Not Guilty!

Cush, against whom the psalmist complains, belonged to Benjamin, the same tribe as King Saul who persecuted David in his youth. Was this perhaps the root cause of his enmity towards David, the source of the calumny that the psalmist finds so bitter? Cush’s was no ordinary libel: it was potentially life-threatening (2). However, just as when he spared Saul’s life in En Gedi (1 Sam. 24), David confidently pleads his innocence before the just Judge who knows all the facts (3-5). Then David does more: he invokes retributive justice on his enemy (6).

In this era of grace, Peter cautions Christians, as recipients of grace, that they should be prepared to be persecuted (1 Pet. 4:12-16). Persecution for no just cause should not surprise us. In 2014 a heavily pregnant Sudanese Christian woman was sentenced to hang for refusing to recant her Christian faith. She was accused of apostasy having married a Christian–even though she had been brought up as a Christian–because her father was a Muslim. Only after an international outcry was her death sentence annulled. Persecution may be more common in some parts of the world than in others, but we are vulnerable wherever we are. After all, we are only following in the footsteps of our Lord and his teaching (Matt. 5:11). No wonder Peter suggests that we should wear such injustice against us as a badge of honor (1 Pet. 4:16). In our war against the forces of evil, we should learn not to expect fair treatment from a world under satanic control (2 Cor. 4:4).

In all this, our desire is different from the psalmist’s. Yes, divine judgment awaits the unrepentant sinner (11-13). Our God, however, is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Our responsibility, therefore, is to forgive and to love them into God’s kingdom.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). What does this mean in your life today?