To be honest, Psalm 109 makes me a bit uncomfortable. It’s odd to hear a psalm—a prayer—call for what can only be described as revenge with such specificity, such explicitness, and at such length. It’s a bit odd right? Psalm 109 raises some questions: Is this what Jesus meant when He told us to “pray for our enemies” (Matthew 5:44–48; Luke 6:27–38). Doesn’t Paul tell the Roman church to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14)? How are we to make sense of David’s prayer in Psalm 109?
While there is a lot to be imitated in the psalms, the practice of praying for God to carry out vengeance on our enemies, isn’t one of them—at least, not exactly. Because this psalm raises another question: Do you hate evil? Because God does.
It’s hard for us to think about God “hating” anything, even evil. Our modern sensibilities kind of break down at a certain point, and it’s hard for us to make sense of a righteous hatred towards evil and wickedness. That’s because we think God’s hatred for evil mirrors our own. We take revenge, so we think God does. We want our enemies to experience pain or misfortune, so we assume God does too. We pray for revenge, and we suppose God to be on our side.
But Jesus frustrates this way of thinking, doesn’t he?
Because Jesus shows up and says, “do not resist an evil person [and] if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:39). He says, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). And then… Jesus lets his enemies kill him.
God hates evil. Be sure of that. You and I should hate evil too. David’s prayer in Psalm 109, gives us a bit of insight into how God thinks and feels about evil and wickedness—especially when it threatens His children. But don’t confuse David’s prayer in Psalm 109 for instructions on how we are to deal with evil. We are called to love our enemies, bless them and pray for them. Because well… Jesus changes everything.
- Chaz Holsomback