It sometimes disheartens us that the psalmist should move from expressing love for God to sharply condemning his enemies. We wonder how we can truly make the entire psalm our own. There is a real challenge here, which cannot be fully solved unless we understand how God had to deal with a people who saw the world in black and white and did not easily distinguish between sin and the sinner. For today’s people, with slightly more insight into the influences affecting the human mind, unqualified condemnation isn’t possible. Do not judge others, or they will judge you. Therefore, the condemnation must be reinterpreted, even turned against us, or rather, against everything within us that diminishes our thirst for God, which the psalmist feels so deeply. When life is at risk or harsh words hurt us, it is the right time to pray with this psalm.