Stanza 8, verses 22-25, has been called a curse by some. However, I see it as a prediction of the result of rejecting God’s anointed. David never harmed Saul because Saul was God’s anointed as he was, though Saul tried to kill him and made David an outcast for years (1 Samuel 26:9-11). However, David’s enemies did not learn respect for God’s anointed from David. They humiliated David and wanted him dead. The vile of the wicked knows no mercy, righteousness, and justice.
Stanza 8 is also a prophecy as a result of rejecting God’s anointed, Jesus, the Messiah. Verses 22 and 23 are quoted by Apostle Paul in Romans 11:9-10 regarding the result of the Jew’s rejecting the Messiah, Jesus. He wrote, “And David says: ‘May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.'”
Verse 24 was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies defeated Jerusalem and Judea. They burned the city and the temple to the ground. The fierce anger was seen when not one stone was left on another.
Jesus’ last words to the Jews in the temple is a repeat of verse 25a. After a series of woes Jesus concludes, “Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” (Matthew 23-38-39) The Jews deserted all the cities in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.
Apostle Paul, after speaking of God’s judgement fulfilling David’s prediction here, gives the church a warning at the end of chapter 11. “Maybe you think those branches were cut away, so you could be put in their place. That’s true enough. But they were cut away because they did not have faith, and you are where you are because you do have faith. So don’t be proud, but be afraid. If God cut away those natural branches, couldn’t he do the same to you?” (Romans 11:19-21)
