I am guessing I am not alone in finding this psalm difficult to meditate on, as it can be quite uncomfortable thinking about our God as one of vengeance who wipes out all his enemies. I cannot help but be reminded of Psalm 139:19-22 where the psalmist calls on the Lord to slay the wicked, stating “do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?”. I do not think it is a bad practice to spend more time on trying to love our enemies, as Jesus preached, then hating them. However, that does not mean we just skip over psalms such as these.
Who among us has not felt anger, often righteous anger, against evildoers? In vs 6, the psalmist notes them as ones who “kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless”. Is it necessarily wrong for us to feel animosity towards those speaking and acting against the way of the Lord, promoting injustice against the people of God? But we cannot stop there, because as the psalmist rightly notes, God is the one who judges. The psalmist demonstrates the right way to respond to wickedness: to call out to the Lord in our anguish and disappointment, to seek His help and rely on His steadfast love.
One of the most beautiful lines from this psalm to me is found in vs 19: “when the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” When we are aching and feeling crushed by all the evil and division we see around us, who else can ease our anxiety and comfort us but God? We take solace in His sovereignty over evil, knowing that He has already defeated death, and will rightfully judge the wicked. So my prayer for you, Christ City Church, is when we inevitably feel the weight of sin around us and see it so blatantly in our world, let us turn to God in our anger, despair, and disappointment. Lay down your worries onto Him, knowing God is the one who can provide true rest for your soul.
- Christine Luter