“Righteous retribution is one of the glories of divine character. If it is right that God should desire to exercise it, then it cannot be wrong for His people to desire Him to exercise it.”
R. L. Dabney
Discussions, Vol I; Theological & Evangelical
“The imprecatory prayers, invoking God’s judgment on the enemies, are appropriate on the lips of David and the martyrs in heaven. However, they are entirely out of place on the lips of Christians today, guided as we are not by the ethics of intrusion but by the ethics of common grace.”
Dr. Michael Horton
Psalm 137
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, [a]“Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!
“The cries of the Psalmist in this text do not reveal a wicked heart crying out for personal vengeance against an enemy, but they reveal an appeal to the Lord to bring swift judgment and destruction upon the Babylonians according to His will and promise (Is. 13:16; Jer. 51:56; Ez. 35:1-6). God retains His prerogative to do as he pleases. In His mercy, He has not destroyed us all, even though it is what we deserve as rebel sinners. God reserves the right to do with the creatures what He will, and even though it may be difficult for us to understand at times, God is still just and holy when meting out His judgment. While it may be difficult for our modern ears to read of such cries two conclusions suffice
‘In line with ethical standards, Psalm 137:8-9 appeals to Yahweh as the judge supreme to mete out justice according to His own edict. And since in God’s economy, no ransom was to be allowed for murder, the Psalmist cries out for divine judgment of compensatory bloodshed.’ (John N. Day — Crying for Justice, 68-69)
The principle of strict retaliation cannot be maligned without maligning the character of God, who established it and promised it.”
Sean McGowan
Psalms that Curse — p. 32-33
In the New Covenant, I would only add that we should pray for God to be merciful as we pray for God to be just. We should pray that God should be as merciful to His enemies as He was and remains merciful to us. As such we should pray for His and our enemies to repent. However, it is altogether proper and righteous to go on to pray,
“But O Majestic God, we beg of you that if the wicked will not repent that you will even now crush and destroy them and we pray that in keeping with how your inspired Psalmist prayed. We long for the destruction of all Kingdoms that oppose yours and we understand that those Kingdoms that oppose your Kingdom are not destroyed that their continued presence will continue to be an obstacle to our praying, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
For your justice’s sake destroy your and our enemies O great covenant God that the earth might be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Let not the wicked continue to detract from your glory by their seeking to pull down your Kingdom.
And then Father, by thy Holy Spirit give us a great joy to see your and our enemies utterly destroyed. In their destruction give us merriment and joy beyond speech that you have revealed your justice against all that opposes you.
And yet again, we would ask that you would be merciful on the wicked as you were merciful to us and that you would defeat them by causing them to see their sin and moving them to plead for clemency from you on the basis of the finished work of thy benevolent Son, Jesus Christ.
In wrath, remember mercy, O Sovereign God.”
Addendum
Clearly, this proves that Michael Horton doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Again.
