The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful Of those who add hypocrisy and perfidiousness to their malice; are opened against me They speak against me freely, boldly, and publicly, without any fear or shame. They have spoken against me Hebrew, אתי, itti, to, or with me, as this particle commonly signifies; with a lying tongue With deep dissimulation, and professions of friendship and kindness: or, against me, with calumnies, or false and malicious reports. They compassed me with words of hatred Which, though covered with specious pretences, proceeded from deep malice and hatred, and were designed to work my destruction. Without a cause Without any just provocation given by me. For my love they are my adversaries They requite my love and goodwill with enmity and mischief, Psalms 109:5; but I give myself unto prayer
Hebrew, ואני תפלה, vaani tephillah, but I prayer, that is, I am a man of prayer. Thus, I peace, is put for, I am for peace, as we render it, Psalms 120:7. The sense here is, While they reproach and curse me, I pray, either, 1st, For them, as Psalms 35:13; or, 2d, For himself: I do not render unto them evil for evil, but quietly commit myself and my cause to God by prayer, desiring him to plead my cause against them.