Romans 12:19

Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. [The quotation is from Deuteronomy 32:35. We may look upon verse 17 as designed to check hasty, personal retaliation, or as relating to injuries of a more personal nature. The avenging of this verse savors more of a judicial punishment--a punishment which one's calm judgment, unbefogged by passion and unbiased by the sense of wrong, might haply mete out as absolutely just and unqualifiedly deserved. But even under such circumstances the Christian is to leave the culprit in God's hands, for the Lord claims exclusive jurisdiction in the case, and promises to give the just recompense. We bar God's judgments by attempting to anticipate them, and we also call down his tremendous sentence upon ourselves for the small satisfaction of executing our puny sentence upon one whom he would in time deal with if we were only patient. The wrath to which we must give place is evidently neither our own nor our enemy's, but God's (as appears by the context. Comp. Proverbs 20:22; Proverbs 24:29). Waiting persuades us to forgiveness, for when we reflect on the severity and lasting nature of God's punishment, we partake of his desire to show grace and grant pardon. But how just are the awards of his throne! His mind is clouded by no passion, biased by no prejudice, deceived by no false appearances, misled by no lying testimony, warped by no illwill. And when his judgment is formed, grace guides its course, mercy mollifies its execution, and, as far as righteousness permits, the love of a Father who pities his feeble, earth-born children transforms it into a blessing. Nevertheless, it is a judgment of God, and not of man, and the majesty of God is upheld in it. God-revealed religion bids us thus wait upon this judgment of God, but man-made religion speaks otherwise. "Mahomet's laws," says Trapp, "run thus: Avenge yourselves of your enemies; rather do wrong than take wrong; kill the infidels, etc." In giving this command Paul uses the term "beloved." "By this title," says Bengel, "he soothes the angry." "The more difficult the duty, the more affectionately does the apostle address his readers with this word"--Tholuck.]