John Calvin Commentary Psalms 69:4

"They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: They that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: That which I took not away I have to restore." — Psalms 69:4 (ASV)

They who hate me without cause are more in number than the hairs of my head. The Psalmist now expresses plainly what he had previously said using the metaphors of the mire and the impetuous rush of the waters. Persecuted as he was by such a great multitude of enemies, he had ample reason to fear death in countless ways.

Nor is his language exaggerated when he describes his enemies as more in number than the hairs of his head, since he was mortally hated and detested by the whole kingdom, as it was universally believed that he was a base and wicked traitor to his country. Furthermore, we know from sacred history how numerous and powerful the armies were that Saul sent out to pursue him.

He expresses the mortal hatred they bore toward him when he says that they were intently set on his destruction, eagerly desiring to have him cut off by a violent death; and yet he declares that he had done nothing to merit such unrelenting persecution. The Hebrew word חנם (chinnam), which we have rendered without cause, and which some translate for nothing, indicates that they were driven by a strong desire to harm him, although he had not done them the slightest wrong, nor given them the smallest provocation by any kind of mistreatment.

For this reason, he calls his enemies שקר (sheker), that is, liars, because they had no just reason to make war against him, although they pretended otherwise. Let us, therefore, following his example, if we are ever subjected to persecution, strive to have the support that comes from the testimony of a good conscience, and to be able to protest freely before God that the hatred our enemies cherish against us is entirely without cause.

This implies a self-control to which it is very difficult for a man to accustom himself; but the more difficult it is, the more strenuous his efforts to attain it ought to be. It is mere weakness to regard being unjustly afflicted as an intolerable evil. The folly of this is very aptly exposed by that noble answer of Socrates to his wife. When she lamented one day in prison that he was condemned unjustly, he replied, “What then—would you rather that I should have suffered death for my offenses?” Furthermore, David adds that he not only had to suffer the wrongs of violence, but also had to bear much reviling and scornful abuse, as if he had been convicted of many crimes—a trial which, to an honest mind, is more bitter and harder to bear than a hundred deaths.

Many people can be found who are resolutely prepared to face death, yet are by no means prepared to show equal fortitude in enduring shame. Furthermore, David was not only robbed of his goods by the violence of robbers, but his character was also assailed, as if he had been a thief and a robber: That which I took not by spoil, then I restored it. When his enemies plundered and mistreated him in this way, they undoubtedly boasted that they were acting as judges of a perverse and wicked man; and we know that they were held in high regard as judges.

Let us therefore learn from this example to prepare ourselves not only to bear patiently all losses and troubles, even death itself, but also shame and reproach, if we are ever burdened with unfounded accusations. Christ himself, the fountain of all righteousness and holiness, was not exempt from foul slander; why then should we be dismayed when we face a similar trial? It can greatly strengthen our minds against it when we consider that to steadfastly persevere in practicing righteousness, even if that is the reward we receive from the world, is the genuine test of our integrity.