This psalm is about people who know how to make our lives miserable. The writer said he felt persecuted from his early youth. He said, “My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.” We don’t know the circumstances, but physical abuse is not a new problem.
The teenage and young adult years are always of self-doubt. Some young people hide their doubts by becoming snobs, others by bullying, while many feel rejected and/or bullied. And while many grow out of this, others may carry the feeling of rejection and unworthiness the rest of their lives.
The writer used a typical defense for his perceived treatment. At first, he belittled his oppressors as worthless human beings. Then, he encouraged others to refuse to give the oppressors greetings of common courtesy. Was he right? I wonder if God inspired this person to write this psalm so that all of us can get a look at our own attitudes and behaviors.
There is a solution for believers in these situations recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us, “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. . .You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.”
Jesus went on to tell us that if we do not love our enemies, we are as useless as pagans and despised tax collectors. He then finished with, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” All of this is recorded in Matt. 5:38-48.
Of course, we are imperfect human beings who cannot in and of ourselves be perfect. The great evangelist, Billy Graham, confided that he could not live the Christian life; he had to let Christ live that life through him. We should read the Sermon on the Mount maybe once a month until those old attitudes are replaced by Jesus’ attitudes.