Justice - or vengeance?

“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”

    let Israel say;
² “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
    but they have not gained the victory over me.
³ Ploughmen have ploughed my back
    and made their furrows long.
⁴ But the Lord is righteous;
    he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”

 

⁵ May all who hate Zion
    be turned back in shame.
⁶ May they be like grass on the roof,
    which withers before it can grow;
⁷ a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
    nor one who gathers fill his arms.
⁸ May those who pass by not say to them,
    “The blessing of the Lord be on you;
    we bless you in the name of the Lord.” Psalm 129

 

The two sections of this short psalm are very different from one another.

 

In verses 1-4 the writer celebrates how God has set him and his people Israel free from oppression: “…the Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked” (verse 4). It’s joyful testimony.

 

Personally, I would have been quite content if the psalm had ended on that happy note. But it doesn’t…

 

In verses 5-8 it expresses – well, not exactly ill-will towards these cruel enemies, but certainly an unashamed desire for God’s judgment upon them: “May all who hate Zion [Jerusalem] be turned back in shame” (verse 5). And then, in verse 8, “May those who pass by not say to them, ‘The blessing of the Lord be on you…’”.

 

Note that “not”! Not only can he not bring himself to wish his enemies well; he doesn’t want anybody else to either! Even if he’s not being out-and-out vindictive, it might seem almost petty and spiteful. A long way, surely, from Jesus’ “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

 

This was my psalm for the day today, and as I finished it I couldn’t help a feeling of anti-climax. That ending is, admittedly, far milder than the terrible climax of Psalm 137, where the writer virtually spits out a curse, a malediction, upon the cruel, marauding Babylonians: “Happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” (Psalm 137:8-9). But the mood is much the same.

 

(Have you ever noticed how, when Psalm 137 is read in church, those closing verses seem to disappear?)

 

The reason why, this morning, I specially paused on this psalm – one which, after all, I must have read dozens of times before – is that I found myself linking it with events in Ukraine. Who of us would feel entitled to criticise the people of Ukraine if they were to express the sentiment of Psalm 129 – or even Psalm 137? Not me, that’s for sure.

 

And I realised afresh not just that - of course! - it’s not for me to imply criticism of God’s word by wanting to delete the whole second part, but that this note of just judgment is important, indeed vital. How, ultimately, can there be good news – “gospel” - as long as great evils continue to blight this world? And when we’re talking of great evils there is simply no room for sentimentality.

 

As Christians it goes without saying that our deepest desire even for the deepest of sinners is that they should recognise their sin, truly repent, and find forgiveness. But there can be no rejoicing until that has actually happened.

 

So as we watch the heart-breaking scenes from Ukraine, may we not pray quite unashamedly, “Oh God, bring down this man Vladimir Putin! Put an end to the cruel and wicked things he is doing!”? We pray that prayer, of course, fully aware that we too are sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace; but we needn’t be squeamish about praying it, for justice demands it.

 

And anyway, if it’s falling short of Jesus to pray such a prayer, how much worse is it to act in such a way that people are provoked to fury and, so, determined to see justice?

 

So far I have quoted from two psalms, 129 and 137, psalms that we feel make for somewhat uncomfortable reading. But now here is another one to finish with. In Psalm 58:10-11 we read: “The righteous will be glad when they are avenged… Then people will say, ‘Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth’”.

 

And we might say, “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that! The fact that ‘there is a God who judges the earth’ can only be good news!”

 

But wait a minute - what about the part I missed out, where I put dots instead? Here it is in full: “The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked”.

 

Ugh! I can only comment that I have never remotely imagined one of the pleasures of heaven being to dip my feet in the blood of anybody, wicked or not.

 

It’s metaphorical language, of course; but there is a rightness about its sentiment, the rightness of divine justice. And that can prompt us to pray…

 

Lord God, you are a holy and just God. Please bring your judgment to bear on all who perpetrate great wickedness and cruelty. Yes, Lord, we would love it if they repented and were forgiven. But failing that we cry out to you especially on behalf of the nation of Ukraine: Do it, Lord! And please, please, do it soon! Amen.