Psalm Meditation 668
Second Sunday of Easter
April 7, 2013

Psalm 58
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge people fairly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb; they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 People will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
(NRSV)

Why is it that when others wait to see us suffer die they are wicked, and when we want to see our adversaries suffer and die it is righteous revenge? That is, how do we know that our enemies and the enemies of God are the same? It is certainly my hope that the people of whom I am a part are on the side of God. I am also very aware that any one of us has done at least one thing in the name of God that is troubling to God, at the very least. When we factor in the things we have done as a part of a larger group it is just as troubling.

While this psalm serves a purpose, it is not helpful to use it as a public statement against anyone. Psalms like this allow us to vent our frustration and fear to God without having to act on our inclinations toward revenge. Yes, our humanness waits to see those who have wronged us suffer for their deeds. Yes, we know that revenge will be give us a sweet sense of victory over those who stand against us in some way. Vengeance tends to ring hollow and carries a high personal cost that is not usually worth it. The psalm lets us rehearse our desire for revenge without having to go through with it.

Divine justice does finally work itself out. We may or may not be satisfied with the result. The psalmist allows us to offer God our idea of what would be a fulfilling revenge even as we turn the situation over to God. It keeps us from becoming the very people from whom we are calling God to defend us. To call on God continues to be an act of defiance against tyranny in a way that does not lead us to be tyrants ourselves.

April 1, 2013