Praying the psalms- 'Vengeance is...'

There are many difficult sections in the psalms where the psalmist invites God to punish enemies: there is real venom in some of them!  In the light of the New Testament (e.g. Eph 6:12) we can read/hear some of those awkward passages expressing anger against enemies as symbolic of our spiritual warfare, which includes our praying and our manner of life.

But we are still stuck with passages that scream out a desire for revenge.  How do we handle these?

First, notice the psalmist is being real with God and addressing Him, not the enemies.  We have to recognise the desire for revenge - or for God to judge the enemies - is in us all, because suppressing or ignoring it does not make it go away.  Leaving it in God’s presence is the only thing that makes it go away.
 
When we are honest and express it to God and then leave it with Him, we are acknowledging it is His business to judge not ours.  So we can pray some of these difficult passages as a way of giving to Him our desire for revenge.  God will judge at the end of time.

But there is more: He has literally taken on Himself the judgment at the Cross, so He has even made it possible for enemies to become friends!  It is part of his cosmic project of reconciliation (see Col 1:20).  Only Jesus’ death and resurrection is enough to make a way through vengeance to reconciliation.

- Chris Horton