Just yesterday, I was asked, “Why can’t God just forgive people?” When someone sins against us, we’re sometimes encouraged to let it go and move on. But forgiveness doesn’t come cheap, because sin is serious. A holy God cannot sweep sin under a carpet and pretend it didn’t happen; sin must be fairly punished. In Psalm 109, we see how King David responds when he is sinned against.

For many people, Psalm 109 is disturbing. David’s plea that God make his enemies suffer seems a long way away from Jesus’ words, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). This psalm is one of 18 imprecatory psalms in which the psalmist calls on God to curse and bring suffering on his enemies.

David is being slandered and abused by people he had treated kindly. In the face of this injustice, we see the godliness of the king. He maintains a life of praise and prayer (Psalm 109:1–4). He continues to treat his enemies lovingly (v. 4). He gives himself to fasting (v. 24).

David’s prayer is for his enemy to suffer for his crimes (vv. 6–15). He even goes so far as to wish suffering on his children (vv. 9–10). Why does he pray that “no one extend kindness to him” (v. 12)? Because his enemy “never thought of doing a kindness” (v. 16). David prays for his enemy to become poor (vv. 10–11) because that’s exactly what the enemy did to others (vv. 16–17). In other words, David prayed that his enemy would receive in his own life the kind of suffering he brought on others.

What do we do with a psalm like this? First, remember that God brings both blessing and curses. God promised blessing to Abraham and “whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). Jesus, too, cursed God’s enemies. He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13). Paul cursed anyone who preached another gospel (Galatians 1:8–9), the martyrs in heaven bring an imprecation against those who persecuted them (Revelation 6:10). This kind of cursing is not unchristian, although we must first long for repentance and forgiveness.

Second, love and justice aren’t enemies. Paul told the Christians in Rome not to personally take revenge but to “leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19). God will pay back everyone according to what he has done, so we can leave justice in His good hands. That’s exactly what David does in this psalm.

Third, the psalm contained the element of prophecy. After Jesus’ ascension, His apostles applied Psalm 109:8 to the death and replacement of Judas Iscariot: “May another take his place of leadership” (Acts 1:20). Judas was the enemy spoken about in this psalm, and the king he betrayed was David’s son, the Lord Jesus. Jesus had consistently treated Judas with kindness but was rewarded with betrayal.