Vengeance or Justice?

by Dan Bouchelle

“The Righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked” (Psalm 58:10).

“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us—he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” (Psalm 137:8-9).

 Some verses of Scripture send chills down your spine. How can the sentiments above be included in the same holy book where Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”?

Issues of vengeance and justice came home to many of us in the Oklahoma City area when the verdict came down, “Guilty on all counts,” for Timothy McVey. As we contemplated the punishment for the man who killed 168 innocent people—including 18 toddlers—opinions varied widely. Few sounded like Jesus. Many sounded like the psalms listed above. Some called for torture and slow death. Others counseled that enough blood had already been shed. How should we as Christians feel about such issues?

Let me suggest that God allowed these passages in Scripture because he knew they are inevitable human responses to suffering at the hands of wicked people. God gives us the right to express feelings of outrage and even vengeance. Notice, however, that the psalms are directed to God. They are prayers of hurting and angry people. The worshipers come to God hungry for justice, trusting God to be the one who establishes justice on the earth. Jesus is not telling us we cannot feel a need for vengeance; he is telling us not to act in vengeful ways. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and to forgive them, but as humans we cannot deny the reality of feelings. What do we do with anger? We take it to God and trust him to be the judge. Because we trust him to avenge, we do not have to take vengeful action ourselves.

The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. . . . Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12).

When we feel intense anger and desire vengeance (which great cruelty and injustice will rightly produce in us), we take those feelings to God and let the only righteous judge handle the matter. God knows how to enact justice and how to punish. God may use the state to bring justice or he may bring justice in eternity. Our God will bring justice. But remember, he brought justice to us by placing the punishment for our sins on his only Son. Through that one act of justice, God purchased for us mercy, grace, and forgiveness.