did its deadly work (v. 18).
The verse is not God inventing a punishment. It is God handing a man what he asked for.
Of the betrayer the psalm says, "He loved cursing, so let it come to him; since he did not delight in blessing, let it be far from him." But this is true of all who reject Christ. All the cursing and punishment that come on those who reject Christ are self-chosen.
- Chosen — cursing here is cold contempt for others, with no wish for their good. The man puts it on like a coat.
- Absorbed — what he wears on the outside soaks in, until he is not just useless but repulsive.
- Permanent — the coat he picked is the coat he wears forever. The blessing he refused moves far away.
- Widening — writers differ over who was meant first: Saul, Shimei or Ahithophel. But the psalm reaches on to Judas and to all who reject Christ.
- Self-chosen — God invents no new punishment. Every curse that falls is the one the man loved, come back on his own head.