cix. A perplexing Hebrew text makes it difficult to identify with certainty the dramatis personae and the sequence of action in this lament of an individual. From the proposed translation this succession can be traced: Verse 1 contains the usual invocation of the divine name. In vss. 2—5 the poet describes the activity of his ingrate enemies who accuse him of an unidentified capital crime (cf. vss. 16, 31) and bring him to trial. In vss. 6—19, the psalmist directs a series of dreadful imprecations against the venal judge (see vs. 31) who, instead of throwing out the indictment as preposterous, agrees to hear the case. It is apparently while awaiting trial by a court filled with perjurers and presided over by a knavish judge that the psalmist composed this charged lament. In vs. 20, the poet briefly curses his slanderers, and in vss. 21—27 he prays for deliverance and help. Interestingly, vs. 28 reflects the psychological effects of the psalmist's prayer, whereas vs. 29 is a reprise of the curse against the slanderers. The poem concludes (vss. 30—31) with the public confession of the help the psalmist is sure Yahweh will send.
The psalmist, an aged man (vss, 23, 30), was a very able poet. Good examples of chiasmus (vss. 2—3, 14, 16), double-duty modifiers (vss. 14, 20), congruency of metaphors (vss. 2—3, 13—14), inclusions (vss. 1 and 30, 7 and 31, 21 and 26, 22 and 30, 26 and 31), careful syllable counting (e.g., vss. 2—3, 19, 26, 28—29), and the balance between abstract and concrete nouns in vs. 2 witness to his high poetic gifts. What is more, the uniformly excellent poetic quality unity of authorship and composition, obliging one to dismiss Briggs' (CECBP, Il, p. 366) description of vss, 6—15 as an inserted Maccabean psalm containing little real poetry. The psalm probably dates to the early pre-Exilic period.
The poet's use of composite divine names deserves comment, especially since two of them have been the victims of deletion at the hands of textual critics. Thus 'él yahweh (vs. 14) and yahweh '%lönäy (vs. 21) have, from time to time, been expunged. In vs. 26, yahweh 'elöhäy has escaped such a fate, though vs. 30, yahweh mä'éd, probably to be read for yahweh me'öd, has been misunderstood. -The Anchor Bible
David composed this psalm as he fled from the wrath of King Saul.
Some people had slandered David to Saul and besmirched his name. David was saying: ' 'O God of my praise, be not silent" (verse 1), i.e., recognize, dear God, how I differ from my foes. They praise themselves for their deftness at slander, but I praise myself only for my closeness to You, my Lord!
Midrash Shocher Tov says that these words describe Israel's unique relationship to God. God is Israel's only praise as Deuteronomy 10:21 states: He is your praise, He is your God; and Israel is God's only source of praise, as Isaiah 43: 21 states: This nation I fashioned for Myself, so that they might recite My praise.
Therefore, David said to HASHEM, ' 'You are my only praise [and the praise of all Israel]. Do not be silent when we suffer and are oppressed. " O God, do not hold Yourself silent; be not deaf and be not still, O God (83:2).
David concludes this work with complete confidence that God will respond, For He stands at the right of the destitute, to save him from condemners of his soul (verse 31). -Artscroll
Invocation
(1) For the leader. Of David. A psalm. O God of my praise, do not keep aloof,
The Accusations of the Enemies of the Psalmist
(2) for the wicked and the deceitful open their mouth against me; they speak to me with lying tongue.
(3) They encircle me with words of hate; they attack me without cause.
(4) They answer my love with accusation and I must stand judgment.
(5) They repay me with evil for good, with hatred for my love.
Curses toward a Judge Suspected of Accepting Bribes
(6) Appoint a wicked man over him; may an accuser stand at his right side;
(7) may he be tried and convicted; may he be judged and found guilty.
(8) May his days be few; may another take over his position.
(9) May his children be orphans, his wife a widow.
(10) May his children wander from their hovels, begging in search of [bread].
(11) May his creditor seize all his possessions; may strangers plunder his wealth.
(12) May no one show him mercy; may none pity his orphans;
(13) may his posterity be cut off; may their names be blotted out in the next generation.
(14) May God be ever mindful of his father’s iniquity, and may the sin of his mother not be blotted out.
(15) May the LORD be aware of them always and cause their names to be cut off from the earth,
(16) because he was not minded to act kindly, and hounded to death the poor and needy man, one crushed in spirit.
(17) He loved to curse—may a curse come upon him! He would not bless—may blessing be far from him!
(18) May he be clothed in a curse like a garment, may it enter his body like water, his bones like oil.
(19) Let it be like the cloak he wraps around him, like the belt he always wears.
A Curse Against the Slanders of the Psalmist
(20) May the LORD thus repay my accusers, all those who speak evil against me.
The Psalmist Prays for Deliverance and Help
(21) Now You, O God, my Lord, act on my behalf as befits Your name. Good and faithful as You are, save me.
(22) For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.
(23) I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like locusts.
(24) My knees give way from fasting; my flesh is lean, has lost its fat.
(25) I am the object of their scorn; when they see me, they shake their head.
(26) Help me, O LORD, my God; save me in accord with Your faithfulness,
(27) that men may know that it is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
The Psychological Power of the Prayer of the Psalmist
(28) Let them curse, but You bless; let them rise up, but come to grief, while Your servant rejoices.
A Reprise of the Curse Against the Slanderers
(29) My accusers shall be clothed in shame, wrapped in their disgrace as in a robe.
Public Confession of the Power of God's Help
(30) My mouth shall sing much praise to the LORD; I will acclaim Him in the midst of a throng,
(31) because He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who would condemn him.
- What is the efficacy of the psalmist calling for a curse against slanders? In the time of the Torah? For his mental state?
Spiritual Applications
The prayer that concludes the Amidah in every worship service asks that our soul be still to those who curse us, and like dust before everyone. The poet is adopting such a stance in this psalm, going to great lengths to describe the calumnies leveled against him by those who oppose him. We may not be as strong as he, and so to rehearse all the details of what people say against us is probably unwise.
We may assume that the poet has evaluated their charges, as we must, to see whether we are guilty of any of the complaints leveled against us, even to a small degree, no matter from where the complaints come. This is part of being “like dust”— a humbling experience of cheshbon hanefesh such as we undergo each year during the month of Elul preceding the High Holy Days. Then we need to explore how we can change our own behavior. While it is probably too saintly to expect us to feel some gratitude toward those who have insulted us, they have in fact done us a favor.
But having determined how we can change the part of our behaviors that need changing, then we need to ask why else God might have put such calumniators into our life. A frequent answer is that God is testing us— will we resist becoming angry? We are urged by Pirkei Avot (1: 15) to develop the habit of greeting everyone with a cheerful countenance, an excellent corrective to the habit of developing anger in the face of insults. Will we model what Pirkei Avot urges us to do? In terms of this psalm, will we refrain from uttering curses at God for the state of our lives, and instead look for reasons to bless God, to offer thanks?
If we have been wounded, if we have been afflicted and impoverished— in spirit or in material matters— let us acknowledge that, and open ourselves to God in the moment of awareness of our vulnerability. With time, we will learn to hear how God is responding to us, and in an era when so much vulgarity spews forth from the mouths of others, let us instead train our mouths to offer pure words of thanks that, however deep our wounds, we are still alive, and that God still needs us to nurture the world. -Levy, Rabbi Richard N.. Songs Ascending: The Book of Psalms (Vol. 2)