Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
The severe words to which this line belongs are predictive rather than vindictive, describing tribulation to come upon the enemies of the church and declaring God's retributive justice. They set forth the punishment due to the wicked, and are not David praying for harm to fall on his enemies from personal revenge. Neither do they urge cruelty toward others.
The line is a plea for divine justice that those who plot wickedness against the innocent should receive the fruit of their own wrongdoing. It asks that the guilt of certain persons not be blotted out, which shows that sins stand recorded before God. To blot them out is to remove them from that record, so that their remaining or their removal carries decisive weight in judgment.
The curses of the psalm can be reconciled with the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and their difficult language gives no ground for denying that David wrote under inspiration. To seek the psalm as a charm to curse an enemy, to secure earthly blessing for oneself, or to work malice through witchcraft is a superstitious misuse. Such use treats divine light like magical candles instead of reading for spiritual understanding.
The severe words to which this line belongs are predictive rather than vindictive, describing tribulation to come upon the enemies of the church and declaring God's retributive justice. They set forth the punishment due to the wicked, and are not David praying for harm to fall on his enemies from personal revenge. Neither do they urge cruelty toward others.
The line is a plea for divine justice that those who plot wickedness against the innocent should receive the fruit of their own wrongdoing. It asks that the guilt of certain persons not be blotted out, which shows that sins stand recorded before God. To blot them out is to remove them from that record, so that their remaining or their removal carries decisive weight in judgment.
The curses of the psalm can be reconciled with the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and their difficult language gives no ground for denying that David wrote under inspiration. To seek the psalm as a charm to curse an enemy, to secure earthly blessing for oneself, or to work malice through witchcraft is a superstitious misuse. Such use treats divine light like magical candles instead of reading for spiritual understanding.