Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
15 Let death seize upon them. He now denounces the whole faction, not the nation generally, but those who had taken a prominent part in the persecution of him. In imprecating this curse he was not influenced by any bad feeling towards them, and must be understood as speaking not in his own cause but in that of God, and under the immediate guidance of his Spirit.
Not thus would Jesus pray, but the rough soldier David so poured out the anguish of his spirit, under treachery and malice seldom equalled and altogether unprovoked. The soldier, as such, desires the overthrow of his foes, for this very end he fights; and viewed as a matter of law and justice, David was right in his wish; he was waging a just, defensive war...
Jerusalem fell into rebellion with Absalom and became a harlot, her streets filled with nothing but violence and strife day and night. Where once was loyalty and love, there remained only wickedness legalized, deceit and guile never departing from her. The royal city, the holy city, became a den of mutual wrong and vexation.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 55:9-15