"Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve. Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again."
I am struck by how many Psalms ask the Lord to defeat our enemies and “repay them for their evil.” Should we ask the Lord to punish evil and reward our righteousness? There is no condemnation for the Psalmist for asking these things, so it must be OK. This is quite a contrast to those that demand that all Christians everywhere forgive any and all that perpetrate evil against them without condition. We are told to “be nice” at all times and never respond to our enemies with anything but kind words and “unconditional love.”
I read many of the responses to the Chick-Fil-A controversy by those that hate Christianity. I can say I was in no mood to “be nice.” Many vented such vitriolic hatred toward Christians as to condemn us for eating fried meat while there were starving people in the world. No one mentions that Christians have been feeding the poor and helping the downtrodden for over 2000 years; that the church has helped more lost people than any government has ever done, and that our love and assistance to others has been without condition while any help that any government gives always comes with the demand for obedience and “strings attached.” We have given enough to feed the world 10 times over, even with today’s population.
Therefore I agree with the Psalmist to “repay them for their deeds and evil work; repay them for what their hands have done (and what their mouths have spewed).” However, repay them based on Your holiness, Your righteousness, and Your grace. In other words, repay them based on the same standards with which you judge me.
There is another side to this prayer; the Psalmist also wrote “do not turn a deaf ear to me…do not drag me away with the wicked.” There is a humility to this prayer, that even though we ask the Lord to deal with our enemies and those who ridicule us we also recognize that we can be wicked ourselves and need to appeal to His mercy whenever we pray. The darkest thought of our heart is that the Lord would abandon us. I would rather feel the wrath of God than His indifference. If I need grace, then those who persecute me also need His grace. Therefore even though I pray that the Lord would protect me and even punish my enemies, I approach this prayer with deep respect for my own sin, for in punishing evil I pray that the Lord will not also punish me.
“Dear Lord, protect me, reward righteousness and punish evil, and if in punishing evil you find evil in me, forgive me and deal with me.”
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