Vengeance belongeth unto me - This is the saying of God, Deuteronomy 32:35, in reference to the idolatrous Gentiles, who were the enemies of his people; and is here with propriety applied to the above apostates, who, being enemies to God's ordinances, and Christ's ministry and merits, must also be enemies to Christ's people; and labor for the destruction of them, and the cause in which they are engaged.
The Lord shall judge his people - That is, he shall execute judgment for them; for this is evidently the sense in which the word is used in the place from which the apostle quotes, Deuteronomy 32:36; : For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone. So God will avenge and vindicate the cause of Christianity by destroying its enemies, as he did in the case of the Jewish people, whom he destroyed from being a nation, and made them a proverb of reproach and monuments of his wrathful indignation to the present day.
For we know him that hath said - We know who has said this - God. They knew this because it was recorded in their own sacred books.
Vengeance belongeth unto me - This is found in Deuteronomy 32:35; see it explained in the notes on Romans 12:19. It is there quoted to show that we should not avenge ourselves; it is here quoted to show that God will certainly inflict punishment on those who deserve it. If any should apostatize in the manner here referred to by the apostle, they would, says he, be guilty of great and unparalleled wickedness, and would have the certainty that they must meet the wrath of God.
And again, The Lord shall judge his people - This is quoted from Deuteronomy 32:36. That is, he will judge them when they deserve it, and punish them if they ought to be punished. The mere fact that they are his people will not save them from punishment if they deserve it, any more than the fact that one is a beloved child will save him from correction when he does wrong. This truth was abundantly illustrated in the history of the Israelites; and the same great principle would be applied should any sincere Christian apostatize from his religion. He would have before him the certainty of the most fearful and severe of all punishments.
When David heard the tidings of the death of Nabal, he gave thanks that God had taken vengeance into His own hands.—The Signs of the Times, October 26, 1888. RC 333.7
Read in context »A Long List of False Statements Expected—I expect now that a long list of false statements will be presented to the world, and that lie upon lie, misstatement upon misstatement, which Satan has originated in the minds of individuals, will by some be accepted as truth. But I leave my case in the hands of God, and those who know my life practice will not receive the lies that are spoken.—Letter 22, 1906. 3SM 352.2
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