It seems that we hear from the author that one bad deed deserves another. The whole beginning of this Psalm we find the author speaking out strongly about how he has been abused and treated scandalously by those around him. His request at the end of the psalm is that his accusers would be put to shame. It really doesn’t seem to be the example that we ought to be following.
The redeeming aspect of this psalm is found in vs.31 where we see that God stands at the right hand of the needy. This can be used as the basic foundation to discerning how we are seeing our own lives and what happens around us. Are we seeing God standing at the right hand of the needy, or is God simply standing on our side and all others who are not on our side should suffer. We would never pose it that way, but we could pose it in a more gentle way: God is on our side and all those who don’t agree with us are wrong. It is an equally compelling argument that at times we feel as if we are an island to ourselves and our views and our perspectives trump the views and perspectives of those around us.
When we are able to lift up the cause of the needy then our own needs seem to dissipate into the needs of the others. It works well if we are committed to it.
Whom Shall I Fear – Chris Tomlin
https://youtu.be/q24z4XcJxnM
The way I would prefer to look at this is that instead of “God simply standing on our side and all others who are not on our side should suffer or those who don’t agree with us are wrong”; is that I believe God is always standing by my side, helping me through and past any and all circumstances, but those who do not believe in this way, will not benefit from the protection, love and guidance that I am blessed with.