What is the meaning of Psalm 109:18?

The cursing that he wore like a coat

“ He wore cursing like a garment…” (Psalm 109:18a)

• Scripture pictures words and attitudes as clothing—something chosen, put on, and displayed (Job 29:14; Psalm 73:6; Colossians 3:8-10).

• The subject has wrapped himself in hostile speech. He isn’t a victim of someone else’s malice; he is the willing wearer of his own curses (Matthew 12:37).

• By affirming that Scripture is literally true, we see that continual ungodly speech is not a harmless habit but a spiritual cloak that identifies and covers a person (Proverbs 26:27).

• In contrast, God calls believers to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14), highlighting the stark difference between garments of cursing and garments of righteousness.

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May it soak into his body like water

“…may it enter his body like water…” (Psalm 109:18b)

• Water saturates everything it touches. David prays that the man’s self-chosen curses will penetrate every part of him, showing the biblical principle of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7).

• Unrighteous words eventually seep from lips to life:

– Numbers 5:27 shows the bitter water of a curse entering and affecting the body.

– James 3:6 describes the tongue as “staining the whole body.”

– Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

• The imagery warns that what we continually speak will not remain external; it will shape heart, health, and destiny.

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And into his bones like oil

“…and into his bones like oil.” (Psalm 109:18c)

• Oil normally soothes and strengthens (Psalm 23:5; Isaiah 58:11). Here the blessing is reversed: the man’s own maledictions become the substance that permeates his very bones.

• Bones represent the deepest interior of a person (Proverbs 3:8; Psalm 32:3-4). The picture is total internal corruption—curses hardening into the framework of life.

• This echo of retributive justice matches Proverbs 26:27 and Micah 3:4: evil dug for others returns upon the doer.

• The literal force of the verse underscores that unrepented sin is not superficial; it reaches to the core, demanding either judgment or redemption through Christ (1 Peter 2:24).

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summary

Psalm 109:18 portrays a man who willingly clothes himself in cursing. Because he chooses that garment, David prays that it will saturate him like water and penetrate his bones like oil—vivid, literal warnings that our words inevitably shape our lives. Scripture affirms that what we wear spiritually, we will one day wear internally; therefore, put off cursing and put on Christ, whose righteousness clothes, cleanses, and strengthens to the very core.