The politics of an Old Hebrew tribal king must have been pure hell — or pure Sheol, rather. So, maybe things haven’t changed all that much. Here, again, David is whining about his enemies.
The first line is all he needs to say (for the umpteenth time): “Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men.” But he takes 12 more verses to bitch and moan about the bad things being done to him by foes.
Nowadays we all know that bigmouthed bigots who lie, cheat, steal, rape and pillage their tribes make the best kings — or so say eight out of 10 of our psalm-singing brethren. Oh, God help us.
But do those folks really believe what they claim? I don’t think so. In yesterday’s psalm, the singer-songwriter begged YHWH to get rid of his wicked opponents because they “take Your name in vain.”
Now it’s all in good fun, like the corrupt carnival barker who said (four years ago in Greenville, N.C.): “If you don’t support me, you’re going to be so goddamn poor you’re not going to believe it.” Say what?
I’ll just let today’s psalmist — presumably David himself — close with these lines: “Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; / Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” Yes, please.