The life of the biblical King David was filled with dangers and troubles. Constant enmity with King Saul, persecution and oppression followed David on his heels. The psalmist dedicated many psalms on the theme of hostility between people, appealing to God's salvation and justice. One of the most famous is Psalm 108, where David asks for retribution on his enemies. Can psalms help in modern times, because enemies will always take up arms?
My neighbor turned to the psalms when her husband’s relatives simply took her away from the world. No matter what the woman did, nothing helped. They threatened to take the children away and throw them out of the apartment. And then her believing grandmother advised her to read the Psalm of David from her enemies. Less than a month had passed when the situation began to change in the most miraculous way, and the mother-in-law suddenly saw in her daughter-in-law the best wife for her son.
Text of prayer Psalm 108
In Church Slavonic
Finally, Psalm to David 1 O God, do not keep silent from my praise, 2 for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the flatterer have opened against me, speaking against me with a flattering tongue, 3 and having deceived me with hateful words, and despised me. 4 Instead of loving me, I slandered me, but I prayed, 5 and brought upon me evil for good, and hatred for my love. 6 Place a sinner on him, and let the devil stand at his right hand. 7 Let him always be judged, and let him come out condemned, and let his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be short, and let another take over his bishopric: 9 Let his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow: 10 Let his sons who move abide and ask, and be driven out of their homes. 11 Let the lender seek all that is his, and let others delight in his labors. 12 Let there be no intercessor for him; let him be the one who takes advantage of his orphans. 13 Let his children be destroyed; let his name be consumed in one generation. 14 Let his father’s iniquity be remembered before the Lord, and let his mother’s sin not be purged. 15 Let them be taken out before the Lord, and let their remembrance be consumed from the earth. 16 I do not remember to show mercy, but the pursuit of man is poor and wretched, and it is with a tender heart to kill. 17 And thou shalt love the curse, and it will come to him, and will not desire the blessing, and will depart from him. 18 And he put on an oath like a robe, and went down like water into his belly, and like oil into his bones. 19 Let him be like a robe, like a robe he will put on, and like a girdle he will be girded with it. 20 This is the work of those who lie against me before the Lord and speak evil against my soul. 21 And thou, O Lord, Lord, do unto me in thy name, for thy mercy is good. 22 Deliver me, for I am poor and wretched, and my heart is troubled within me. 23 Like the shade, when it never evaded, it shook itself off and shook like a prune. 24 My knees are weary of fasting, and my flesh is changed for the sake of oil. 25 And I was reproached by them when they saw me, and shook their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God, and save me according to Your mercy, 27 and let them understand that this is Your hand, and You, O Lord, created this. 28 They will be cursed, and You will bless them; those who rise up against me will be ashamed, but Your servant will rejoice. 29 Let those who lie against me clothe themselves with shame, and clothe themselves with their cold as if I were clothed. 30 Let me confess the Lord earnestly with my mouth, and in the midst of many I will praise Him, 31 for He has appeared at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from those who persecute.
In Russian
For execution. Psalm of David. 1 God, do not remain silent in response to my praise! 2 For the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one were opened against me, they spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, 3 and surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. 4 Instead of loving me, they slandered me, but I prayed; 5 And they repaid me with evil for good and hatred for my love. 6 Set a sinner over him, and let the slanderer stand at his right hand; 7 when he is judged, let him come out condemned, and let his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be short, and let another take his office; 9 Let his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow; 10 Let his sons wander and wander and beg, and be driven out of their ruins. 11 Let the lender demand all that he has, and let others plunder his labors; 12 Let him have no intercessor, and let him have no mercy on his orphans; 13 Let his children be born to destruction; in one generation let his name be blotted out. 14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out; 15 May they always be before the Lord, and may the memory of them be destroyed from the earth, 16 because he did not think to show mercy and pursued a poor, needy, and broken-hearted man, in order to kill him. 17 And he loved the curse, and it would come to him, and he did not desire the blessing, and it would be removed from him. 18 And he clothed himself with the curse as with a garment, and it went into his bowels like water, and into his bones like oil; 19 Let it be to him like a garment that he puts on, and like a girdle with which he always girds himself. 20 This is the fate of those who slander me from the Lord and speak evil against my soul. 21 And Thou, O Lord, Lord, do unto me for Thy name's sake, for Thy mercy is good. 22 Deliver me, for I am poor and needy, and my heart is troubled within me. 23 Like a shadow when it turns away, I disappeared; they shook me off like a locust; 24 My knees are weak from fasting, and my flesh is changed, for there is no oil. 25 And I became a reproach to them: when they saw me, they shook their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God, save me according to Your mercy, 27 and let them know that this is Your hand and You, O Lord, have done this. 28 They will curse, but You will bless; Let those who rise up against me be ashamed, but let Your servant rejoice. 29 Let those who slander me be clothed with shame, and let them clothe themselves with their shame as with a garment. 30 I will earnestly glorify the Lord with my mouth and in the midst of many I will praise Him, 31 for He appeared at the right hand of the poor to save my soul from the persecutors.
