It’s hard to turn a page in the Psalms without seeing a prayer for deliverance from enemies, or an account of God delivering from enemies, or praise for the God who delivers from enemies. Our first reaction might be, “Man, they sure had a lot of enemies back then.” Our second might be, “How in the world am I meant to apply this as I head to my docile desk job, or as I mow the lawn for a neighbor, or work on crafts with my young kids? I know I’m meant to meditate on Scripture, but I just…don’t have that many enemies!”
Here are some ideas about how to think through this dynamic as a 21st American century Christian:
1) Sometimes we have physical enemies. It’s true. They did have a lot of enemies back then! Life was pretty brutal everywhere in 1,000 to 500BC, so physical protection from enemies, either for persons, clans, or nations was a big deal. The most direct way to apply this in our day comes on the rare occasion when we actually do have physical enemies. It would not be out of place at all for an abused woman to pray with Psalm 3, “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” Other relevant contexts might include if your family or workplace were being targeted by criminals, if you were a Christian police officer committed to serve God through your occupation, or if you were a soldier fighting in a “just war”.
2) The people of God (generally) have enemies. But most of the enemies in the Psalms are more personalized than just “the wicked”. In fact for many, we don’t know the exact context, and can perhaps wonder if God is just being asked to settle a personal vendetta. We have to remember that these Psalms don’t just speak of deliverance from enemies for anyone, anywhere. They are written about the enemies of God’s anointed King (David or his offspring), God’s chosen people (the Old Covenant nation of Israel), or simply the enemies of God Himself. And so it’s perfectly appropriate to celebrate, “Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows” (Psalm 21:11-12). We best interpret these passages when we bring them forward to the New Covenant – God is the same, but his “forever King” has appeared in the person of Jesus, son of David. And his people have broadened out from one ethnicity to include those from every tribe, tongue, and nation, who have been adopted by grace into the family of Jesus, Abraham’s true offspring (Galatians 3:16, 26-29). These Psalms can therefore lead to prayers for the protection of the Church from those who would oppress her – an opportunity for us to stand alongside our brothers and sisters around the world who are compromised, tormented, imprisoned, and sometimes slain for their faith.
3) Jesus had enemies. Let’s think a little more about how the Psalms are fulfilled in Jesus. Not only is he the one to whom all of Israel’s story is pointing (see early chapters of Matthew), but it’s also true that some parts of the psalms are only fully understandable in Jesus Himself. Certain things happened to David, and certain visions came to David, that were more about Jesus than they were about the psalmist. These are found in what we call the “Messianic Psalms”. And so there are certain sentiments we might feel uncomfortable praying, but which would be more than appropriate as spoken by Jesus as he used the Psalms as his prayer book. Psalm 55 originally seems to show David thinking about his traitorous former-friend Ahitophel (verses 12-23). If Ahitophel incurs judgment for betraying God’s anointed king, how much more Judas! Verse 15 says, “Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.” Both men died by suicidal hanging.
4) We can pray for the defeat of God’s enemies. It’s not wrong for us – as people found in Jesus – to also pray for judgment on His enemies – and so no thought from the psalms should be inaccessible to us. The key is that we are praying for judgment on His enemies, not our own. And so it becomes thinkable to pray something like, “Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.” “But wait a minute,” we might think, “Doesn’t Christ tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44)? Doesn’t Jesus himself pray from the cross, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34)?” Yes, this is all true…But what about if they do know what they do? What if unspeakable horrors are being perpetuated? Is the only possible prayer “Father, forgive them”? Being a Christian requires a complex emotional life. Revelation 6 shows the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God crying out, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” I think a key to thinking about this is the observation in Psalm 55:19 – “God will give ear and humble them…because they do not change and do not fear God.” We can, we must hold these two desires in tension and sometimes in tandem: repentance and forgiveness for our enemies, as well as justice to be served on God’s enemies if they will never repent. We offer prayers for either of these things – perhaps even both at the same time! The Judge of All the Earth sorts them out and does what is right.
5) We have spiritual (demonic) enemies. Perhaps the most accessible way for the people of Christ to utilize the psalms about enemies is to realize that the physical enemies that Israel of old fought were merely proxies for the spiritual enemies who controlled them. We, just as much as they, also face spiritual enemies every day. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places….” (Ephesians 6:12ff). The psalms can be utilized to pray against their schemes. Though dark figures loom near, the psalms teach us to trust the One who has power over them all. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Ultimately Satan and his servants can’t touch us – they can only look on in defeat as the goodness and mercy of our God follow us, all the days of our lives.