Psalm 143:11, 12 Quicken me, O LORD, for your name's sake: for your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. Whatever of human frailty may attach to the desire of vengeance, yet the fact remains that to smite the oppressor of righteousness is a part of 'the goodness' of God. "It is worthy of observation that the psalmist pleads God's righteousness as the foundation on which he bases his supplication for the deliverance of his soul out of trouble; and God's loving-kindness or mercy as that on which he grounds his prayer, or his conviction, that God will destroy his enemies." I. WHAT A MAN MAY DO WITH HIS ENEMIES. Submit and suffer; or oppose and suffer. A man may take dealing with his enemies into his own hands; and spend his life in seeking opportunities for crushing them and avenging himself. But then one of two things will happen. (1) He may fail, and bring rum upon himself by his attempts. Or (2) he may succeed, but only at the cost of his own moral ruin; for he fatally injures his own character by cherishing hateful, revengeful feeling through the long years. Can a man ever safely avenge himself? The answer is an emphatic No. He cannot do it wisely. He cannot help injuring himself in the doing. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves." II. WHAT A MAN HAD BETTER DO WITH HIS ENEMIES. Leave them with God. But that may involve keeping the slur upon our reputation. Never mind, God can vindicate us in his own time and way. His own approval of us is the pledge that everybody else will approve of us sooner or later. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." We may always be sure of two things. (1) In the economy of life punishment works out for the wrong-doer; and (2) God will surely see that the outworking is not interfered with. But leaving our enemies with God means praying to God about them. Not praying to God against them. Not telling God what we wish him to do with them. Only commending them to his consideration in such a way that we shall be wholly relieved of the burden of dealing with them. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.WEB: Revive me, Yahweh, for your name's sake. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. |
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