“For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 69:26 Mean?
The psalmist accuses his enemies of adding suffering to what God already imposed: "they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded." God struck. The enemies pile on. The person who was already under divine discipline receives human cruelty on top of it.
The sequence is the indictment: God smote (the original suffering was divine), and then the enemies persecute (they add human hostility to divine discipline). The piling-on is what's wicked — not the original suffering (which comes from God) but the additional cruelty inflicted by people who should have shown compassion. God wounds. The enemies kick the wounded.
The phrase "talk to the grief" (yesapperu el-makh'ov — they narrate to the pain, they speak about the wounds) means the enemies don't just attack physically. They talk about the suffering — adding verbal cruelty to physical affliction. The wounded person hears their own pain discussed, dissected, and celebrated by people who take pleasure in the damage.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does the distinction between God's wounding (purposeful) and human persecution (opportunistic) challenge how you treat suffering people?
- 2.Where have you 'piled on' someone who was already under divine discipline?
- 3.What does 'talking to the grief' (narrating someone's wounds without compassion) look like in your community?
- 4.How should you respond to someone God has smitten — with additional cruelty or with compassion?
Devotional
God struck. The enemies piled on. The psalmist's accusation identifies the specific wickedness: not the original suffering (that came from God) but the additional cruelty the human enemies add to someone God already wounded. They persecute what God smote. They talk about the pain of those God wounded.
The distinction between divine discipline and human cruelty is the verse's theological core. God's wounding has a purpose (discipline, correction, testing — however painful). The enemies' persecution of the wounded has no redemptive purpose. It's opportunistic cruelty: they see someone already down and add their own kicks. The person under God's hand also receives the enemies' fist.
The talking — 'they talk to the grief' — adds the verbal dimension: the enemies discuss the wounds. They narrate the pain. They speak about the suffering as entertainment, as vindication, as evidence that the sufferer deserved it. The conversation about someone's wounds, when conducted without compassion, is its own form of persecution.
This pattern is alive wherever someone experiencing divine discipline also receives human judgment: the person going through consequences who is also being gossiped about. The family in crisis who is also being discussed at church. The leader who fell and is also being publicly dissected. God's wounding has a purpose. The human pile-on has none — except to 'talk to the grief' of the already wounded.
The verse challenges everyone who has ever added their commentary to someone else's suffering. When God has already wounded someone, your job isn't to add to the wounding. The one who was smitten by God doesn't need your persecution too. The grief that God's hand produced doesn't need your voice narrating it.
Where have you been talking to the grief of someone God already wounded?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten,.... Meaning the Messiah, who was not only smitten and scourged by men,…
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten - That is, instead of pitying one who is afflicted of God, or showing…
These imprecations are not David's prayers against his enemies, but prophecies of the destruction of Christ's…
For they persecute&c. They had no commission to aggravate the sufferings of one who was already smitten with the rod of…
Cross References
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