Psalm 129:2-5 (ESV)
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!
We don’t talk like this very often in church. Whether it be the earthly enemies of the gospel, church, or religious freedom…or personal enemies or abusers…we are not too quick to ask the Lord to put all of them to shame and turned backwards (v. 5). Israel had a long history of being attacked and abused and had no problem asking the Lord to intervene on their behalf, not just to rescue them from their oppressors, but to punish those oppressors as well, in no uncertain terms.
As God has a heart for justice, so should His people. We should wince at every injustice, be it against ourselves or any other person, and we should not be shy in asking God to act. These types of prayers should not be directed at people personally, for vengeance is surely not ours to manage (Rom. 12:19), but we should regularly intervene on behalf of those who suffer at the hands of the enemies of God. Asking the Lord to mete out justice is simply asking him to be who He is. Spurgeon remarked that this type of prayer is “a proper wish and contains within it no trace of personal ill-will. We desire their welfare as men, their downfall as traitors. Let their conspiracies be confounded, their policies be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts?”
We will not see every single injustice we endure or observe dealt with in this lifetime, but rest assured, every account will be settled. Those that hate the Church—and those that hate you because of your membership in the Church—will all face a reckoning one day. Every single offense will be paid for, either by them personally in hell, or should they repent, by their Lord and Savior who already absorbed it on a bloody cross.
Ultimately, our enemies can’t prevail because our victory is already assured. John 10:27-28 states, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Isn’t it comforting to know that no one can pluck you out of the Lord’s hand? You are not operating towards victory, but from victory. Most assuredly you will face trouble and persecution in this lifetime—guaranteed by Jesus himself—but this lifetime is not all there is. You are part of a much bigger story, which allows you to sing:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
