Psalms 109:20

Psa 109:20 [Let] this [be] the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

Ver. 20. Let this be the reward] Opus vel operae precium. The same Hebrew word signifieth work and wages, Actio et merces, Job 7:2 Isa 49:4; persecutors shall be sure of their payment.

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.

Ver. 20. This is the summing up of the entire imprecation, and fixes it upon the persons who had so maliciously assailed the inoffensive man of God. David was a man of gentle mould, and remarkably free from the spirit of revenge, and therefore we may here conceive him to be speaking as a judge or as a representative man, in whose person great principles needed to be vindicated and great injuries redressed.

Thousands of God's people are perplexed with this psalm, and we fear we have contributed very little towards their enlightenment, and perhaps the notes we have gathered from others, since they display such a variety of view, may only increase the difficulty. What then? Is it not good for us sometimes to be made to feel that we are not yet able to understand all the word and mind of God? A thorough bewilderment, so long as it does not stagger our faith, may be useful to us by confounding our pride, arousing our faculties, and leading us to cry, "What I know not teach thou me."

Ver. 20-21.

1. David leaves his enemies in the hand of God (Ps 109:20).

2. He puts himself into the same hands (Ps 109:21).

G.R.

Psalms 109:21*

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

20. (Psa 109:20) (Be) this the wages of my adversaries from Jehovah, and of those speaking evil against my soul. The pronoun this in the first clause refers to the whole preceding series of denunciations. The word translated wages means originally work, and secondarily the price or recompence of work or labour, and is so used in the law of Moses. See Lev 19:13. It is here peculiarly appropriate, because it represents the misfortunes of his enemies as the direct fruit of their own misconduct. No single word in English can express this double meaning of the Hebrew. Such is their work and such their wages. The word translated adversaries is a cognate form to that used in Psa 109:6, and might suggest the idea of my Satans; but this would probably convey too much. From Jehovah, their reward or recompence to be expected from him, or already bestowed by him. The description in the last clause includes insult, slander, and malicious plotting.

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

109:20 The psalmist appeals to the principle of retribution (see 94:23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For being destitute of man’s help, he fully trusted in the Lord, that he would deliver him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.] Following the mode of interpretation already adopted, this may mean: All these maledictions shall be fulfilled on my enemies; they shall have them for their reward. So all the opposition made by the Jews against our Lord, and the obloquies and execrations wherewith they have loaded him and his religion, have fallen upon themselves; and they are awful examples of the wrath of God abiding on them that believe not.

But is not this verse a key to all that preceded it? The original, fairly interpreted, will lead us to a somewhat different meaning: זאת פעלת שטני מאת יהוה והדברים רע על נפשי zoth peullath soteney meeth Yehovah, vehaddoberim ra al naphshi. "This is the work of my adversaries before the Lord, and of those who speak evil against my soul," or life. That is, all that is said from the sixth to the twentieth verse consists of the evil words and imprecations of my enemies against my soul, laboring to set the Lord, by imprecations, against me, that their curses may take effect. This, which is a reasonable interpretation, frees the whole Psalm from every difficulty. Surely, the curses contained in it are more like those which proceed from the mouth of the wicked, than from one inspired by the Spirit of the living God. Taking the words in this sense, which I am persuaded is the best, and which the original will well bear and several of the Versions countenance, then our translation may stand just as it is, only let the reader remember that at the sixth verse David begins to tell how his enemies cursed HIM, while he prayed for THEM.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20 Let this be the work from Jehovah. That is, let the gain or reward of the work be from God. In pointing out the work as proceeding immediately from God, he intends to show that, though deprived of all human aid, he yet entertained the hope that God would grant him deliverance, and avenge the injuries of his servant. From this verse we learn that David did not rashly, or unadvisedly, utter curses against his enemies, but strictly adhered to what the Spirit dictated. I acknowledge, indeed, that not a few, while they pretend a similar confidence and hope, nevertheless, recklessly rush beyond the bounds of temperance and moderation. But that which David beheld by the unclouded eye of faith, he also uttered with a zeal becoming a sound mind; for having devoted himself to the cultivation of piety, and being protected by the hand of God, he was aware that the day was approaching when his enemies would meet with merited punishment. From which we also learn, that his trust was placed in God alone, and that he did not regard the persons of men so as to direct his course according as the world smiled or frowned upon him. And, assuredly, whosoever places his dependence on men, shall find that the most trifling incident will annoy him. Therefore, should the whole world abandon us, it becomes us, in imitation of this holy man, to lift up our heads to heaven, and thence look for our defender and deliverer. If it be his intention to employ human instrumentality for our deliverance, he will soon raise up those who will accomplish his purpose. Should he, for the trial of our faith, deprive us of all earthly assistance, instead of regarding that as any reflection upon the glory of his name, we ought to wait until the proper time arrive when he will fully display that decision in which we can calmly acquiesce.

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.

(20) Reward.—Either “work” or “wages.” The LXX. and Vulg. take it in the former sense, “This is their work who,” &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. Let this be the reward] Or as R.V., This (is) the reward; the wages, as the word implies, which they have earned by their behaviour.

adversaries] See note on Psa_109:4.

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.

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, Psa 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 Psa 69:14.

(g) "benignitas tua", Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

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

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord,... - The word rendered “reward” means usually work, labor, occupation, business; then, what one earns by his work - reward, recompence, Lev 19:13. The meaning here is, Let them constantly receive these things which I have prayed for Psa 109:6-19; let them be constantly treated in this manner. This is a summing up of his entire wish - his whole desire. It cannot be proved that they did “not deserve” all this; it cannot be shown that if all this came upon them at the hand of God, it would be unjust; it cannot be denied that such things as these, either singly, in groups, or in succession, do actually come upon wicked people; and the prayer in the case “may” have been merely that justice might be done. Still, as before remarked, it is not easy wholly to vindicate the expressed feelings of the psalmist. 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.

Of mine adversaries; of those who were confederate with that arch enemy in his wicked enterprise.

Against my soul; with design to take away my life.

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

20. Let this be the reward—Literally, this is the work, or wages, of my adversaries. The word signifies both work and wages, or reward, as Lev_19:13; Pro_10:16

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

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord; rather, this is the reward, or the wages. This is what their conduct has earned, and what they have received, or assuredly will receive. And of them that speak evil against my soul (see above, ver. 2).

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

That speak evil against my soul - With design to take away my life.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.