A lot of conflicting thoughts pop up when reading
this passage. Are we praying for revenge or mercy?
Popular speculation links the composition of this
Psalm to the time when David was persecuted by Saul. Here David pleads to the
Lord to fight for him, save him from his enemies, and ultimately destroy them.
David complains that his enemies have repaid his good with evil. He is
steadfast in his prayer and believes that the Lord will save him and give him
an opportunity to glorify His name.
We can draw parallels to our own life situations
where we seek to payback those who wronged us. It starts as a reflexive
instinct and grows into a full-blown plan for revenge, or at the very least we
cut off the ‘oppressor’ from our lives. What should be the ‘ideal’ Christian
reaction?
I may not have the answer, but here’s my take on the
issue: ‘An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind’.
David like us had doubts, fears etc. But he was tolerant and depended on God. He
needed to hear again and again God saying to his soul “I am your
Salvation”. This is a request for
renewing our inner communion with God. In this Psalm, David prayed for freedom
against oppression. He did not seek revenge, but justice and deliverance. Such
an approach is easier said than done. The next step is more difficult; ‘But I
say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute
you’; (Matthew 5:44).
God’s commandment is to love one another. Intolerance leads to extremism and
destruction which is happening in the world around us. As we observe the Lenten
season, can we learn to respect the views of other people? We may not agree to their views, but we can
try to be tolerant and live in harmony instead of trying to seek revenge
against those who have wronged us.
I know from my own experiences that it’s difficult
to put the preaching into practice on my own strength. That’s where Prayer
plays an important role. It is the
source of all strength and miracles. Prayer has held my family through tough times,
and I have witnessed this as a part of my upbringing. It reminds me of what my
mother would say, ‘pray not only in times of difficulties but also give thanks
for all the blessings’ (translated).
My key takeaways from this passage are:
-
Seek justice, not revenge
-
Be steadfast in prayer.
Like David, let us surrender our feelings of fear,
anger, anxiety and doubt into the hands of our Lord. Pray so that He may
strengthen us and give us the opportunity to glorify His name.
Ann John and Sunil George
Saul's anger at David, Antoni Brodowski, 1784-1832, National Museum in Warsaw, Poland.
| By Antoni Brodowski - cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10592147 |
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