Psalms 109:12

Psa 109:12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

Ver. 12. Let there be none to extend mercy to him] Let God in his justice set off all hearts from him that had been so unreasonably merciless. Thus no man opened his mouth to intercede for Haman; Judas was shaken off by the priests, and bid see to himself, &c.

Neither let there be any to favour his fatherless] Pupillis pusillis. Let there be none to plead their pupil’s cause against the griping extortioner, or the stranger that violently invadeth their right.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. (Psa 109:12) Let there be no one to him, extending mercy, and let there be no one shewing favour to his orphans. The verb translated extend literally means draw out, prolong, and is applied to the continued indulgence both of hostile and amicable feelings. See above, on Psa 28:3; Psa 36:10; Psa 85:5. Shewing favour, exercising mercy, as in Psa 37:21.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12 Let there be none prolonging mercy to him. To continue to show humanity and mercy is, according to the Hebrew idiom, equivalent to constant and successive acts of kindness; and it also sometimes denotes pity, or the being moved to sympathy, when, through the lapse of years, anger is appeased, and even one’s calamity melts the heart of the man who bore hatred towards him. Accordingly, there are some who understand this clause to mean, that there will be none to show kindness to his offspring; which interpretation is in conformity with the next clause of the verse. David, however, includes also the wicked man himself along with his children; as if he should say, Though he visibly pine away under such calamities, and these descend to his children, yet let no one show pity towards them. We are aware it not unfrequently happens, that the long-continued misfortune of an enemy either excites the sympathy of men of savage dispositions, or else makes them forget all their hatred and malevolence. But in this part of the psalm, David expresses a desire that his enemy and all his posterity may be so hated and detested, that the people may never be wearied with beholding the calamities which they endure, but may become so familiarised with the spectacle, as if their hearts were of iron. At the same time, let it be remarked, that David is not rashly excited by any personal anguish to speak in this manner, but that it is as God’s messenger he declares the punishment which was impending over the ungodly. And verily the law accounts it as one of the judgments of God, his hardening men’s hearts, so that they who have been passionately and unmercifully cruel, should find no sympathy, Deuteronomy 2:30. It is just that the same measure which they have used towards others, should also be meted out to themselves.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

12. Let him have none to continue lovingkindness to him as represented in his children; nor any one to have pity on his orphans.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let his posterity be cut off,.... As the seed of the wicked are said to be, Psa 37:28, or cut down, as a tree to the very root; as the Jewish nation was by the axe of God's judgment, which, John says, was laid to the root of the tree, and the blow just going to be given, as it was in a few years after, Mat 3:10 or, as the Targum,

"let his end be for destruction;''

and so the Syriac version, "let their end be for destruction"; their last end, which it is said shall be cut off, and issue in death, eternal death; when the end of a good man is peace and eternal life, see Psa 37:37.

And in the generation following let their name be blotted out: or, in another age (d); the next age, the third generation; meaning the name of the posterity of Judas, and the name of the people of the Jews, so as to be spoken of with honour and reputation; but, instead of that, they are for a taunt, a proverb, and a curse, in all places.

(d) "in generatione altera", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Let there be none to extend mercy unto him - Let him find compassion and sympathy in no one. When he suffers, let him be left to bear it alone. Let there be none found to shed a tear of compassion over him, or to relieve him. Literally, “Let there be no one to draw out kindness to him.”

Neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children - To show them mercy or kindness. See the notes at Psa 109:10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Let him and his be unpitied and hated as the public enemies of mankind.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 12. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him. He had no mercy, but on the contrary, he crushed down all who appealed to him. Loath to smite him with his own weapon, stern justice can do no otherwise, she lifts her scales and sees that this, too, must be in the sentence.

Neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. We are staggered to find the children included in the father's sentence, and yet as a matter of fact children do suffer for their father's sins, and, as long as the affairs of this life are ordered as they are, it must be so. So involved are the interests of the race, that it is quite impossible in all respects to view the father and the child apart. No man among us could desire to see the fatherless suffer for their deceased father's fault, yet so it happens, and there is no injustice in the fact. They share the parent's ill gotten gain or rank, and their aggrandizement is a part of the object at which he aimed in the perpetration of his crimes; to allow them to prosper would be an encouragement and reward of his iniquity; therefore, for these and other reasons, a man perishes not alone in his iniquity. The ban is on his race. If the man were innocent this would be a crime; if he were but commonly guilty it would be excessive retribution; but when the offence reeks before high heaven in unutterable abomination, it is little marvel that men devote the man's whole house to perpetual infamy, and that so it happeneth.

Ver. 12. Let there be none to extend mercy to him. He does not say, None who shall shew, but none who shall "extend" kindness to him. The extending of kindness is, when after a friend's death it is shown to his children, and true friendship is of this sort, that the kindness which friends shewed to each other while alive is maintained, not extinguished with the death of the friend. Wolfgang Musculus.

Ver. 12. Let there be none to extend mercy to him. Let God in his justice set off all hearts from him that had been so unreasonably merciless. Thus no man opened his mouth to intercede for Haman; Judas was shaken off by the priests, and bid see to himself, etc. John Trapp.

Psalms 109:13*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Let there be none to extend mercy—There shall be none. The word “extend” takes the sense of lengthened time, as Psa_36:10, “O continue,” etc. Psa_85:5, “Wilt thou draw out,” etc. Pro_13:12, “Hope deferred,” etc. And the quality of mercy here denoted is that of requital—remitting the claim of a creditor—as in 2Sa_9:1; 2Sa_9:3; 2Sa_9:7; 2Sa_10:2; 1Ki_2:7. The idea is, that the life and character of the father had been such as awakened no regrets at his downfall, and none felt obligated to requite his acts with favour, or to prolong kindness to his family for the father’s sake. In the divine constitution this is a penal consequence of accumulating wealth by a merciless and unprincipled life. Pro_21:13; Pro_28:8; Jas_2:13

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let there be none to extend (literally, continue) mercy unto him. In his need, let none of his neighbors continue to show him mercy and loving-kindness. Let them stand aloof, and remain passive, while punishment overtakes him. Neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let them too be suffered to endure the woes which come naturally upon them (see ver. 10) through their father"s fault, without any one thinking it necessary, because they arc fatherless, to show them favor.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.