Psalms 140:9

THE IMPRECATORY PRAYER

"As for the head of those that compass me about,

Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.

Let burning coals fall upon them:

Let them be cast into the fire,

Into deep pits, whence they shall not rise.

An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth:

Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him."

This writer does not share in the usual depreciation that one so frequently finds in the commentaries concerning imprecations of this type. Sure, they do not measure up to the attitudes required of the followers of Christ; but the psalmist lived in a different age from our own. The enabling sacrifice of the Christ upon Calvary had not then been made; and the law under which the Old Testament saints lived was that which is called the lex talionis, which means, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." As Miller said, "It means, `Let like for like' be administered."[12]

The Jewish conception of the ideal fulfillment of this law was: (1) that of the hanging of Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordecai; or (2) the retribution in kind executed upon Adonibezek whose thumbs were cut off and who was compelled to grovel for his food beneath the table of his captors, exactly as he had mutilated and humiliated many kings whom he had conquered (Judges 1:6-7).

Brutal and terrible as such a system appears to us, it was a vast improvement over the customary cruelties that preceded. Prior to God's restraining law, the rule was: (1) If you should kill my child, I will kill you and your whole generation. (2) If you knock out a tooth of mine, I'll pull out all of yours. (3) If you blind me in one eye, I will retaliate by totally blinding you and your whole family! Thus, the lex talionis was a restraint upon prior barbarism.

As Leupold noted, "It is not fair to deal with this psalm as if it were only a cry for vengeance. There is no hint here of a purely personal desire for retaliation against cruel enemies; all is left in the hands of God."[13]

These verses, like all the others in this psalm, are loaded with terminology and patterns of thought which are undeniably Davidic, as witnessed by Psalms 7:16; 31:9; 36:12.

"As for the head of those that compass me about" (Psalms 140:9). It must be admitted, of course, that the principles of this psalm have a much wider application than that of the original context. However, we find it impossible to believe that "the head" mentioned here is a prophetic reference to the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3); he will be the one heading up the seed of the serpent, who will be manifested when God's purpose during this present age is fulfilled.[14]

The reality of the ultimate manifestation of the "man of sin" is freely accepted, as the Scriptures surely teach, but finding any supplemental information about that eventuality in this psalm we believe to be contra-indicated.

"Let their own lips cover them" (Psalms 140:9). The law of lex talionis, "Required that evil-doers be done in by the same means they used to harm others, hence the psalmist prays that the poison beneath their lips (Psalms 140:4) submerge them. In Psalms 140:11, he asks that Death hunt down his adversaries just as they had hunted him with snares and lures (Psalms 140:6). Psalms 59:13 expresses the same sentiment."[15]

"Let burning coals fall upon them" (Psalms 140:10). This is a prayer for the same judgment to fall upon David's enemies as that which fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Let them be cast into the fire" (Psalms 140:10). What is this? Hell, of course. As Dahood said, "The psalmist first requests that God punish his enemies with glorying embers, after the manner of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and then he requests that they be hurled into hellfire.![16]