We often think of the Psalms as soothing and consoling, such as the most familiar of them, the Twenty-third, often read at memorial services so we, the survivors, feel at least some consolation. But if you look at the Psalms, you will find that many of them are full of vengeful thinking and language.
This is especially true of the Psalms attributed to David. Just as he cries out to God because he is assailed by his enemies, he calls for God to execute justice, which is different than executing his own desire for vengeance. Moreover, God’s justice is that the poor and needy will get the water they seek, and that the wicked will fall by their own accord and actions.
Even the most despairing of the Psalms when David cries out to God, usually has at their end an affirmation that God will answer our needs and righteousness will prevail. It is this hope that we all have, that in the end, evil will be overcome by the strength God gives us to persevere even in the face of the evil we see today.
Prayer for the Day
Like the Psalmist, we cry out to you, O God,
Asking that you make the world a better place;
But also, like the Psalmist, we know that unless we act,
Injustice and evil will prevail in our world.
Bring us to the realization that as we care for the poor and needy,
We become the instruments of your righteousness.
In the name of the One who is our strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The reliance of these poems, however, on a repertoire of traditional images and stereotypical phrases does not preclude the creation of fresh and moving poetry.
Robert Alter, biblical scholar, from The Book of Psalms
Nowhere does the one who prays these psalms want to take revenge into his own hands.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyr, in The Precatory Psalms (1906-1945)
Your steadfast love, O God, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Your judgments are like the great deep, you save humans and animals like, O Lord.
Psalm 36: 5-6