Psa 109:1-16 – “Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy”, Part 1

There is a continual pattern in the word of God that reveals two men, the first Adam and the second Adam.

Both Adams are within God’s people and are typified by the two trees in the garden of Eden.

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and goo d for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

Both trees come from the ground, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which represents the natural which is first, as well as the law for the lawless, and the tree of life that represents Christ or “the law of Christ” through which God gives His people the ability to abide in through Christ. We can, as a result of that relationship with Christ, grow in our ability to discern the light and darkness represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Psa 139:12). To discern that good and evil and to see the light and darkness as God intends us to see it can only happen through judgment which comes upon us as a result of abiding in the tree of life. Knowing God has created light and darkness, the good and evil, and being able to discern their function in life, is what God is granting those in this age who are “grow[ing] in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

This particular Psalm reminds us of the war which we are up against in our heavens, the powers and principalities within us. This war in our heavens is described for us by using the very real enemies of David which are types and shadows of the enemies within us that we must conquer and overcome by God’s mercy being extended to us. 

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

This Psalm is structured in such a way that it shows us the problem, the cause of the problem and the solution that can come from God alone once His mercy is extended to us so that we can overcome. David cries out to God in regard to his enemies without, which we know represents the enemies within us that need to be overcome through Christ (Rev 21:7). 

Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 

Very often the end result of God showing mercy to David in the old covenant is demonstrated by God destroying his enemies, and that destruction of His enemies is a type of how we can rightly divide the word of God in our heavens when God shows mercy to us and delivers us from the man of perdition who will in God’s perfect time “be taken out of the way”.  

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

The sword is not departing from David’s house, but its function is being fulfilled in bringing him to a point of crying out and detailing the great struggle he is having against all his enemies described in this Psalm. This sword that does not depart from David’s house represents the tree of life that Christ is to us, as well as the sharp two-edged sword in our lives that gives us the ability to discern good and evil. The benefit from this ability to discern, given to us by this rightly divided word that sanctifies us, is that we can then be partakers of strong meat that helps us mature in the Lord.

2Sa 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

In the physical realm of King David we have many dramatic stories of how he was attacked by his enemies, and this particular Psalm is no different. Before David describes all that he is going through, he does what we all must do to become more than conquerors through Christ, and that is to go to God and ask him “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise” against our enemies within. Saying “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise” is another way of saying “Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy” (vs 26 and our title).

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Psa 109:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

As we’ve seen in our introduction, the starting point of our overcoming any particular situation is to go to God in prayer and praise, as we ask him to “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise” against all that is contrary to Him within us.

God knows what we need before we ask him (Mat 6:8), so we can have confidence that His mercy will prevail as He brings us to see what we need to change in our lives as we carefully examine ourselves whether or not we are in the faith (2Co 13:5).

The order never changes in that regard, and we need God’s mercy upon us to always bring us to first examine ourselves before we try to remove the beam from someone else’s eye, if God will permit that, as it is needful at times (Mat 7:5, Mat 18:15-17).

The context of Christ’s words that precede our well-known (Mat 18:15-17) commandments is very telling as it talks about “if thy hand or thy foot offend thee” (Mat 18:8) and “if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” (Mat 18:9). As a many-membered singular body of Christ, we are taking care of each other when we take care to examine ourselves first, not neglecting the need to help a brother or sister whose foot is offending or whose eye may be offending, but always asking God to “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise” on our own worse enemy who we face every morning in the mirror.

Psa 109:2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Psa 109:3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

This is perhaps one of the hardest things to endure as a Christian as we go about our daily life and begin to be shown that “the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me:” and “they have spoken against me with a lying tongue“.

Christ allows this kind of persecution to come upon the body of Christ to remind us what we have done to Christ and how deceitful and desperately wicked the heart of all men can be unless the Lord gives us that new softened heart of mercy that he promises he will do in time for all the world (Jer 17:9, Eze 36:26).

People also compassed Christ about with words of hatred, and they fought against him without cause, which again demonstrates to us what we all do at first against Christ and His Christ. It is that threatening spirit that God allows to come up against us which we must overcome by asking Him to give us the power to love our enemies and understand that they are exactly where we would be except for the grace and faith of Christ. God has them there in fact for our good!

Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 
Act 4:29  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 

Psa 109:4 For my love^{H160 (G25 in ABP+)} they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
Psa 109:5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love^{H160 (G26 in ABP+)}.

Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love^H160 he had to her (Gen 29:20). That word for love^H160 in Genesis 29:20 is the same word used in this verse (Psa 109:4) which reminds us that our adversaries are there for us to love and pray for even when they reward us evil for good as Laban did unto Jacob. 

Gen 29:20  And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the loveH160 he had to her.