Reviews of the Holy Fathers about Psalm 108
The Holy Fathers and church preachers more than once turned to Psalm 108; St. John Chrysostom, St. Athanasius the Great, St. Theophan the Recluse, Archbishop Irenaeus of Courland.
Here the power of punishment and the duration of torment are shown, and at the same time it is suggested that the misfortunes of all people come from themselves, from their own guilt, when by their deeds and actions they themselves reject goodness and subject themselves to punishment.
St. John Chrysostom
This psalm depicts the suffering of Christ and future punishments for Judas and the Jewish people. One should know that everything said in the psalm in the form of a desire is said prophetically.
St. Athanasius the Great
The Holy Spirit raises up the wrath of David, and equips his tongue to express the punishments of God, so that the unrighteous of all times will see what they stand for, and what would have been done to them, if not for the mercy of God
St. Feofan the Recluse
Reflections on the psalm continue today. Various kinds of sorcerers and psychics are trying to teach their clients how to get rid of enemies with the help of the Psalter, describing the rituals of reading Psalm 108 to curse their neighbors. In order not to make a terrible mistake , you should remember the words with which David begins his Book of Psalms:
“Blessed is the man who does not listen to the advice of sinners and does not follow the examples of the wicked».
Psalm 108, text read by A. Bondarenko (Russian version): https://vimeo.com/14984163
Listen to Psalm 108 in Church Slavonic:
History of writing
Life for David, the future king of Judah and Israel, was never easy. A thousand years BC, the same internecine wars were going on, brother went against brother, and killing an enemy was considered honorable. David lived honestly and turned to God with requests to punish his enemies. During the reign of King Saul, David's predecessor, the latter had more than once the opportunity to take the throne. If David had killed Saul, he would have become king earlier, but he never even raised his hand against him.
David's Psalm 108 is based on Deuteronomy 28, which describes curses. It is possible that all the words were written for the Jew Doik, who betrayed not only David, but also 300 priests, thereby dooming them to death.
The essence of the song of the Psalms
Even before Orthodoxy was formed as a religion, such a text was used to punish evil people and give them what they deserved. Initially, its purpose was aimed at punishing the traitor of Jesus Christ - Judas. Often it could also be used to punish criminals whom justice could not reach.
But everything changes over time. The meaning of this text was no exception. Nowadays, clergy are increasingly asking to try to get along with the warring side and only if it doesn’t work out, then try to forgive and understand the offender. But if the enemy still doesn’t stop, then you can apply Psalm 108 of David, “Vengeance on Enemies.”
When should you read Psalm 108?
Small misunderstandings or quarrels can happen every day, even a stranger can cause trouble or spoil the mood, but this is not a reason to turn to Psalm 108.
It is important to understand that curses are very powerful and dangerous; using them incorrectly can bring disaster to the one who pronounces them. A person should be brought to God’s judgment by reading Psalm 108 if he sins:
- behaves inappropriately, insults, blasphemes;
- does not want to resolve the conflict peacefully;
- does not listen to the words of the clergy.
When should you turn to Psalm 109?
Every day some kind of trouble awaits us, be it a quarrel with loved ones or rudeness in public places, not to mention hostile relationships. The indignant soul thirsts for vengeance, then Christians seize on the song of Vengeance.
Every word blessed by God has power. You should correctly understand the meaning of David’s prayer so as not to incur all the curses that will be pronounced in prayer.
A person tests himself, bearing responsibility for the spoken words of curses. The degree of guilt of the sinner should be clearly understood.
All judgment is given to God, reading Psalm 108, if the sinner:
- blasphemes;
- does not agree to any reconciliation;
- does not accept the priest's admonitions.
