2. Vindication: “Judge My Enemies!” (vv. 19-29). David told the Lord that his foes had dishonored and insulted him to the point that he was physically ill (vv. 19-21). When he looked for sympathy, none was to be found (Matt. 26:37), and his food and drink were unfit for human consumption (v. 21; Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23, 36; Luke 23:36; John 19:29). Then David prayed that the Lord would judge his enemies and give them what they deserved (vv. 22-29). (For a discussion of this type of prayer, see the comments on Ps. 5.) The enemy had put gall and vinegar on David’s table, so he prayed that their tables would turn into traps. This meant that judgment would catch them unprepared in their careless hours of feasting (1 Thess. 5:3). It could also apply to the feasts associated with the sacrifices. While rejoicing after worship, they would experience God’s judgment. In Romans 11:9-10, Paul applied verses 22-23 to Israel, whose religious complacency (“We just sacrificed to the Lord!”) only led to spiritual blindness. In verses 22-25, David prayed that some of the basic blessings of life would be taken away from his enemies–eating, seeing, walking, and having descendants–and then that life itself would be snatched from them (vv. 27-28)! In Acts 1:20, Peter applied verse 25 to Judas.

David asked in verse 28 that his enemies be slain, blotted out of the book of the living. Even more, he didn’t want them identified with the righteous after they died, which meant they were destined for eternal judgment. While this kind of prayer is hardly an example for God’s people today (Matt. 6:12; Luke 23:34), we can understand David’s hatred of their sins and his desire to protect Israel and its mission in the world.