That selfish and controlling spirit of Laban was not going to inhibit God’s plan and purpose for Jacob from being fulfilled, but rather demonstrates to us in type and shadow that all things work together for the good for those who love God and who are called according to his purpose.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Laban pursued Jacob and in his own devious way rewarded him evil for good, but in the end it was Jacob who represents Christ who overcame all these trying circumstance to finally be with his bride Rachel who represents the church. We could also say that Laban created the needful resistance that Jacob needed in order to be made ready for marriage. The fourteen years that Jacob served Laban for his daughters is a type and shadow event of Christ’s lineage in the earth, that goes from the old covenant wine to the new covenant wine which is the better wine at the wedding of Canaan that represents our wedding to Christ as Rachel (Mar 2:22, Joh 2:10).

Gen 31:36  And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 

Mat 1:17  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. 

Gen 31:41  Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

Christ like Laban goes that extra mile for us, and we go that extra mile for each other with our Lord working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure so that we can be blessed to be among those who obtain to the blessed and holy first resurrection.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
Mat 5:40  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 
Mat 5:41  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 
Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand 

Psa 109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
Psa 109:7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
Psa 109:8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Psa 109:9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Psa 109:10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their breadalso out of their desolate places.
Psa 109:11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
Psa 109:12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
Psa 109:13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Psa 109:14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Psa 109:15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

I’ve put all these verses together because they are essentially saying the same thing as they talk about what Satan will be considering about who we are, as the Lord allows him to unleash in our lives various trials as he did in the life of Job and now in the life of David’s enemies.

Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 

We must notice how the Lord inspired the translation in the KJV by adding the word “let” so often through these verses (see YLT for comparison): 

Let Satan stand at his right hand (And an adversary standeth at his right hand -YLT)

Let him be condemned (he goeth forth wicked -YLT)

Let his prayer become sin (his prayer is for sin -YLT)

Let his days be few (His days are few -YLT)

Let another take his office (his oversight another taketh -YLT)

Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow (His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow -YLT)

Let his children be continually vagabonds (And wander continually do his sons -YLT)

Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. (Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places -YLT)

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath (An exactor layeth a snare for all that he hath -YLT)

Let the strangers spoil his labour (And strangers spoil his labour -YLT)

Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children (He hath none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favour to his orphan -YLT)

Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out (His posterity is for cutting off, In another generation is their name blotted out -YLT)

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD (The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah -YLT)

Let not the sin of his mother be blotted out (And the sin of his mother is not blotted out -YLT)

Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth (They are before Jehovah continually, and He cutteth off from earth their memorial)

There is a fiery connection in all this ‘letting’ to what God is letting Christ do to the man of perdition who is being destroyed by the brightness of his coming as well as what God is letting Satan do to frustrate and withhold “only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” until the appointed time that Christ takes him out of the way, just like Laban in his appointed time was taken out of the way of Jacob’s life (Joh 8:36).

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now lettethG2722 will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Letteth G2722   katechō  

1) to hold back, detain, retain

1a) from going away

1b) to restrain, hinder (the course or progress of)

1b1) that which hinders, Antichrist from making his appearance

1b2) to check a ship’s headway, i.e. to hold or head the ship

1c) to hold fast, keep secure, keep firm possession of

2) to get possession of, take

2b) to possess

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

These verses are also a shadow of the reality that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and that all things must become new “that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth” (1Co 15:50, 2Co 5:17).

Verse 15: Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Psa 109:16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

We have a small reprieve from all the “let it be so” comments of David against his enemies in this verse, and we are given the answer as to why all this affliction and grief must come upon our enemies within us: “Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.”

It is through the destruction of all those “let it be so” examples which David uttered that a new creation will be formed that will show mercy. Mercy does not come easy to hearts that have been hardened for years by the deceitfulness of sin, but if the Lord is working with us in this age, that wickedness will be burnt out and we will start to reflect pure religion in taking care of the “poor and needy” and taking care of the “broken in heart” who are broken in heart because God has given them this new heart.

Heb 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 

When God chastens and scourges us as his sons it is for good reason, and as we have seen He is doing this so that we will remember to “shew mercy”, and that mercy will be reflected in our love for one another and in our obedience to His commands and in being of one mind in Christ.

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the second part of our study entitled “Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy” where we will see more of God’s judgment being poured out upon our carnal nature which God is changing by mercifully putting us through the trials and much tribulation that we need in order to have Christ’s mind formed within us.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

Psa 109:17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
Psa 109:18  As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. 
Psa 109:19  Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. 
Psa 109:20  Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul. 
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. 
Psa 109:22  For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 
Psa 109:23  I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. 
Psa 109:24  My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. 
Psa 109:25  I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads. 
Psa 109:26  Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy: 
Psa 109:27  That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it. 
Psa 109:28  Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. 
Psa 109:29  Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. 
Psa 109:30  I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. 
Psa 109:31  For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.