“O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” Psalm 94:1-3
Devotional Thought For The Day
We appropriately struggle with the whole notion of God as the “God of vengeance.” We know that we have been among the proud, the sinful, and the wicked – we confess that each day we sin in thought, word, and deed. We are no better than the apostle who wrote: “For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” [Rom. 7:18,19] So also we have greatest joy and rejoicing not in the justice of God’s perfect Law, but rather in His gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus – that “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.” [Eph. 1:7] This is the humble life of repentance and faith that all of God’s children live day by day.
There is a difference – the real “wicked” continue in their commitment to evil; they are not repentant but rather “exult” and rejoice in the evil they commit. They have not “the desire to do what is right” – which includes first and foremost living in proper repentance and faith in God’s gracious love in Christ Jesus. In fact, one of the worst evils that they exult in is trying to catch God’s dear children of faith in some “sin” so that they self-righteously “judge” others and excuse themselves. In the face of such hypocrisy and condemnation it is difficult for contrite and pious children of God not to desire God’s vengeance and “retribution” to fall upon such “wicked” unbelievers – those who neither know nor care about God’s gracious love, mercy, and kindness.
So we must take care and caution that we not succumb to the temptation of responding to hypocrites with the same judgment they are eager to mete out to us. Otherwise we become like them, and the vengeance that we call down upon them we are also calling down upon ourselves. And we must remember that all who commit themselves to such hypocrisy soon end up in even worse evils – like the murders which the Scribes and Pharisees committed against Jesus and Stephen. They think they are doing “good,” and they are “proud” of themselves – and the same temptations exist in full measure within our hearts. So we might want to remember, as humble and repentant children of God, that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” [Prov. 16:18]
As we live in such humility, and bear up under the absurd and arrogant pride of the impenitent and wicked, it is good and comforting to know that God is a God of vengeance. In the end He will look to those who are of humble and contrite spirit and will deliver them from all their enemies. Yes, we also grow weary and eager for our vindication; thankfully we can leave all in God’s hands, so that rather than rejoicing in the downfall of our enemies we mourn their lack of repentance and the destruction that is coming upon them. We fear more for them than we care for ourselves – which is reflective of God’s great love for us. This, rather than hypocritical and spiteful vengeance, is the kind of love that a real experience of God’s love begets in our hearts.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, even as we hope in Your vindication and deliverance from all evil, we pray that You would keep our hearts warm and tender, even toward our enemies. Help us to humbly cling to Your gracious mercy and love, and to extend the same to all others. Preserve us from the evil intentions of the proud and wicked and protect us from all dangers, as we wait patiently for the final culmination of this present evil age. Amen.