Psalms and vengeance
My question has to do with how I would reconcile complete and unconditional forgiveness of others with some of the psalms that may appear to represent the opposite. An example would be Psalm 109 and others like it, in which revenge against enemies is wanted with very specific examples given. If I pray along with a psalm like this and feel the same way I can imagine David did in the psalm towards people who harmed him, how can I reconcile wanting and asking for revenge, while simultaneously forgiving the same individuals?
When reading the “imprecatory psalms” like Psalm 109, it is important to keep in mind that the inspired writers were not expressing personal vengeance for their enemies. They were asking God to deal with his enemies according to his promise: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32:35).
God is loving and God is just. As a loving God, he desires the salvation of all people (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). As a just God, he will condemn those who reject him (Mark 16:16).
In our prayer life as Christians, we reflect God’s attributes of love and justice. We pray for the salvation of others, and we pray that God “breaks and defeats every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, which try to prevent us from keeping God’s name holy and letting his kingdom” (Luther’s Small Catechism, the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer).
Keeping that explanation in mind, our praying of the Lord’s Prayer is not unlike the content of the imprecatory psalms: while we pray for God to keep us in the saving faith and bring others to saving faith, we pray that God defeats everyone and everything ultimately opposed to his kingdom.
Like the inspired psalm writers, personal vengeance is not part of our prayers. We ask God to deal with his enemies according to his promise: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).