Psalm Meditation 950
Proper 17
September 2, 2018

Psalm 140
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers; protect me from those who are violent,
2 who plan evil things in their minds and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent who have planned my downfall.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net, along the road they have set snares for me. Selah
6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God; give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot. Selah
9 Those who surround me lift up their heads; let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall on them! Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land; let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall live in your presence.
(NRSV)

When someone attacks us it is tempting to ask God to let us get back at them. ‘Let me be the one who exacts revenge for the terrible things they have done to me. Let me rise up and beat them down.’ We like the idea of getting back at the folks who have treated us badly. Some of the psalms look forward to destroying our enemies and adversaries, including causing the death of their children. There is something brutally, cathartically satisfying about being the one who gets to show ‘those’ people that there is a price to pay for picking on ‘us.’

This psalmist asks God to be the one who exercises judgment on ‘those’ people. While there is a list of preferred punishments: burning coals on their heads, being flung into pits, having the mischief of their lips overwhelm them just to name a few, the psalmist leaves it in the hands of God. This is a good idea. It is possible that what seems punishment in our eyes is nothing to our adversaries. There are people who enjoy things that are torture to us and are tortured by what gives us great joy. Since God knows each of us well we can leave the judgment to the one who knows what judgment to exact.

Leaving judgment in the hands of God can be satisfying, frustrating, and educational. God metes our proper and appropriate judgment, eventually. The slow pace of judgment can be frustrating. We want large and immediate action when it comes to those who stand against us and God moves in slow small ways. Judgment can be educational when we discover that the one at fault is not our opponent but ourselves. In this case the slow pace of God’s judgment gives us time to recognize the errors or our ways, apologize, ask forgiveness, and change before we feel the full force of God’s discipline.

August 27, 2018
LCM