Attacked, Anger, Vengeance: Psalm 69

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

“For your sake, I bear insult. And shame covers my face.’ This is from the Psalm we have today, Psalm 69. And a lot of times we don’t notice the Psalm very much.  So I wanted to focus on this Psalm, because it’s a Psalm which speaks of a lot of suffering. And it’s also a Psalm in which, because the person is under attack, there’s a lot of anger, and even a call for vengeance. And, in fact, in the first reading from Jeremiah, Jeremiah said, talking about those who are attacking him, he says, “Lord, let me witness the vengeance, you will take upon them,” let me witness the vengeance. And we can sometimes feel anger, and a desire for revenge about those who are doing wrong. So like I say, I wanted to look at the Psalm, because it’s an imprecatory Psalm, that is a Psalm, which has curses, cursing, calling for curses or judgments against the enemies, the enemies of God. And so it’s speaking of the anger, and desire for revenge, when there’s a terrible evil, like, for instance, those who are trafficking and abusing children. A terrible evil, which calls out for vengeance. So how’s the Christian supposed to understand those passages? Because we know that Jesus calls us to forgive and to turn the other cheek. So how, what’s a Christian supposed to do with this? And the New Testament, after the gospel of Jesus, does it just ignore or kind of cast aside those Psalms, Psalms 69, and say, well, the Psalm is no longer worthwhile? How does the New Testament treat this Psalm? This Psalm is actually one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament, so far from being ignored. It’s the New Testament that draws our attention, especially to this Psalm. So I think it’s worth a look. So first of all, who is speaking in the Psalm? It’s King David, who is speaking. But we know King David foreshadows, like in so many Psalms, foreshadows the King of kings, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And also, the Church that is Egypt, everyone who follows Jesus, who shares in His mission. And so I’m going to look at first of all, that the psalm, first of all, speaks of suffering. And then there’s the curses, the part which is calling down curses, and then see, finally, what are the lessons that we can draw from this? So first of all, it’s talking about suffering. So the Psalm, like a lot of Psalms, is pouring out their lament to God. So that’s an important part of prayer. We don’t have to feel bad about that. There’s a lot of examples in the Psalms of lamenting, pouring out, pouring out our suffering to God, and that can be very helpful to us to pour out that suffering. So it’s speaking in figurative language.  It says, it starts out, “save me, oh God, for the waters have risen up to my neck, I have sunk into the mud of the deep where there is no foothold. I have entered the waters of the deep where the flood overwhelms me.” So it’s this terrifying situation of a person who is sinking down into the muddy floodwaters. And this has been the situation, has been drawn out. It says, “I am wearied with crying aloud, my throat is parched, my eyes are wasting away with waiting for my God.” So they’re in this situation, they’re crying. Now that seems like it’s been a long wait. And it’s not just circumstances, but they’re under attack. There’s someone who’s attacking them. He says, “more numerous than the hairs on my head, are those who hate me without cause. Many are those who attack me, enemies with lies.” And so there’s enemies who are attacking this person. And we know that the enemies are not just human enemies, but as St. Paul says, “we’re not just fighting against the forces of flesh and blood, but also against spiritual enemies.”  Demonic forces, and Jesus speaks of this hatred, He says if I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen and have hated both me and My Father, so that the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause.” So Jesus experiences that hatred, that the Psalm is talking about, and the Psalm goes on, “what I have never stolen, can I now restore it.” So they’re saying that there’s an injustice, they’ve been attacked unjustly. But the soul, the Psalmist also recognizes that they’re not completely innocent, that they are a sinner. He says, “Oh, God, you know, my falling from you, my sins are not hidden.” So the psalmist knows that he himself is not perfect. And in the case of Jesus, Jesus who is without sin, but who takes on responsibility for our sins. So the Psalm says, “May those who hope in you not be ashamed because of me, oh Lord of hosts, May those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, oh, God of Israel.” And so what the psalmist is gonna show is that his suffering, he is suffering now, and he’s under attack, precisely because not because of the evil that he’s done, or because of the sins that he’s committed, but on the contrary, because of his fidelity to God. He says, “it is for you, oh, Lord, that I suffered times, that shame has covered my face, to my own chin, I have become an outcast, a stranger to the children of my mother. Zeal for your house consumes me, and thoughts against you fall on me.” So this is one of the passages that’s quoted in the New Testament. Remember, when Jesus cast the money changers out of the temple. And this the Gospel says, “His disciples remembered what it was written, precisely in the Psalm, “zeal for your house will consume me.” And then also St. Paul, in his letter to the Roman says, “for Christ did not please Himself, as it is written, the reproaches of those who approached you fell on me,” that’s, again, a citation from that Psalm. And so the person has been mocked for their fidelity to God, “with my soul wept bitterly and fasting, they made it a thought against me. When I had made my clothing sackcloth, I became reproach to them. The gossip of those at the gates, the theme of drunkard songs,” so he’s been mocked. And so the Psalm becomes a prayer. “But I pray to you, oh, Lord, for a time of your favor, in Your great mercy answer me, oh, Lord, with your salvation that never fails. Rescue me from sinking in the mud from those who hate me, deliver me, save me from the waters of the deep, lets the waves overwhelm me.”  