“Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love. May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation! For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death. He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones! But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad! May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.” (v1-2,5,8-9,13,16,18,21-22,27-31)
I really struggled with omitting any verses when quoting this Psalm – I suggest reading the whole thing. David, clearly annoyed with someone (or some people) for persecuting him, cries out to the Lord for deliverance. On top of deliverance, David asks for a little extra punishment for their wickedness (okay, maybe more than a little… we’re talking about the extremes of Job here).
Is David justified in asking God to punish his persecutor(s)? In a human perspective, he probably is justified. Is he extending the forgiveness that Jesus later modeled when He commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? Probably not.
” ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.’ ” (Mt 5:43-45)
I agree with David and God that we should condemn sinful behavior – sin is the opposite of righteousness (and since God is righteousness, sin is the opposite of God, so to speak). However, there’s a big difference between condemning sin, and condemning the sinner. We are all sinners, yet God loves us and freely forgives us. It’s sin, that abomination, that will be permanently cast out of God’s presence and blotted from our records when we receive grace and mercy through Jesus. We will be saved, the sin will not.
What does this mean for us today? For a while now I’ve tried to differentiate between sin and sinners. I have learned to say “I hate lies” vs. “I hate liars”; “I hate prejudice” vs. “I hate the prejudiced”; “I hate abuse” vs. “I hate abusers”. See the difference? David may not make such a distinction here, but Jesus sure did: “Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’ ” (Jn 8:10-11) Jesus forgave the sinner, while condemning the sin.
This approach is even more critical for me in my own life – I struggle with forgiving myself. When I sin, I beat myself up over it, thinking I should have been able to avoid the temptation. However, going forward, I’m trying this new approach – to condemn the sin, not the sinner (myself). Sure, I long to stop sinning, but realistically, I’d be happy with sinning less frequently. I’d also be happy with learning to not condemn myself for that sin (because God doesn’t). I can ask for forgiveness and move on in the truth of God’s grace and mercy, without wallowing in self-deprecating thoughts. The enemy wants us to feel defeated, but that’s not what God wants for us. He died on the cross to free us from sin’s incarceration, not so we could voluntarily throw ourselves back into those chains. Jesus doesn’t condemn us, so why should we condemn ourselves?
Father God, all praise and glory be unto You, the chain breaker who set us free from the bonds of sin. May we learn to live in the truth of Your boundless grace and mercy, and extend that truth to those around us who also sin. Father thank you for the gift of salvation and forgiveness – we love, honor, and praise You for this inexplicable gift of reckless love. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training