Introduction: The Final Section of the Psalm
In the first part of the psalm, David cursed the wicked and all those who accused him. From this point forward, he turns in supplication to the Holy One, blessed be He: since they seek to destroy him from the world, he prays that he not perish along with them. This is how the Ibn Ezra explains the transition to the verses before us.
For Your Name's Sake - and Out of Lovingkindness
וְאַתָּה יֱהֹוִה אֲדֹנָי עֲשֵׂה אִתִּי לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ כִּי טוֹב חַסְדְּךָ הַצִּילֵנִי׃ - But You, Hashem, my Master, act with me for the sake of Your Name; because Your lovingkindness is good, rescue me.
David says: If I am not worthy of salvation on my own merits, act with me for the sake of Your Name. The Radak explains that this refers to trust - for the sake of Your Name, in which I have placed my trust. For as is well known, and as the Vilna Gaon teaches, the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, bound to save anyone who trusts in Him. Even if a person does not possess a high spiritual level, if he trusts in Hashem - "He who trusts in Hashem, lovingkindness will surround him." The Vilna Gaon once told Rav Chaim of Volozhin: It is not written "Eliyahu" and it is not written "Chaim," but rather "all who trust in Hashem" - anyone who trusts in Hashem, the Holy One, blessed be He, showers with lovingkindness. Therefore, David continues: "Because Your lovingkindness is good, rescue me" - I have trusted in Your Name, and the goodness of Your lovingkindness will deliver me from the hand of my enemies.
The Malbim explains that this petition rests on two foundations. The first is "for the sake of Your Name": You anointed me as king, and if I fall before them now, it will cause a desecration of Hashem's Name - people will say that Hashem anointed someone as king and he could not endure. Therefore, so that Your Name is not desecrated, I am worthy of miracles and wonders by virtue of the sanctity of Your Name, and through this very salvation Your Name will be sanctified, as You perform wonders for Your anointed one. The second is "because Your lovingkindness is good": even if I am unworthy, through pure lovingkindness alone I merit deliverance, and that in itself is enough.
"And My Heart Is Slain Within Me"
כִּי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן אָנֹכִי וְלִבִּי חָלַל בְּקִרְבִּי׃ - For I am poor and destitute, and my heart is slain within me.
The Malbim contrasts this verse with what was said earlier regarding the pursuer: "And he pursued a man poor and destitute, and brokenhearted." David says: Behold, I am that very man - "I am poor and destitute," and I am also "brokenhearted," for "my heart is slain within me." And what does "chalal" (slain) mean? It is an expression of death, as in "and he struck them down slain" - my heart is as though it has already died within me, from the sheer magnitude of the troubles they inflict upon me.
The Ibn Ezra brings another explanation, which is more widely known: "chalal" derives from the root for "chalul" - a hollow, empty space. My heart is empty within me. This aligns closely with what Chazal say, that King David slew the yetzer hara (the evil inclination), and thereby attained the level of "my heart is a void within me" - his heart was emptied of the yetzer hara.
What About the Incident of Batsheva?
At first glance, a question arises: How does this reconcile with the incident of Batsheva? One of two explanations must apply. Either David slew his yetzer hara after that incident, and only then attained this spiritual level; or, as explained previously, David's yetzer hara in the matter of Batsheva was not a natural yetzer hara. From the natural human attraction to forbidden relations, King David had already cleansed himself. Why, then, did he stumble? Because in that instance it was brought about by an angel, by a higher force, after the Holy One, blessed be He, told him: I will test you. This is comparable to Rabbi Akiva, who climbed a palm tree when he saw a beautiful woman - not due to his natural yetzer hara, but rather on account of an external temptation.
Proof of this can be seen from the episode of Rav Amram Chasida, who brought a ladder to climb up to the loft where the female captives were, and shouted, "Nura bei Amram!" - fire in the house of Amram! Regarding this, the Rosh Hashanah piyyut states: "Nura be'Amram be'mar tzore'ach" (crying out bitterly, 'Fire in the house of Amram'). Everyone arrived, saw him on the ladder, and said to him: You have shamed us! And it is recounted there that he said to the yetzer hara: You are made of fire and I am of flesh and blood, yet I have vanquished you - and something resembling a column of fire departed from him. There are two perplexities here: who has ever seen a person burning with intense lust shout, "Come save me!"? On the contrary, such a person wants no one to disturb him. And who has ever seen someone overcome desire and have a column of fire emerge from him? Rather, this was not desire in our conventional terms at all, not natural human lust - from that they were completely pure. This was an angel that came to seduce, an external force, and that is why it was fire, and that is why one cries out. When an external force comes to wage war against you - you cry out. Over an internal lust, a person does not cry out; he wants to continue.