The person is frightened about this situation, “that not that deep engulf me with a pit close its mouth on me. Lord, answer, for your mercy is kind and your great compassion turn toward me. Do not hide your face from your servant, answer me quickly for I’m in distress, come close to my soul, and redeemed me, ransom me because of my foes.” So the Scripture is not presenting a world where in which everything is always rosy and nice and peaceful. This is a situation of extreme distress. “Come close to me, come close to my soul and redeem me, Ransom me because of my foes. You know, my thoughts, my shame, my dishonor. My opressors are all before you.  Insult has broken my heart. Here I am in anguish. I looked for solace. But there was none. For consolers, not one could I find. For food, they gave me gall. And my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” And the gospel refers this to Jesus. The Gospel says, when Jesus was crucified, “after this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, I thirst. A bowl of vinegar stood there so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished. He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”  And there’s a well known protestant pastor John Piper, who, has a helpful reflection on this Psalm, and he writes, Jesus died fulfilling this Psalm, Psalm 69, Jesus died fulfilling the Psalm 69. “What more glorious tribute can be paid to a Psalm, the very Psalm that we tend to think is a problem, because of its imprecations, that is its curses was the one that Jesus lived in, and the one that carried Him to the cross and through the cross.” So it’s another sign of the importance of this Psalm. So that part of Psalm is talking about the suffering. And then this is the part which is the imprecations, the curses, calling down God’s judgments on those who are the enemies, his enemies and the enemies of God. So the psalmist is not retaliating himself. But he is asking God to act. So here’s that part from the Psalm. “Let their own table before them become a snare. Let their sacrificial feast be a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see and make their loins tremble, continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May there camp be a desolation, let no one dwell in their tents. For they persecute him, whom you have struck down. In Him, you have wounded they afflict no more.” That’s a striking verse in the Psalm. Because the psalmist is saying that God Himself has caused, has wounded the psalmist. That is saying, they are adding to what God is doing. So listen to that again, “for they persecute him, that you, you God have struck down.” So the person has been struck by God. But then on top of that the enemy is piling on. And it says, “And him whom you have wounded,” whom you God, have wounded, “they afflict still more.” So they’re adding to the wounds that God has caused. And so it goes on to say, “add to them punishment upon punishment, may they have no acquittal from you, let them be blotted out of the book of the living, let them not be enrolled among the righteous.” So there’s a strong verse, what’s a Christian to do with those verses. But even in the New Testament, there’s calls for this, like in the Book of Revelations, the very final book of the Bible. John said, John hears, he said, “I heard a loud voice from the temple, the temple in heaven, telling the seven angels Go and pour out on the earth, the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” And Peter quotes this, this Psalm, when he’s talking about Judas, in the Acts of the Apostles, it says, “Brethren, the scriptures had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was to guide those who arrested Jesus. For this written in the book of the Psalms,” and it’s precisely this Psalm 69, “that his habitation become desolate, and that there be no one to live in it.” So Peter is, quoting that about Judas. And it’s going to be guidance for the apostles. And St. Paul, in the letter to the Romans. He’s says he’s talking about how the those of Israel who have become heart of heart and have rejected Jesus have come under God’s judgment. And he says, “What then Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The elect, the elect obtained it, that is the Messiah, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, God gave them a spirit of super.  Eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear down to this very day.” And then this is where he quotes the Psalm 69. And he says, And David says let their feast become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them, that their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever.” So precisely these passages of the Psalm, which are imprecations or curses are being quoted in the New Testament. But Paul interprets David’s words, not as a call for sinful personal vengeance, not as a call for sinful personal vengeance, but as a prophetic announcement of God’s justice on those who persevere in rejecting Him and persecuting His children. Those who willingly knowingly persevere, inevil. And again, from the Book of Revelations, John hears at one point is yours, the souls of the martyrs in heaven, and they’re crying out. So these are, these are those who are already in heaven. It says, “they are crying out with a loud voice, oh, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth.” So the martyrs are calling out for vengeance for those who have done this evil. So we have the example of Saint Stephen, who dies, the first Christian martyr, calling, asking God for forgiveness. And so it’s mysterious, but the call for mercy and judgment, justice. And so now that a little so what lessons can we take from this? From this, this imprecatory Psalms, these calls for curses or judgments against God’s enemy? And are they a contradiction of the gospel? So in other another homily I’ve