Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2790 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

The title for today’s Wisdom-Trek is: The Boomerang of Justice – Wearing Curses Like a Cloak.

Today, we are walking into the storm. We are continuing our journey through Psalm One Hundred Nine, and we are covering the most difficult and controversial section of the entire book: verses six through twenty-five, in the New Living Translation.

In our previous trek, we stood with David in the opening five verses. We saw him as a man betrayed. He said, "I love them, but they try to destroy me." He told us that in return for his friendship, they acted as his "accusers"—literally, they acted as "satans" or adversaries against him. They repaid evil for good and hatred for love. David’s response in that first section was to become "prayer"—to retreat entirely into God.

But today, we see what he prayed. And frankly, it is terrifying.

Verses six through twenty are often called the "Imprecatory Psalms"—the cursing psalms. David unleashes a torrent of judgment upon his enemy that leaves no stone unturned. He prays for his enemy’s death, the destruction of his family, the loss of his job, and the erasure of his name from history.

Many people struggle with these verses. They ask, "How can a man after God’s own heart pray this way? Isn't this un-Christian?"

To understand this, we must put on our Ancient Israelite worldview lenses. This is not personal revenge; this is an appeal to Retributive Justice. This is the law of the boomerang. David is asking God to let the punishment fit the crime exactly. The enemy wanted to destroy David’s life and legacy without cause; David is asking the Divine Judge to let that destruction fall back on the enemy’s own head. It is a passionate plea for the moral order of the universe to be upheld.

So, brace yourselves. We are about to witness the severity of God’s justice.

The first Segment is: The Appointment of the Accuser.

Psalm One Hundred Nine: verses six through seven.

They say, "Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.  When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins."

Now, there is a debate among scholars here. Some translations, and the NLT implies this with "They say," suggest that these verses are actually the enemies' curses against David. However, the Hebrew text is ambiguous, and historically, most interpreters view this as David speaking against his enemy, asking God to subject the enemy to the very legal warfare he used against David. We will proceed with that understanding, as it fits the flow of the rest of the psalm.

David prays: "Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial."

The word for "accuser" here is Satan.

David is saying, "Lord, this man has acted like a 'satan' to me (verse 4). He has been an adversary. So, appoint a 'satan' over him."

In the Divine Council worldview, the Satan was a legal functionary—a prosecutor in the heavenly court who stood at the right hand to bring charges (we see this in Zechariah Chapter Three). David is asking God to convene a court where his enemy faces a merciless prosecutor.

"When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty." (Literally, "let him come out wicked").

And then, the ultimate spiritual door-slam: "Count his prayers as sins."

This is devastating. The enemy has so corrupted himself with treachery that even his cries for help are viewed as offensive to God. It harkens back to Proverbs Twenty-eight, verse nine: "God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law." David asks that when this man finally realizes he is in trouble and cries out, his prayer be treated as just another act of rebellion.

The Second Segment is: The Dismantling of Legacy: Office, Family, and Name.

Psalm One Hundred Nine: verses eight through thirteen.

"Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.  May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.  May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.  May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.  Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.  May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation."

David now moves from the courtroom to the funeral home. He prays for the systematic dismantling of the man’s entire existence.

This verse is famous because the Apostle Peter quotes it in Acts Chapter One, verse twenty regarding Judas Iscariot. Just as Judas betrayed Jesus (repaying evil for good), his office of apostle was vacated and given to Matthias. This confirms that this psalm applies to the ultimate betrayers of God’s anointed.

Then, the curse hits the family: "May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow."

This sounds cruel to our modern ears. Why involve the wife and kids?

In the Ancient Israelite worldview, a man’s "house" or legacy was his immortality. To destroy a man fully, you didn't just kill him; you cut off his name. David is asking for the total erasure of this man’s wicked influence from the earth.

The man likely used his power to steal and accumulate wealth (possibly stealing from David). Now, David prays for bankruptcy. He asks that the wealth amassed through treachery be seized by strangers, leaving the next generation destitute.

The word for "kind" is our covenant word Hesed (loyalty/mercy). David is praying, "Cut off the flow of Hesed." Since this man showed no mercy, let him receive no mercy.

This is the ultimate curse in the Hebrew Bible. To have your name "blotted out" meant you had no future. It was the reversal of the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply. David is asking God to prune this branch from the tree of humanity so that its poison cannot spread.

