It’s always a bummer when the Psalm schedule comes out and you get a hard Psalm. Not a sweet one about how great God’s love is or even how God answers when we are in distress. This Psalm feels hard to me because while the author (David) does ask for God’s mercy (v.6) and does give us true statements about God and us (v. 7, 12-13) David also asks for ‘burning coals’ to fall upon the heads of his enemies and says ‘let them be cast into fire, into miry pits’ (v. 10). This is where I struggle. Aren’t we supposed to love our enemies?? David himself was a murderer and an adulterer! Are we supposed follow David’s lead here to curse our enemies? I’ll go ahead and let you know I’m not going to attempt to answer this question!
But I do think there’s things we can learn about God through this. For one thing, David uses the words evil/violent/wicked nine times in this Psalm to describe his enemies (and arrogant once!). They were clearly not people who were trying to follow God in any way. They were actively against God, starting wars and killing those who were trying to follow God (aka David). David asks for God’s mercy for himself (v.6) but also sees the bigger picture of the danger of these men being ‘established in the land’ (v. 11) and ‘their evil plot’ being furthered (v. 8). He knows ‘The Lord will maintain the case of the afflicted and will execute justice for the needy’ (v.12). David is calling out for God’s justice. He sees the brokenness in what’s happening and let’s be honest, wants judgement. ‘Let evil hunt down the violent man speedily’ (v.11). And we know judgement is coming one day. (I’m currently studying Revelation, so judgement is also on my mind a tad bit more than normal!)
Again, I don’t know the answer to the questions posed at the beginning. I don’t fully understand how God can be full of justice/truth and full of grace. I personally think it’s outside our ability comprehend (Isaiah 55:8-9). But I do think we can see in David, God’s heart for justice. And I pray, Christ City Church, that we would also have God’s heart for justice, knowing one day all things will be made right.
- Ally L.