Seeking Both Justice And Mercy

Psalm 109:9-19

9May his children become fatherless,

and may his wife become a widow.

10May his children wander as beggars;

may they be evicted from their ruined homes.

11May creditors seize his entire estate,

and strangers take all he has earned.

12Let no one be kind to him;

let no one pity his fatherless children.

13May all his offspring die.

May his family name be blotted out in a single generation.

14May the LORD never forget the sins of his ancestors;

may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

15May these sins always remain before the LORD,

but may his name be cut off from human memory.

16For he refused all kindness to others;

he persecuted the poor and needy,

and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

17He loved to curse others;

now you curse him.

He never blessed others;

now don’t you bless him.

18Cursing is as much a part of him as his clothing,

or as the water he drinks,

or the rich food he eats.

19Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;

may they be tied around him like a belt.

It was said of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer of England that if you wished to be sure he would do you a good turn, you would have to do something bad to him.

This is certainly the New Testament’s teaching. Jesus taught: “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44). Paul wrote, “Conquer evil by doing good” (Romans 12:21).

Yet the difference between this psalm and New Testament teachings cannot be explained simply by saying that the Old Testament teaching was different. After all, in Romans 12, Paul also quotes a passage from Deuteronomy 32:35: “ ’I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.”

That may be part of the answer. David was not seeking to execute judgment himself, even though he was the absolute monarch. He was merely seeking justice—God’s justice. As F. G. Hibbard put it a century ago: “If a murderer broke into [your] house and murdered your mother, and then escaped, and the sheriff went after him to arrest him, don’t you think that you would pray to God that the murderer would be caught and brought to justice?”

How can you pray for both justice and mercy in your work today?

Depth of mercy! can there be mercy still reserved for me?

Can my God His wrath forbear—me, the chief of sinners, spare?

There for me my Savior stands, holding forth His wounded hands;

God is love! I know, I feel, Jesus weeps and loves me still.

CHARLES WESLEY

Bible Networking

This is one of the six imprecatory psalms. The other five are Psalms 35, 58, 69, 83, and 137. In these psalms the psalmist calls for the Lord’s judgment on the enemies of God’s people.

Notable Quotable

“If we choose to curse, cursing is the environment we finally inhabit, inescapably. If we oppress, oppression is the context in which we exist, unavoidably. Our words and our acts create conditions in which we ourselves must live. Unrepentant and unforgiven, we live with the curses and pitiless actions which we set loose in the world.”

EUGENE PETERSON