Attention! When starting to read a psalm, directing its effect on a specific person, see if you are making a vain accusation. Perhaps your offense is too petty to turn to the Almighty, so as not to reap what was said in your life.
Interpretation of David's Psalm 108
The words of Psalm 108 in Russian contain not only the feelings of the reader, but also curses addressed to his enemy. In many ways, these terrible curses came true for David's enemies, which is why he is considered prophetic.
300 priests were brutally executed, rivers of blood flowed at this time, just as David described. The same thing happened during the persecution of the followers of Jesus Christ. Many try to use the orphanhood of children and the widowhood of wives, the punishments and troubles that David sends to his enemies in Psalm 109 to their advantage. But we must not forget about the prophetic power of these words and condemn people to suffering in vain.
Not everyone knows how to correctly read Psalm 108 “Vengeance on Enemies”; they often pay attention only to its name.
The danger of temptation for an Orthodox person to “read on enemies”
Unfortunately, many spiritually inexperienced people even now perceive the 108th as almost a “spell” against hostile people, they even look for reviews on the Internet and wonder: where to insert names? In fact, the psalm can turn into a prayer for the punishment of offenders. Such a misunderstanding is a direct violation of the commandment of love.
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St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, in a letter to one monk, wrote: “We are commanded to love our enemies too; and violation of love for them is a violation of the commandment, a violation of love for one’s neighbor.”
In addition, such an attitude leads to the fact that the person praying falls into condemnation of the enemy. This means that his prayer, like Judas’s, is also imputed to sin.
Reading rules
The first thing to do before reading Psalm 108 is to calm down. To do this, you can read “Our Father.” Only in peace can one assess whether a person deserves the curses that will be in store for him. It is important to understand that only God will decide whether the enemy deserves punishment, and if he is innocent, all horrors will return to the one who sent them.
Psalm 108 can be found in the prayer book, since it is not corruption - by reading it, a person gives judgment to God, and does not administer it himself. And yet you cannot refer to this text on Sundays and Christian holidays.
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"Curse by the Psalms"
There are cases in the history of the Church when a person, like Judas, became an unrepentant sinner. The Greeks of the XIII-XVII centuries. there was a rite called "Psalmokatara", or cursing by psalms.
It was used against stubborn heretics, as well as criminals hiding from trial, especially murderers. The rite was attended by 7 priests, who took turns reading psalms “against the criminal”, betraying him to the Judgment of God, including 108.
Russian church historian A.I. Almazov (1912) writes that this ritual carried elements of clearly pagan superstitions: the priests performing it used black candles and wore vestments inside out.
At the same time, there was a belief that the one cursed by the Church “after a few days turns black, and swells, and disintegrates, and falls under the wrath of God.” Since the 18th century this practice is gradually being phased out.
As for Russia, this extremely controversial act was not performed here.
Interesting fact
There is only one known case of reading 108 “against enemies” by a Russian bishop. In 1663, Patriarch Nikon, who had already retired from the department, indignant that part of the lands of the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery, which he founded, had been taken away, served a prayer service “for the offenders.” Church historian P.V. Znamensky writes: “Nikon, having gathered the brethren into the church and placed the royal grant of monastic lands under the cross, served a prayer service and after it proclaimed the words of oath from Psalm 108 against those who had offended.”
The incident became one of the foundations of the legend of the patriarchs. Nikon to the court of the Church Council of 1666
Thus, the Church did not accept the practice of reading Psalm 108 as an incantation against enemies.
Let's sum it up
In conclusion, let us note when the verses of the psalm should be read. As a rule, its reading is performed at services on major holidays. Believers can include his words in their own prayers, especially in difficult times. It is best to read in Old Church, but have an understanding of Russian, knowing the translation of all the words. It is quite difficult to learn completely at first; even in services, priests most often use the Psalter.
Sources:
- https://ikona-i-molitva.info/psalom-108-otmshhenie-vragam/
- https://pravoslavie.guru/literatura/otmshhenie-vragam-kak-chitat-i-ponimat-108-psalom.html
- https://omolitvah.ru/molitvy/psalom-108/
- https://religiya.guru/molitvy/dlya-chego-proiznosyat-psalom-108-otmshhenie-vragam-i-kak-pravilno-ego-chitat.html
