There are numerous Psalms which our own sensibilities cause the desire within us to arise and EDIT certain portions out.
Exhibit A: Psalm 139
This Psalm often quoted for its magnificence and beauty, displaying the wonderous intimacy and love of the God who “knit us together in our mother’s wombs,” and “counted out all our days” before even one had come. It reveals a God who knows our every thought and action, yet “hems us in, behind and before,” and has his hand upon us, leading and guiding us through life.
Then, as we approach the end of this wonderful expression of praise, it reads:
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!… Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them as my enemies.
(Right about now is where you hear the sound of a needle being violently knocked off the LP of those soothing, elevator tones of Kenny G’s Greatest Hits).
What the…?
Exhibit B: Psalm 136
To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever; … To him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; And killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:10, 17-18).
That ‘needle-on-vinyl-scraping’ sound is exactly what goes through my head when I arrive at these verses. I’m all caught up in praises to God for his steadfast love demonstrated in the wonders of his works throughout creation when suddenly, I’m sent thundering back to earth as I am affronted with these irreconcilable elements: God’s enduring steadfast love being declared as a result of having struck down the firstborn of Egypt, and taken out mighty kings (It even goes on to name some of those kings whom God smote!)
Where do I begin? Treading carefully…
Few of my generation and younger in Australia know anything about war, much less about oppressive regimes, or the brutality of cruel dictators. I’m not talking about knowing in the sense of being informed through modern-day media – I’m talking about personal, first-hand experience.
However, I am pretty certain it would be the understatement of the decade to say those suffering under current oppressive regimes, or victims of sex trade, or children in slave labour, would find great relief in being delivered from their oppressors. How much more would gratitude overflow toward someone who acted on their behalf, defended their human rights and freedoms, and re-established them in their own land? This is not dissimilar to the experience of the Israelites. From this vantage point at least, we might start to understand their jubilation and motives for such adulation of God.
It feels very abstract – and a rather giant leap – to go straight to the more fundamental issue of sin (Brevity forces me to go there quickly!). But ultimately, such deliverance, as amazing as it was, did nothing to put an end to oppression, cruelty, violence and war (Israelites at times were the worst offenders). Why? It’s all symptomatic, and no generation escapes unscathed the assault of sin before all are subject to the final end of sin: death.
If there is hope at all, it can only be found outside ourselves. And so it leads me to ask;
“What, then, would you say to someone who, through his death and resurrection, purchased eternal life and freedom from sin for all who believed in him and received the gift of his salvation?”