Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. – Psalm 109:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 13, 2013): Psalm 109

A few years ago I went with a friend who was being tried in a local court. It was not a major trial, but a rather minor matter that was being tried by a judge alone - along with a number of other complaints against other people. We were instructed to be at the courthouse for the afternoon session, but my friend ended up being the last person on the afternoon docket, so it was closer to five o’clock before he was called to stand before the judge. I admit that I was a bit concerned before he was tried because I had noticed two things during the afternoon session. The first was that there were a number of people that were being accused of what I considered to be worse crimes than my friend – and they were getting fairly light sentences. Specifically I remember one man that was found guilty of being drunk and while he was drunk he tried to accost his girlfriend, he broke the window that led into his girlfriend’s mother’s bedroom – with a baby sleeping beneath the window – and when the police showed up, he tried to beat up two officers. And when the judge handed down the verdict he was sentenced to six weekends in prison; weekends so that he could continue to work. So I was encouraged that maybe my friend would be let off with a light sentence. But the second thing that I noticed was that the sentences were getting harder the later the afternoon went. It was like right after lunch, the judge was open to anything, but the hungrier he got – the angrier he became.

This psalm opens up with a court scene. James Burton Coffman entitles this Psalm “The Most Terrible Psalm in the Whole Psalter” and repeatedly scholars have made assertions that this passage is entirely descriptive, and not prescriptive. And what that means is that there are certain passages in the Bible that simply describe what happened – and these passages are never intended to tell us that this is the way that we should live. One of the things that I like about the Bible is that it never pulls it punches. The characters of the Bible are presented with all of their good and all of their bad. In this case, David is seen wrapped up in all of his bitterness about the people that do not like him. What this psalm is not saying is that we should all be as bitter David was – it was simply the way that David felt at this point in time.

So David prays to God for two things. The first was that his enemy would be brought before an evil judge (or maybe one that is hungry late in the afternoon.) But the intent is that his enemies should be brought before a judge that would give to them the maximum penalty. And the second petition that David makes is that the one that stands at their right hand in the court – the place where the defender would normally stand – that this person would be one that is going to bring more accusations, rather than a defense, before the judge – literally, that the defender would be like Satan.

In the New Testament, Jesus would turn this teaching upside down as he taught us to love those that persecute us, but the Bible is not naive. It recognizes that the reverse teaching of Jesus is often easier, and even men like David seem to be vulnerable to fall into its trap.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 110