Psalm 18

Psalm 18 (NRSV)
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;c
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling out of their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me;
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
you delivered me from the violent.
49 For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
50 Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
[1]

Lord,
I celebrate the poet's victory. I celebrate his deliverance. I celebrate your faithfulness. And I fully understand his attitude “I beat them fine, like dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.” In his anger that turned to hatred with a surplus of adrenalin spilling through his veins and the yearning for revenge dominating his spirit, he ground them into dust and threw them out like garbage into the streets. Who cannot understand that?

I understand that you work with the people you have, as they are. I fully understand, by looking in the mirror, that human perfection is not guaranteed by the intent to be faithful. Sometimes we get better but for most of us perfection is reserved for heaven.

But you have given us Christ and I do not see the poet’s response as the response that Christ would make in similar circumstances. With Jesus' focus on reconciliation, forgiveness and love even for the enemy, I think that he and his disciples would behave differently in victory, regardless of the enemy’s behavior. And I pray that America, populated with Christians and shaped by Christian tradition would behave differently too.

The war with Germany was brutal in ways beyond description and, following victory, America responded with the Marshall Plan. We rebuilt Japan. We have normalized relations with Viet Nam.

Lord, as we move forward with the current wars, grant us the wisdom of your spirit. Grant us peace through reconciliation and justice.

PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Ask God to grant you a Christ-like spirit in the midst of conflict.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “Thank you” to God.
In the name of Christ,
Amen.

c Gk Tg: Heb people

[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989