Between Justice and Mercy: How Should We Treat Our Enemies?

The Fierce Language of Psalm 68

Psalm 68 begins with these powerful words:

"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered, may his foes flee before him. May you blow them away like smoke. As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God."

As in many other psalms, this is strong language. It is vivid, forceful, and uncompromising — and mild compared to some passages. The enemies of God are to be scattered, driven away, melted like wax before a flame. The tone is not gentle. It is triumphant and even fierce.

To understand this properly, we must remember the historical context of ancient Israel. Israel was a small nation surrounded by hostile powers. Personal and national survival depended on God's protection. When the psalmist speaks of God scattering enemies, he's not speaking in abstract spiritual terms. He is thinking of real battles, real armies, real threats. In that setting, praying for the defeat of enemies was not merely emotional — it was a matter of survival.

When Family Becomes the Enemy

There was a significant period after King Solomon's reign when Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms — Israel and Judah — often at war with each other. I wonder if each side was praying this psalm, and others like it, thinking of the other side as the enemy. These were the descendants of Abraham who had been enslaved in Egypt and rescued by God under Moses' leadership, who had fought side by side in many battles. They were family.

In more modern times, and quite apart from wars between different religious groups, culturally Christian countries have been — and still are — at war with each other. Think of most European and North American wars. Each side has prayed to the same God, expecting God to be on their side. Church history is full of Christians at war with each other, persecuting each other, and even executing other Christians for what were considered false beliefs, only to be executed themselves when the ruling power changed.

Who Is the Enemy?

In the world and time in which we live, anybody slightly different — or who might want to escape poverty or conflict and share in our prosperity and peace — is becoming the enemy. The way our media and leaders and sometimes friends, and even ourselves, talk about these people is becoming more like the language used in these psalms.

In the Old Testament, our enemies are seen as enemies of God. To oppose Israel is to oppose the Lord. Therefore, asking God to judge or destroy the wicked is understood as a plea for justice. It is not always personal hatred, but often is. It is often a cry for righteousness and for the triumph of good over evil.

We also find what are sometimes called imprecatory psalms — prayers that call down judgment on wrongdoers. These passages can make modern readers uncomfortable, but they express the concerns and very strong feelings of the writers and a deep trust that God will punish evil.

The Startling Teaching of Jesus

However, when we turn to the teaching of Jesus, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, we hear something startlingly different. In the Gospel of Matthew 5:44, Jesus says:

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Instead of asking for enemies to be scattered, Jesus tells his followers to love them. Instead of calling for their destruction, he calls for prayer on their behalf. This represents a dramatic shift in emphasis.

Nowhere does Jesus deny that evil is real. He does not pretend injustice does not matter, but he redefines how his followers are to respond. The focus moves from national survival and external conflict to personal transformation and radical love.

Where Psalm 68 celebrates God scattering his enemies like smoke, Jesus speaks of God causing his sun to rise on the evil and the good. The model becomes not victory over enemies, but imitation of the Father's mercy.

The Cross: The Ultimate Answer

The contrast becomes even clearer when we look at the cross. As he is crucified, Jesus prays, "Father, forgive them." The enemies are not destroyed — they are offered forgiveness. Power is not displayed through destruction, but through self-giving love.

Yet it would be too simple to say the Old Testament is about hatred and the New Testament is about love. The Old Testament also commands love of neighbour and even love of the foreigner. And the New Testament still speaks of judgement and justice. But the difference in emphasis is striking.

The Distinctive Challenge of Christian Faith

Psalm 68 expresses the confidence of the writer that evil will not have the last word. It declares that God will act decisively against wickedness. Jesus affirms that truth, but he places his followers in a different position. Rather than calling down judgement, they are to embody mercy. Judgement belongs to God. Love is the calling of the disciple.

So when we read Psalm 68 verses 1 and 2 today, we can understand it as a passionate affirmation that God stands against evil and will ultimately defeat it. But when we ask how we personally are to treat our enemies, we must listen to Jesus. We are called not to scatter them, but to pray for them. Not to melt them like wax before fire, but to overcome evil with good.

In that tension — between justice and mercy, between God's ultimate judgement and our present calling to love — we find the distinctive challenge of the Christian faith.