So too with David: this was a unique temptation, where the Holy One, blessed be He, brought an angel to tempt him, as Chazal say that David was not fitting for that deed, and it is related there that the angel knocked down the partition, etc. - meaning there was a supernatural force acting to cause him to stumble in this matter. Thus, this does not contradict "my heart is slain within me": from the standpoint of my natural inclinations and personal struggles - I have slain the yetzer hara; I no longer battle my desires. However, when Satan takes a person on as a "project", even Rabbi Akiva, who presumably was already past eighty years old, climbs a palm tree; even a righteous and elderly sage can come to the brink of the most severe sins.
"I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens"
כְּצֵל כִּנְטוֹתוֹ נֶהֱלָכְתִּי נִנְעַרְתִּי כָּאַרְבֶּה׃ - I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust.
Radak explains: Just as a shadow stretches and declines quickly, so have I declined and gone - an expression of falling and tilting; my days have passed swiftly without delight. "I am shaken off like a locust" - I am shaken from place to place, for a locust has no fixed place and is shaken from wall to wall. So it is with me: as soon as Shaul learns that I am in a certain location, he dispatches his men to pursue me, and I cannot linger.
Rashi explains "nin'arti" - an expression of tashnok, teiruf, and otem, like a locust that wanders, moves, and is tossed about. Admittedly, there is a difficulty here in Rashi's words. "Tashnok" is familiar; it appears in the Targum and the Yerushalmi, meaning trembling or suffering. "Teiruf" is also understandable - not in the colloquial sense of insanity, but like a ship tossed (miteirefet) at sea, or a beaten (terufah) egg: agitation and restlessness. But what does "otem" (obstruction) have to do with this? It is not synonymous with tashnok, nor teiruf, nor wandering and moving. A search in Otzar HaChochmah reveals one book that cites alternative textual variants: "an expression of tashnok, toref, and otef." Yet even this does not resolve the matter, since "otef" is likewise not a synonym for tashnok and teiruf. If anyone has a straightforward explanation for this, it would be welcomed. It seems likely there was another word here that was corrupted into "otem", and to guess what it was, one would need to look for a word with a similar script, but a clear explanation remains elusive.
The Malbim explains: "Like a shadow when it lengthens" - as the evening shadows stretch out, when sunset is already near. Such is my state, near sunset. "I am shaken off like a locust" - like a locust shaken by the wind from place to place, so am I moving and wandering from place to place.
"My knees stumble from fasting" - The Repentance and the Disgrace
בִּרְכַּי כָּשְׁלוּ מִצּוֹם וּבְשָׂרִי כָּחַשׁ מִשָּׁמֶן׃ - My knees stumble from fasting, and my flesh has grown lean, devoid of fatness.
וַאֲנִי הָיִיתִי חֶרְפָּה לָהֶם יִרְאוּנִי יְנִיעוּן רֹאשָׁם׃ - And I have become a reproach to them; when they see me, they shake their head.
Radak explains: While fleeing, he would fast so that Hashem would see and have mercy on him, until his strength was depleted and he could no longer walk. "And my flesh has grown lean, devoid of fatness" - the fat of his body was lost due to the fasts and the hardships of the road. And this very condition led to "I have become a reproach to them": when they see me emaciated and afflicted, they scorn me and wag their heads at me. "They shake their head" - an expression that also appears in Eichah, "they shake their head": a person sees his fellow's condition and shakes his head from side to side, saying, "Woe, woe, look at the state he is in."
The Malbim explains that here David pleads that the Holy One, blessed be He, should not punish him for his iniquities, since "my knees stumble from fasting and my flesh has grown lean" from the abundant fasts and repentance he undertook. And even though they revile him for this and shake their heads - as Chazal relate, they would taunt him with provoking questions: "David, what is the punishment for one who cohabits with a married woman?" and the like - David says: Master of the Universe, do not forget that I have repented for this; my knees stumble from fasting, and my flesh has grown lean, devoid of fatness.
