David is speaking of his enemies here—the same ones who’d plotted against him. Now they were sick and hurting. He could have chortled with glee. He could have celebrated their suffering, considering it their just desserts. But notice what he did: he put on sackcloth (a symbol of mourning), fasted, and prayed. Prayed for those who had persecuted him. Wow, what a beautiful example of compassion. We can consider Paul’s advice again in being angry but not sinning. Being happy about someone else’s suffering—even if we are angry with that person—is sinning, because we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we’re children of the Lord, we are to extend the mercy and grace that we’ve been given. David prayed for his enemies. Prayer is best anger-dissolver I know. It’s really hard to stay angry at a person when you’re lifting them up to the Lord in prayer. Seeing his enemies in pain changed David’s anger to empathy. I know it hurts to be rejected or treated unkindly, but retaliation doesn’t fix the problem. It’s best for us to pray for those who hurt us and leave the vindication to the One who is always just and right.