The Third Segment is: The Theology of the Curse: Why This is Happening.

Psalm One Hundred Nine: verses fourteen through twenty.

"May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.  May the Lord always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.  For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.  He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless him.  Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.  Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt."  May those curses become the Lord’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.

David pauses the list of punishments to explain the Reason (ki—"For" or "Because"). This is critical. David is not just being spiteful; he is outlining a legal argument based on the man’s character.

"For he refused all kindness to others..." (Literally, "He did not remember to do Hesed").

The enemy suffered from the same spiritual amnesia we saw in Psalm 106. He forgot the law of love.

This man was a predator. He targeted the vulnerable (ani ve-ebyon). In God’s Kingdom, protecting the poor is the primary duty of the powerful. By hunting the brokenhearted, this man declared war on God Himself, who is the defender of the weak.

Then, David uses the principle of Reciprocity:

This is the boomerang. The man treated cursing like a hobby—he "loved" it. So David says, "Okay, give him what he loves."

The imagery becomes visceral: "Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats." (Literally, "like oil in his bones").

This man has internalized malice. It isn't just something he does; it is who he is. It has soaked into his bones like oil; it flows through him like water.

So David prays: "Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt."

He wants the man to be wrapped in the consequences of his own hatred. He wants the evil he projected outward to become his permanent wardrobe.

Verse twenty sums it up: "May those curses become the Lord’s punishment for my accusers..."

David hands the sword back to God. He acknowledges that this is "from the Lord." He is not taking vigilante action; he is petitioning the Supreme Court for a capital sentence.

The Fourth Segment is: The Pivot to the Plea: A Fading Shadow.

Psalm One Hundred Nine: verses twenty-one through twenty-five.

But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.  For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.  I am fading like a shadow at sunset; I am brushed off like a locust.  My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.  I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

Suddenly, the fire of the curse dies down, and we hear the quiet sob of the victim. The focus shifts from "Him" (the enemy) to "Me" (David).

Literally, "But You, Yahweh Adonai, do with me for the sake of Your Name."

David appeals to God’s reputation. "Lord, my enemy acted according to his nature (cursing); now You act according to Your nature (blessing)."

"Rescue me because you are so faithful and good." (Because Your Hesed is good).

Then David reveals the physical toll this battle has taken on him.

"For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain." (Literally, "my heart is pierced within me").

While the enemy was "hunting the brokenhearted" (verse 16), he succeeded in piercing David’s heart.

This is poetic language for disappearing. A shadow at sunset stretches out long and then vanishes in an instant. A locust is flicked off a garment without a second thought. David feels insignificant, temporary, and easily discarded.

The stress and the grief have emaciated him. He is physically collapsing.

This is the final indignity: Public Shame. In an honor-shame culture, having people shake their heads at you was a sign that you were cursed by God. David, the Anointed King, has become a byword. He looks like a loser.

This section brings us back to the Cross. We see Jesus, the ultimate Davidic King, whose knees were weak under the beam of the cross, whose body was skin and bones, and at whom the crowds shook their heads (Matthew Twenty-seven, verse thirty-nine).

Psalm One Hundred Nine, verses six through twenty-five, takes us through the darkest corridors of justice.

It teaches us that evil is real, and it has consequences. When a person dedicates their life to cursing others, to hunting the poor, and to destroying the innocent, they are inviting the justice of God to dismantle their own legacy.

But it also teaches us where to take our rage. David didn't hire a hitman. He didn't burn down the man’s house. He took his raw, violent, bloody emotions and poured them out on the altar of God. He let God be the Judge.

If you have been betrayed—if you have a "Judas" in your life—you don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt. You don't have to wish them well in a fake, religious way. You can be honest with God. You can say, "Lord, this person is trying to destroy me. Please, be my defender. Deal with them according to Your justice, but deal with me according to Your Hesed."

And then, leave it there. Let the Sovereign Lord handle the sentencing.

If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of, ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.   As we take this Trek of life together, let us always: Live Abundantly.   Love Unconditionally.   Listen Intentionally.   Learn Continuously.   Lend to others Generously.   Lead with Integrity.   Leave a Living Legacy Each Day.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, reminding you to’ Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!