“Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.” (Psalm 139:19-22 ESV)
I am angry! No, I am furious! Righteous indignation is building up in me, desiring justice for the ungodly and disturbingly demonic slaying of innocent college students and faculty at Virginia Tech.
Details are still developing, but as we piece together yesterday’s events, we are left mourning the existence of evil in this world. We cry to the Lord, asking why He allows such wickedness. We are harassed by unbelieving friends who bring up the question of why God allows bad things to happen to “good” people. And then underneath it all, we harbor zealous feelings, wishing for a “good old-fashioned biblical stoning” for the perpetrator of such horror – and feel cheated of that satisfaction because he has already killed himself.
Is it right to feel such anger? Aren’t we supposed to forgive even the worst of sinners, knowing Christ Jesus has forgiven us?
There is such a thing as righteous anger. Jesus cleaned out the Temple, knocking over tables, and ruining the profiteering of the extortionists. He was not “hating the sin, but loving the sinner;” He was disgusted by the sinners dwelling in their sins. He hated their lack of repentance and so He executed judgment on them.
You and I deserve that same righteous punishment for our sin too. We deserve the wrath of our Lord. Yet Jesus in His boundless love has reached out with His Spirit, working repentance into our hearts. He gathers us to Himself in Holy Baptism, in hearing His Gospel, and in receiving His Holy Supper.
We can join the psalmist in praying against such wicked ones, but not because we have a superior sense of justice. On our own, we are no better than a cold-blooded killer in the sight of our perfect God. But there is a difference, thanks be to God.
Because you and I are baptized into Christ, He covers us in His robe of perfect righteousness, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” (Galatians 3:27 ESV). St. Paul also reminds us that we are now members of His body. In this way, we may join Jesus in His prayers, the Psalms, knowing that when we speak of “my righteousness,” it really is Christ’s. When we speak of “my enemies,” they are really His enemies: sin, death, and the devil!
In these verses from Psalm 139, Jesus Christ addresses the Father, telling of His hatred for those enemies. His is a holy hatred. Since Jesus has saved you and brought you into Himself, the devil will attack, more than ever, to try to separate you from the Lord. The fury of hell lashes out, hoping to convince modern “Jobs” to “curse God and die.”
The horrifying events of April 16 in Blacksburg are, without question, the handiwork of Satan, who used a disturbed young man to bring death and destruction to a place that is supposed to be a haven for work, study, and growth. We grieve for those who lost loved ones. We are sickened by the devil’s outpouring of death on the Virginia Tech campus. We pray for the comfort of the Gospel of our Risen Lord for those whose lives have been thrust into turmoil, including the young man’s family and friends.
It is truly acceptable to hate God’s enemies; just remember that His true enemies are sin, death, and the devil. You cannot be like rash Peter, eager to draw the worldly sword against Christ’s human enemies. Instead, join Jesus in hating sin, death, and the devil, as you continue to pray, “deliver us from evil.” God has delivered us from evil when He executed His justice and defeated His enemies through the death of His Son on the Cross for you, for all those injured and slain, and even for the one who caused yesterday’s tragedy. Amen.
The Rev. Rich Heinz is Senior Pastor of St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church & School in Lanesville, IN. He is Editor-in-chief of the myHT project, formerly known as B.A.M.B.I.