The Virtue of Humiliation
One can add to the words of the Malbim. The Ramak (Rav Moshe Cordovero) writes that what a person ought to pursue in order to remove his sins is insults and humiliation. Why? Because every other path involves disruption to his divine service. If he seeks to atone for his sins through fasts - this is a severe mortification that disturbs his avodat Hashem, his prayer, and his Torah study. We all know what happens when someone fasts: visit a kollel on a fast day, and by midday people are already "connecting with Abaye and Rava in Heaven" - they are barely present. Rav Ovadia Yosef would always say: fasts and mortifications are not for kollel scholars; they are for laymen; kollel scholars should eat well and learn properly. And if the alternative path is suffering - that is certainly very difficult, and no one desires suffering. But humiliation atones for a person's sins without physical agony and without tormenting his soul, and therefore it is well worth pursuing.
It is told of the Chofetz Chaim that he once tumbled down a flight of stairs, and several onlookers found it amusing - an elderly sage suddenly flailing his arms and legs as he rolled down. Afterward, people saw that the Chofetz Chaim was overjoyed. They asked him: Why is the Rav so happy? He replied: It is written that a person should pursue humiliation, for it cleanses one from sin on the highest level. But who ever humiliates me? When do I ever merit having someone mock me or laugh at me? People always treat me with honor. Today, Baruch Hashem, I merited that someone laughed at me; I experienced a bit of humiliation, and through this I gained atonement for sins. How could I not rejoice?
In light of this, we can explain the continuation of the verses according to the Malbim: "My knees stumble from fasting, and my flesh has grown lean, devoid of fat" - do not punish me for my sins, for I have already fasted and my flesh has wasted away. And if that is not enough - "And I have become a reproach to them; when they see me, they shake their heads." They also reviled me, and that is an additional component of the atonement I am undergoing. All of this should serve as reason for my sins to be completely cleansed in the wake of everything I endured at their hands.
Help and Salvation
עׇזְרֵנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָי הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי כְחַסְדֶּךָ׃ - Help me, Hashem, my God; save me according to Your lovingkindness.
The Radak explains: In accordance with the lovingkindness You show to other human beings, and as I have merited Your kindness many times in the past, so save me according to Your customary kindness.
The Malbim notes two precise nuances here. First, as we have explained many times, it is his approach to distinguish between Elokim and Elokai ("my God"): Elokim refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, in His role as Ruler of the world, whereas Elokai refers to His individual divine providence over me - that He is my God, watching over me personally. "Help me, Hashem, my God" - help me from the aspect of that special, individual providence.
Second, yeshuah (salvation) is always greater than ezrah (help). Help means assisting someone partially; salvation is far more comprehensive. Therefore, it says, "Save me according to Your lovingkindness." When people come to help someone, they assist him according to what he deserves; however much help he warrants, that is what they provide. But Hashem's lovingkindness is limitless, extending far beyond what one deserves, and even if one does not deserve it at all, for the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows kindness out of pure goodwill. Therefore, when I pray for Hashem's lovingkindness, it becomes possible to receive complete salvation, and not merely assistance.
"And They Shall Know That This Is Your Hand"
וְיֵדְעוּ כִּי יָדְךָ זֹּאת אַתָּה יְהֹוָה עֲשִׂיתָהּ׃ - And they shall know that this is Your hand; You, Hashem, have done it.
Let everyone know that the salvation comes from Your hand, and not by my strength or the might of my hand. And when they realize this, they will recognize that the Holy One, blessed be He, protects His anointed one and shields King David, because he is king on His behalf - and through this, the Name of Heaven will be sanctified.
The Malbim adds: Save me in such a way that they will know this is not a natural salvation, but a salvation directly attributable to You. And this is what we meant by "Save me according to Your lovingkindness" - a supernatural salvation, corresponding to Your boundless chesed. When Hashem saves supernaturally, everyone perceives the hand of Hashem and there are no doubts; but when salvation occurs within nature, a person might say, "It was a coincidence," "just a chance occurrence."
