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Psalm 109 is the “gaslighting” psalm. There’s a lot of discussion on social media about gaslighting. What is it? Below is the research from my AI assistant on the topic. . .
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse where a person or group makes someone question their own sanity, memory, or perception of reality, often to gain control and power. The term comes from the 1938 play Gas Light, where a husband gradually dims the gaslights in their home and denies it to his wife, making her believe she’s imagining things.
Has our self-esteem been shaken by the undermining, clever, and relentless attacks of someone else? Gaslighting works best with many against one, and David, before he was king, was being attacked by a conspiracy. . .
They encircle me with words of hate and attack me without cause. In return for my love, they accuse me … So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love (vv. 3-5, ESV).
Symptoms of gaslighting include denial of truth even with opposing proof, making our feelings seem trivial, meetings to which we aren’t invited, blame shifting to us when we did nothing wrong, making us doubt our memory, undermining our confidence, and masterful obfuscation to avoid responsibility.
We will all be gaslighted — sooner or later. It’s the spirit of the age in culture, politics, and personal relationships (and unfortunately even in the church). Against his accusers, David prays such strong denunciations that reading them makes me think, “Can believers really pray in this manner?”
King David prayed in verses 8 to 17. . .
May his days be few … May his children be fatherless … May his children wander about and beg … May the creditor seize all that he has … let there be none to extend kindness to him … may his name be blotted out … he loved to curse; let his curses come upon him … may blessing be far from him.
Okay, a word of caution, be careful in jumping to the conclusion that we get to pray like this against our enemies. In the context of Psalm 109, we find the eternal purposes of God (lineage of David to Jesus) being challenged by rabble rousers deserving of a good prayer lashing!
David confidently prays against the gaslighters. He even named those who oppressed him as “accusers” four times in this chapter (vv. 4, 6, 20, 29), and the Hebrew name for “accuser” gives us the English word “satan!”
I believe we find in the cursing of Psalm 109 directed toward the “accusers” the ultimate end of anyone or anything that stands against God’s will — a warning for all of us!
Reading Psalm 109 in preparation for this blog, I noticed “classic Davidic praise” as King David, even in the midst of his most difficult moments, begins and ends most of his psalms with praise.
O God, whom I praise (v. 1, NLT).
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death (vv. 30-31, ESV).
Amen. Peace out!
And, we must admit that we all have gaslighting potential within us!