Psalm 141
I wonder if Jonah knew this Psalm, I wonder if on his way to Nineveh it was on his mind. It brings up some imagery that would most likely be at the forefront of the mind of a prophet going into enemy territory, particularly enemy territory that the prophet may like to see destroyed. Of course, the interesting part of the story of Jonah is that the enemy decides to repent and follow God as opposed to continuing on the path of evil and potential destruction. Which of course leads to the famous ending of Jonah where he curses his own existence because of the grace that God shows those whom Jonah hates. Which brings me to the point I want to make in conjunction with this Psalm, which is that it might be better for us to hope for the salvation of our enemies as opposed to hoping for their destruction, because Jesus implies that there will be people in heaven that we may not expect to be there.
Of course this means that our presence in heaven may surprise some people also. It also means that we should probably do what Jesus commands and not judge people, because we may be judging ourselves out based on someone who will get in. It's funny, in a way, the vast difference in mindset between hoping for the destruction of the enemy and praying for their salvation. On one hand you hope that someone gets what you believe they have "coming to them" and on the other you hope that the grace that has been extended to you may also be extended to them, its the difference between wanting good or evil for them, which is the difference between whether you yourself are good or evil. Which goes right back to whether or not you judge them in the first place, which leaves me to wonder if Jonah had this Psalm on his mind as he journeyed to Nineveh.
+ How hard do you find it to hope for your enemies salvation as opposed to their destruction? What has proved helpful to you in the attempt?
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