"Let them curse, but You will bless"
יְקַלְלוּ הֵמָּה וְאַתָּה תְבָרֵךְ קָמוּ וַיֵּבֹשׁוּ וְעַבְדְּךָ יִשְׂמָח׃ - Let them curse, but You will bless; they arose and were put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
The Radak explains: If they curse me, I do not fear their curse, for to counter it, You bless me. And it is written, "An undeserved curse will not come" (Mishlei 26:2) - which does not mean that he was not paid for it, but rather that the person does not deserve the curse, and so the curse boomerangs back upon the one who cursed. "They arose and were put to shame" - they rise up against me and will be ashamed of their intent, for ultimately it will not be fulfilled and their schemes will not materialize, and the enemy will see that all the evil he wished upon me returns upon himself. "But Your servant will rejoice" - and this will bring me great joy, seeing that the Holy One, blessed be He, shields and rescues me.
It must be added: all this applies when the curse is entirely without cause. But if someone curses his fellow because the other harmed him and did him evil, there is indeed a danger that the curse will take effect. This does not mean that cursing was proper, but the curse may take hold, because there is a legitimate grievance to latch onto.
The Malbim adds a profound insight here: "And they will know that this is Your hand; You, Hashem, have done it" - what did You do? That they should curse! Even the curse they level against me was orchestrated by You, just as David said regarding Shimi ben Gera, "For Hashem told him: Curse." And for what purpose? So that through this, "You will bless" - that by virtue of the curse, I will become worthy of blessing. Then, automatically, "they arose and were put to shame": when someone sets out to harm his fellow and in the end it turns out that very act actually benefited and helped him, there is no greater humiliation, and so they are shamed. "And Your servant will rejoice," because the curse transforms into a blessing.
The Parable of the Clay Pot
How does this work? The Ribnitzer Rebbe offers a parable: When people wanted to place a large clay pot over a bonfire and kindle a fierce flame beneath it to cook, there was a danger that the pot would crack. What would they do? They would take metal wire and wrap it around the pot to reinforce it, so that it could withstand the intense fire without splitting. Thus, a pot not set over a large flame receives no reinforcing wire; specifically the pot placed over a great fire is reinforced, becoming stronger than all the other pots. It turns out that its danger is also its remedy.
And precisely so here: since they curse me and I pass through intense fire, that itself is the reason I now receive special protection and unique guardianship from the Holy One, blessed be He. "Let them curse, but You will bless" - as it were, a counterweight is needed against their curses, and therefore You bless. Were it not for their curses, I would not have merited Hashem's blessing; but once they curse, the Holy One, blessed be He, enters the picture to halt the curses, and through that I merit blessing. It turns out that their curses offer an advantage over a situation where they had not cursed at all, for here the Holy One, blessed be He, intervenes to bestow His blessing upon me.
"Those who curse you shall be cursed, and those who bless you shall be blessed"
Based on this, we can also understand the verse, "Those who curse you shall be cursed, and those who bless you shall be blessed" (Bereishis 27:29), about which Rashi comments: With the righteous, those who curse and distress them precede those who bless them. In the life of the righteous, the cursers come first, and only afterward those who bless. The holy Rebbe, author of Divrei Yisrael of Modzitz, asks: This seems astonishing - after all, they are tzaddikim! Why should they have people who curse and distress them in the first place? A tzaddik ought to be free from distress; why was this suffering brought upon him?
He explains by citing his father's teaching on our verse: Why does King David seemingly request, "Let them curse"? He does not say, "If they cursed me, You will bless," but almost invites the curses! He resolves both questions based on another teaching from his father on the verse, "Only goodness and lovingkindness shall pursue me all the days of my life" (Tehillim 23:6): The persecutions endured by the righteous are nothing other than goodness and lovingkindness for them, for through them they ascend and reach ever higher levels in the service of Hashem. And this is what David is saying: "Let them curse" - the very curses cause "You will bless," for You bestow good upon me in proportion to how I am persecuted and cursed. This is the meaning of "Those who curse you shall be cursed" and why the cursers precede those who bless: through the cursers, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings about the blessing. Because someone comes to curse me, the Holy One, blessed be He, steps into action, as it were, to remove the suffering from me. Therefore, David says: On the contrary, let them curse - so that You will bless! I am willing to receive curses from them, if in return the Holy One, blessed be He, intervenes to bring me blessings.
Humiliation and Shame - Garment and Cloak
יִלְבְּשׁוּ שׂוֹטְנַי כְּלִמָּה וְיַעֲטוּ כַמְעִיל בׇּשְׁתָּם׃ - Let my accusers be clothed with humiliation, and let them wrap themselves in their shame as with a cloak.
