AP

Psalm 58 6-11  Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!  Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.  May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.  Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns – whether they be green or dry – the wicked will be swept away.  The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Here, and in Psalm 58, King David is appealing earnestly to Yahweh, the God of his Chosen People, Israel, for understanding, help and revenge against enemies who are attacking them for no real reason other than that they ARE God’s People whom he chooses to care for and bless.

It seems that God’s Church is in a similar position in a hostile world today, and the more we stand for and proclaim the glorious, liberating Gospel of the the Lord Jesus Christ, Yahweh (I AM – Exodus 3:14), who came among us in human form to redeem us, the stronger and more militant the opposition becomes.

How should we respond to this unfair, vicious opposition?  I found Tim & Kathy Keller’s comments on this Psalm last week – on May 4, (in ‘The Songs of Jesus’) – very helpful:

“The Cry for Justice. Those leading comfortable lives may be troubled by verses 6-10, but the Psalms refuse to ‘allow us to get used to the scandal of evil in high places’ [quoting Derek Kidner’s IVP Commentary]. They give voice to the anger of the oppressed.  Notice, however, the request is not ‘Help me break the teeth of the wicked’ – that is left to God (verse 6).  The New Testament uses similar intense language for what will happen on Judgement Day (Revelation 19:11-13 [I think they might mean 11-16?]), but in the meantime we do not war against evil with literal swords but with the Gospel (Revelation 12:11).  If we have known real evil, we will want a divine judge who will take up the sword, so that we can refrain from doing so.  

Prayer. Lord, make me an agent of reconciliation, forgiving from the heart those who do wrong yet at the same [time] insisting on truth and responsibility.  That is a life shaped by the cross, honouring both mercy and justice at the same time.  Amen.”

– Bruce Christian