Read Psalm 21:8-13. 8Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. 10You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. 11Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows. 13Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
Psalm 21 began with thanksgiving for God’s deliverance of the king. The psalm now will turn to God’s destruction of his enemies. In David’s mind, his enemies were actually God’s enemies. This is true for those who are in Christ as well – we share a common enemy.
David’s words can seem quite harsh when read outside of the context of David’s life. He calls out for the Lord to swallow them up, burn them, destroy them and their children, chase them, and shoot them in the face with an arrow. And yet David doesn’t give himself permission to act with vengeance, but leaves it to the Lord alone.
As Christians we can count on Christ to fight our battles for us, for he has already won the war on the cross. Like David, we can trust that Jesus will appear and bring with him the purifying fire of his glory and righteousness. What does this mean for us today? It means letting God be God, giving up all our grudges, letting vengeance be the Lord’s, and loving and praying for our enemies as Jesus told us to.
To live is Christ is to let Jesus be the king-judge of the world and not me.
Prayer. Jesus, I don’t have to hate my enemies because in the end you will deal with them. Instead help me to love and show compassion to those who would oppose you and your gospel. Amen.
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To Live is Christ 