When they see that their scheme was not realized, they will be clothed in humiliation, and shame will envelop them like a cloak that wraps around the body. The Malbim analyzes the precise nuances of Lashon HaKodesh here, explaining a principle he notes in several places in the Prophets: kelimah (humiliation) usually refers to what others inflict from the outside, whereas boshet (shame) generally refers to when a person feels ashamed of himself - an internal shame over what he has done.
Based on this, we would have expected the reverse order. A garment (levush) is worn underneath, while a cloak (me'il) is worn over it. Disgrace, which comes from others, would naturally correspond to the outer cloak, while shame, being internal, would correspond to the inner garment. Yet here Scripture states the opposite: "Let my accusers be clothed with humiliation" and "wrap themselves in their shame as with a cloak." The Malbim explains that David did this deliberately: the humiliation inflicted by others will not merely be like an outer cloak, but like an inner garment that penetrates deep within - a genuine disgrace tailored precisely to their measure. For an external disgrace is, as it were, baseless, having nothing substantial to rest upon; but a disgrace that penetrates inside and envelops them from within is fitted exactly to their measure. On the other hand, their internal shame will not remain like a concealed inner garment; rather, they will be so deeply ashamed of themselves that it will become visible on the outside, like an outer cloak. The humiliation will clothe them from within, and the internal shame will be visible on the outside - which is why David reversed the order.
"And in the Midst of the Multitude I Will Praise Him"
אוֹדֶה יְהֹוָה מְאֹד בְּפִי וּבְתוֹךְ רַבִּים אֲהַלְלֶנּוּ׃ - I will greatly thank Hashem with my mouth, and in the midst of the multitude I will praise Him.
The Radak explains: When Hashem saves me, I will thank Him, and in the midst of the multitude I will praise Him. From here we learn that when a person praises Hashem and gives Him thanks, he should not do so merely to himself in private, but rather in a public gathering he should thank, praise, and laud. As discussed previously, this is the very purpose of the Thanksgiving offering (the Korban Todah), which is brought together with forty loaves of bread and may only be eaten for a single day and night. How could one person possibly finish forty loaves of bread in one day, given that whatever remains becomes disqualified as notar? The answer is: you are not meant to eat it alone - invite other people! That is the entire point: a person offers a Todah offering and invites guests to the feast to help consume the breads, and during the meal, he recounts the miracle. The entire goal is to publicize Hashem's lovingkindness and how He brought salvation. This is the meaning of "and in the midst of the multitude I will praise Him" - when Hashem performs a salvation for you, publicize and praise it openly, so that everyone will know that salvation comes from Hashem and will rejoice in the Holy One, Blessed be He.
The Malbim notes a precision in the words "I will greatly thank Hashem": Someone who is saved from adversity usually gives thanks only for the rescue, but not for the adversity itself, for in his heart he thinks: "It would have been better had the trouble never occurred at all, so that I would not have needed to be rescued." If someone was being pursued and escaped at the last moment, he feels it would have been far better had he never been pursued in the first place. That is human nature. Here, however, where the adversity itself was the catalyst for good - since the blessing came precisely through "they curse" - David says, "I will greatly thank Hashem," giving thanks even for the adversity itself. And because they will recognize that "Your hand has done this," "in the midst of the multitude I will praise Him," so that many will witness the glory of the Holy One, Blessed be He, seeing how His lovingkindness extends even to things that seem harmful, which ultimately are for the good and lead to good.
"For He Stands at the Right Hand of the Destitute"
כִּי יַעֲמֹד לִימִין אֶבְיוֹן לְהוֹשִׁיעַ מִשֹּׁפְטֵי נַפְשׁוֹ׃ - For He stands at the right hand of the destitute, to save him from those who condemn his soul.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, stands at the right hand of one who trusts in Him. An "evyon" (destitute person) refers to someone who lacks the power to save himself; Hashem stands at his right hand to help him and save him from the wicked, who are "those who condemn his soul," seeking to put him to death.
The Psalm Concerning Knesset Yisrael
Radak notes that Midrash Shocher Tov interprets the entire psalm as referring to Knesset Yisrael (the Community of Israel), explaining it in this manner from the very beginning of the chapter. "For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have opened against me" - these are those who entered the Holy of Holies and said, "Where is their God, the rock in whom they trusted? Let them rise up and help you!" These are enemies who came against the entire community, entered the Beit HaMikdash, and said, "Our hand is triumphant, and the Lord has not done all this." "They encompassed me with words of hatred" - they would say: with the very same hatred with which their forefather hated us, "and Esau hated Jacob," so too do they speak against the entire Jewish people.
