"Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. For they compassed me about also with words of hatred; and they fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.” (vv.1-4)
Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you. Do good to those that hate you. Pray form them that despitefully use you” (Matthew 5:44). But, what David is praying in this psalm (vv. 5-20), is far from what Jesus taught in the New Testament. So although we can identify with the prayer of revenge here, we realize that this is not the new nature in Christ of forgiveness. Therefore, realizing how much God has forgiven us, we also need to forgive others.
After praying against his enemies, David changes his tune in verse 21 and begins to pray for himself, asking God to deliver him from his adversaries. He finally saw the wisdom of allowing God to fight his battles for him. Giving ourselves to prayer rather than striking out against others, or trying to get vengeance, is much better than getting involved directly. If we stay in the Spirit, rather than the flesh, it can save us a great deal of aggravation and may even bring about change in the lives of those who persecute us.
The Truth: "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