spoken about legitimate self-defense, or when a person has the responsibility to protect others. So that’s a different situation. But how does the New Testament understand this Psalm? So it’s speaking of the suffering of the just, and the righteous so that again, the Psalmist knows that he’s not, he’s not immaculate, that he is just, we’re all sinners, but we can still be faithful to God even though we’re still struggling. And so it’s calling for the righteous condemnation of those who willingly persevere in evil and do not repent. And the example we have in Jesus, Jesus accepts personal injury, and often at all, calling for mercy. The calling, offering himself to, not to condemn, but to draw mercy and salvation. But at the same time, it’s the same Jesus who is both Lord and mercy, and yet he is also the just judge. Jesus is both just Lord and mercy and Just Judge and in the, in the revelations of Saint Faustina, which are revelations, full of mercy. But they’re also revelations which speaks of God’s justice. And I’ll read you a passage from them. Because Jesus suffered to save all. He offers His mercy to all but for those who reject His mercy, they will have to face His judgment. He says, “I cannot punish even the greatest sinner, if he makes an appeal to my compassion, if he makes an appeal to My compassion to My mercy. But on the contrary, I justify him in My favorable and inscrutable mercy. Right before I come as a just judge, I first opened wide the door of My Mercy.” So he’s both Lord of mercy and just judge. “And before I come as a just judge, I first opened wide,” that is it’s everyone is offered the opportunity to accept His mercy. But we each one of us has free will. And he says, “he who refuses to pass through the door of My Mercy must pass through the door of My justice.” So God offers His mercy to all, but those who refuse His mercy will have to experience His justice. And the New Testament clearly affirms that God is Jesus is the just judge, because to be the judge, what does He need? He needs to have the authority, He needs to have the authority to judge. He also needs to have the power to judge. Sometimes there are persons who have the authority, but they don’t have the power. Sometimes there are persons who have power, but they don’t have the authority, Jesus has both the authority and the power, no one can escape from His power. And not only that, but He has the full knowledge. Because a lot of times are, we never have the full knowledge either. We don’t even have the full knowledge on ourselves. And so that’s a problem with any judgments that we make. But Jesus has the full knowledge, and He has the proper motivation. Many times people judge for the wrong motivations. But Jesus has a proper motivation, of truth and justice. And so, so what’s the key lesson in all of this? It’s not for us to seek vengeance for personal harm. But we’re called to forgive. And that’s not because there is no justice. But it’s precisely because there is infinitely perfect justice. St. Paul says, and I think this passage of St. Paul, I think, is the key passage, which helps us to understand this whole Psalm, St. Paul says, and this is Romans 12:19, he says, “Beloved, never avenge yourself, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is Mine. I will repay, says the Lord.” So that’s very important. Let me read that passage again. Because again, I think this passage summarizes the whole message, “never avenge yourselves. But leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.” So, just to summarize the whole my whole long homily in three words, Vengeance is mine, but that mine is God Himself is speaking. So it’s not for us, to reap vengeance. But it’s to the Lord and He is the one who will do perfect justice, including giving a punishment for those who reject his offer of mercy. So I’m just gonna read a third time because that’s this very important. “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is Mine. I will repay, says the Lord.” And no one can escape His judgement. And then the psalm actually ends in verses of hope and praise. So just to conclude, as we turn to our Blessed Mother, to help us understand the word of God. And so this Psalm is, first of all Psalm in which the psalmist is pouring out His suffering to God. So that’s something to learn that when we are suffering, God wants us to bring this suffering to him, and not to hesitate to pour out, frankly, and honestly, our suffering to Him. And knowing that God, will, God is the just judge, and He will exactly just judgment. And so this gives us hope, in His triumph. But there’s a final part in the Psalm that I want to highlight. It’s the passage I read where it says that the gospel refers this to Jesus. It says, “taunts have broken my heart. Here I am in anguish, I looked for solace. But there was none, for consolers, not one could I find” So speaking of Jesus Himself, searching for someone, to console Him, to bring consolation to Him. And that is something that you can do right now in this Mass, offering Him even though we’re all sinners, all of us here are sinners, we’re not perfect. He knows that. But just the fact if we come to Him, and if we say, Lord, I’m a sinner. I ask for your mercy. That’s a consolation because He desires to give mercy. If we say, Lord, I, with your help I want to try to forgive those who are harming me. I want to try to forgive. That’s a consolation for Him. And when we offer all we are suffering to Him, we can do that right now in this Mass to help Him save souls. That is a great consolation to our Lord. And so we have the opportunity today, knowing that the Lord is the just judge, to leave the judgment to Him. And as we come to the Mass, to see this opportunity as an opportunity for us, to console Jesus, not for us, for you personally, to console our Lord. So let us ask for our Blessed Mother, this grace of trusting in the Lord and consoling our Lord Jesus, amen.

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Psalms 69:8-10,14, 17, 33-35
Jeremiah 20:10-13
Romans 5:12-15
Romans 12:19