Read
(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”)
A Prayer
1Do you mighty people talk
only to oppose justice?
Don't you ever judge fairly?
2You are always planning evil,
and you are brutal.
3You have done wrong and lied
from the day you were born.
4Your words spread poison
like the bite of a cobra
5that refuses to listen
to the snake charmer.
6My enemies are fierce
as lions, Lord God!
Shatter their teeth.
Snatch out their fangs.
7Make them disappear
like leaking water,
and make their arrows miss.
8Let them dry up like snails
or be like a child that dies
before seeing the sun.
9Wipe them out quicker
than a pot can be heated
by setting thorns on fire.
10Good people will be glad
when they see the wicked
getting what they deserve,
and they will wash their feet
in their enemies' blood.
11Everyone will say, “It's true!
Good people are rewarded.
God does indeed rule the earth
with justice.”
Reflect
At first the psalms may bring to mind gentle brooks and rolling meadows, beautiful poetry extolling God’s magnificence and care. Some of them, however, are anything but. A number seethe with anger. There are bad people out there, doing horrendous, evil things and the psalmist is fed up. He rails against them, getting downright explicit with the sort of punishment he hopes God doles out. In the end, he declares, good people will be glad to see the evildoers get their own.
This passage seems to run contrary to Jesus’ command in the New Testament, to “love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you,” (Matthew 5:44). But loving one’s enemy does not preclude the deeply felt need for justice.
David’s heart-wrenching psalm is a cry to see things set right, for divine retribution, for God to intervene in a disastrous situation. He wants God to judge and punish those persecuting his people. We hear a similar cry today. Millions of Christians suffer for Jesus around the globe. They may love and pray for their tormentors, but they still cry out for justice from the oppression.
It will come. But we are not to look forward to the day of reckoning with gleeful abandon. Human retaliation – returning injury for injury – may seem fitting in the short term, especially when great suffering is involved, but divine retribution – a consequence or reward following judgment – takes all eternity into account. God alone has the power to deal with the forces of evil that have taken hold.
We may never see our enemies “get what they deserve” but we can trust that “God does rule the earth with justice.” God works through his people to see that the persecuted are not forgotten until such time when he will permanently set things right.
Respond
God of the oppressed, hear our cry! We join our voice with those who are voiceless, who suffer for your sake around the world. We don’t understand such suffering, Lord, but ask that you give our brothers and sisters the strength to endure. Keep us mindful of their plight, help us not to forget as we go about our own lives. And when we suffer, Lord, thank you for being there beside us. Help us to love our enemies, pray for our persecutors and champion justice where we can. In your precious name we pray, Amen.
Kelly Rempel
Kelly Rempel is a wife, mother of two, writer and Jesus-follower. She lives in Winnipeg, MB where she is developing her passion for introducing children and their families to Jesus in her role as Family Ministry Director at Braeside Evangelical Church. She formerly served as the Senior Editor for ChristianWeek, a national publication focused on Christian faith and life in Canada (and beyond). She grew up in northern B.C., obtained her journalism diploma at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, and attended Bethany Bible Institute (now Bethany College) in Hepburn, SK, before moving to Winnipeg. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys trying her hand at various creative pursuits.