As we continue to work through the Psalms, we encountered a challenging passage yesterday in Psalm 137. The last two verses of the Psalm say, “O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” This seems like an attack of vengeance, but in reality it is a celebration of God’s justice. And it is the hope of God’s justice which keeps us from pursuing vengeance. Since we know God will make all things right, it relieves us from the pressure of believing that we must make all wrongs right.
We considered how this is precisely what the Bible teaches about Jesus in 1 Peter 2:20-25. It says, “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” So lets join Jesus and trust him who judges justly in order that we might remain faithful to the Shepherd of our souls.
The Lord Bless You
