TLIC Psalms. February 5. Those Who Hate You.

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 the same as God’s enemies. This is true for those who are in Christ as well – we share a common enemy with God.

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 retribution to the arm of the Lord alone.

As Christians, like David, we can count on Christ to fight our battles for us, for he has already won the war on the cross. We can trust that Jesus will appear in the clouds in glory and bring with him the purifying fire of his justice 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 just as Jesus taught us to.

To live is Christ is to let Jesus be the king-judge of the world and not me.

You: What role is vengeance (active or passive) playing in your life recently?

You in Christ: Our common enemy with Christ is no person, but the Devil himself. How does this truth change your perspective on others?  

Christ in you: What enemy can you pray for today? Show kindness to?

Pray: Father, I don’t have to hate my enemies because in the end you will deal with them. Instead help me to show the love and compassion of Christ to those who would oppose you and your gospel. Amen.