LORD, Remember and Avenge Us

Background

The background of this psalm is the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. There is significant overlap between this psalm and psalm 74. The psalmist is in great pain and cries out to the LORD over the devastation done. He wants to know how long (v. 5) this will continue. We can break this psalm into 4 parts:

The destruction of God’s temple and people (vs. 1 - 4)

The psalmist cry for God’s vengeance upon the nations (vs. 5 - 7)

The psalmist plea for mercy, salvation and justice (vs. 8 - 10)

The psalmist plea for vindication and restoration (vs. 11 - 13)

Exposition

Verses 1 - 4: The psalmist begins by recounting before the LORD the devastation of the Babylonian army. The temple of Jerusalem has been destroyed. The city where Yahweh dwelt has been reduced to rubble. Dead bodies line the streets as food. The streets of Jerusalem run with blood and no one is left to provide proper burials, a fulfillment of Jer 7:33 which repeats Deut. 28:26. If this wasn’t bad enough, God’s chosen people are know being mocked and have become a byword. Yet we must note the description of those whom have lost their lives.

The psalmist describes Judah as Yahweh’s inheritance in verse 1. In verse 2 they are described as Yahweh’s servants and his faithful. This may be a bit ironic given that it was a lack of faithfulness by most of the nation that brought the judgment of God upon them. Yet there was a faithful remnant upon the people. The point nonetheless is the psalmist’s prayers for his fellow Judahites is based on their status as Yahweh’s people. The writer brings before his God the reality that these are still the people he brought to Himself and made a covenant relationship with. These are the people the LORD of hosts loved. These are the people being destroyed. In essence the psalmist calls for Yahweh to aid the people he created and cherishes.

Notice how sin results in judgment and a break in fellowship but not a total end to relationship. God is right to judge wickedness among His people. This is true ‘til this day. At the same time He never utterly cast them away. They were (and we are) still His and He has and will gracefully her our cries for repentance and mercy. If you or a believer you know believe yourself under God’s chastening, turn to your heavenly father and repent. He will hear and He will respond.

Verses 5 - 7: As with psalm 74 the psalmist asks how long? How long will Yahweh chastise His people. Yes, their sin was grave and punishment deserved. Yet, they are pressed down in despair. They suffer under His wrath. And from the distress of His soul the writer is crying for the hand of God’s judgment to shift away from His people and unto their enemies. This shift manifest in His direct appeal to Yahweh to avenge His people on their enemies. These are people that don’t know the one true God or worship Him. They hate the people of God and brazenly destroyed God’s inheritance, demolished their cities, and desecrated His temple.

We can take comfort in the fact that God is merciful even in judgment and, as another psalm writer says, “For His anger is but for a moment” (Ps. 30:5). We must remember that the chastisement of the Lord is an ultimately an act of love (Heb. 12:5-8 cf. Prov. 3:11-12, Ps. 94:12, Rev. 3:19). The goal is not our ultimate destruction but our restoration. So David could say in Ps. 119:67 that disciple brought him into line with God’s word. The right thing to do during discipline is to trust in the goodness of God. It is for our good. What about their enemies.

Imprecation always makes us uneasy, especially when the language is harsh. We are NT people with its great treatise on forgiveness and grace. We are taught to pray for our persecutors, but not like this. What we must always remember is God is one of both grace and justice. God is both a forgiving and a judging God. There are those who hate God and us and will not repent. Judgment is coming for them. It is not wrong to desire justice and it will be done in the end. This is a motivation to preach the gospel and warn people that actions have consequences. The bill always come due.

Verses 8 - 10: In contrast, the psalmist pleads for God’s mercy. He asks Yahweh to forgive their iniquities and show them mercy because said wrongdoings have brought them down. The people of God need help and the psalmist recognizes this can only come from the LORD of hosts. Notice the basis of the psalmist plea for God’s forgiveness and deliverance is God’s honor and glory. The psalmist grounds his plea on His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). He ends by asking why the nations should continue in their ability to gloat over the absence of Yahweh among His people. Rather he calls for the nations to know that God is still with and for His people via vengeance upon them for their evil deeds.

Verses 11 - 13: Switching back, the psalmist pleads for God to hear the cries of the captive. Right now the people of God are like those on death row. [1] The psalmist asks for their deliverance and for the nations to pay for their mockery of Yahweh. Their mockery of them is mockery of God and can’t be allowed to stand. He concludes with hope that the people of God will again be able to praise God for His goodness, grace, and mercy toward them.

God judgment of His people doesn’t negate or dissolve his covenant with them, nor does it make His enemies less guilty. God is for His people. For the sake of His glory He will restore His people and recompense His enemies. Believers today can be assured that our Savior shall always be our savior. He can go to him when we sin and seek forgiveness and he is just to forgive our sins (1 Jn 1:9). For those who oppose God the book of Revelation makes clear justice / judgment is coming (Rev. 19:1-3).

Bibliography

[1] VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 611). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.