"In return for my love they accuse me" - Knesset Yisrael argues: Master of the Universe, when we turned to Edom, we asked him courteously, "Thus says your brother Israel," speaking to him in the most pleasant manner, and what did he answer? "Lest I come out against you with the sword." "I am peace, but when I speak, they are for war." "And they fought against me without cause" - if Esau hates Jacob because he took the birthright from him, what did he do to the barbarians and the foolish nations? Such is the language of the Midrash. In simple words: even if Esau supposedly has an open account with Jacob, what did we ever do to the other nations? Nations we have never even heard of, yet every finger is automatically raised against us in the UN. Who can explain what the Jewish people ever did to them, when we ever harmed them, or when they ever met a Jew at all? And yet they hate us and fight against us without cause. "And I am prayer" - we offer seventy bulls on the festival of Sukkot corresponding to the seventy nations, praying for rain on their behalf; I pray that the nations should have abundance, and in return they hate me: "In return for my love they accuse me."
Salvation Even from "Those Who Judge His Soul"
The Malbim explains: they will see that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not abandon the needy person to mere chance, nor does He leave him to the forces of nature, but rather stands at his right hand. And even when he stands before "those who judge his soul" - those seeking to put him to death through legal proceedings, as stated above, "when he is judged, let him go forth condemned" - Hashem stands at his right hand to protect him even in this. They do everything ostensibly according to proper judicial process, just as in Soviet Russia everything was supposedly done by the book through the courts - yet one always came out guilty, there was no other option; and if not, they saw to it that you suddenly fell from some fifth-floor balcony. Everything was ostensibly according to the law. Yet despite all this, Hashem stands at the right hand of the needy.
"Those Who Judge His Soul" - The Inclinations
The Gemara notes the plural phrasing of "those who judge [shoftei] his soul." For Chazal taught: the righteous are judged [guided] by their yetzer tov (good inclination); the wicked are judged by their yetzer hara (evil inclination); the intermediate (beinonim) are judged by both. Here the verse uses the plural, "those who judge," which implies that it refers to the beinonim, who are guided by both.
The Vilna Gaon explains: "judged by them" (shoftam) does not refer to a judge in a court of law, but to a leader or ruler. As for the tzaddik - who leads him? The yetzer tov, for he has already nullified the yetzer hara. As for the wicked person - the yetzer hara is his boss, telling him to go here and go there, commit this sin and commit that sin, and he follows it like a pendulum, doing whatever it commands. But the intermediate people - that is us: sometimes the yetzer tov leads, and sometimes the yetzer hara leads. A person just spoke lashon hara - the yetzer hara led him at that moment; afterward he prayed - the yetzer tov led him; then he stumbled with an improper sight - the yetzer hara; and afterward he immersed himself in Torah study - the yetzer tov. With us there is an ongoing struggle between the two, whereas the righteous and the wicked are each governed by a single force.
And regarding this it is said, "For He stands at the right hand of the needy." For Chazal said: a person's inclination overpowers him every day and seeks to kill him, and were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him, he could not withstand it. One must therefore pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, to save us from the yetzer hara, and about this we are promised that He stands at the right hand of the needy - the Holy One, blessed be He, will assist him, saving him from those "judges," from the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara when each pulls the person in its direction and both govern him, so that he may do only good.
In Summary:
In this section of the psalm, David turns to plead for salvation on two fronts: on the basis of "for Your Name's sake," so that Heaven's Name not be desecrated through His anointed, and on the basis of "for Your lovingkindness is good," meaning that even if he is unworthy - Hashem's kindness knows no bounds, and he therefore asks for complete salvation rather than mere assistance. He depicts his lowly state - "my heart is wounded within me," "I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens," "my knees falter from fasting" - and asks that his fasts and humiliations serve as an atonement. From here we learned the fundamental principle: "Let them curse, but You bless" - the curses themselves are the cause of the blessing, like the earthenware pot whose intense fire brings about the reinforcing bands, and therefore "I will greatly thank Hashem" - even for the adversity itself. And finally, "For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul": the Holy One, blessed be He, does not abandon the needy person into the hands of his enemies, nor into the hands of his judges, nor into the hands of his inclinations, but rather stands at his right hand to deliver him. And with this, we conclude Psalm 109.