Psalm Meditation 493
First Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2009

Psalm 94
1 O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive."
8 Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise?
11 The LORD knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, "My foot is slipping," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
(NRSV)

One of the most magnificent things about the Psalms is that they put into words the best and worst that humanity has to offer. At the very least thoughts of vengeance cross our minds from time to time whether we bring those thoughts to action or not. It is good to know that folks before me have felt what I am feeling with enough energy and commitment to those feelings to express them in some way. To feel that the claim has enough merit to take it into the presence of God reminds me that not every vengeful thought of mine needs to be carried out.

Psalms of this sort may also remind us that we are not above reproach. It is possible that someone has these thoughts directed toward us. We take advantage of others, intentionally or not and bring them to the point of calling down God’s vengeance on us because we are proud and ignorant of their needs and wants. How many people do we walk or drive past on a daily basis who we fail to see because we are focused on our own wants and needs to the exclusion of theirs. Sadly, we can be pretty oblivious to the damage we do to others in the pursuit of our own needs and desires. Fortunately, God does not respond to every call for vengeance from those who call for it.

How am I guilty when others call for vengeance against me and people like me? Pleas of ignorance of their needs does not excuse me for acting against people. So, as we call down the vengeance of God on others we do well to examine ourselves as well. Who has been damaged by my actions? How do I repent and make amends? What do I do to keep it from happening again? Where is God calling me in response to the sins committed against me and those I commit against others?

© November 23, 2009