Quote:
Originally Posted by Amazing Grace  Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamalas Hey what do you guys think of the imprecatory psalms? We're going to be discussing them soon in our small group. I'm thinking particularly of like Psalms 69. Any thoughts? | AS I mentioned on the other recent thread, or am I having deja vu all over again as yogi said, there is no nt example of praying for immediate temperal destruction on enemies. It has moved from David's thought to an eschalogical focus as revealed in revelation. It is an eschatological prayer, no different in its words from "your kingdom come". It can never be prayed as personal vengeance. Even David appealed to God alone to vindicate. Luke 18:7, which states, " "And will not God bring about justice [ "retribution"] for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?" The balance is hard and I would gather almost impossible by human standards. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, 18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.”
This is the command :
19: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."
As I also pointed out before when the disciples asked Christ about raining down fire from heaven, He rebuked them Ye know not of what spirit ye are, for the Son of Man came not to destroy the souls of men, but to save (Luke 9:51-56).
God alone is the King and Sovereign. The martyrs cry out:"and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
They receive their answer :BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER. |
I completely disagree with the way this is being formulated as an objection to the imprecatory Psalms. This assumes almost a dispensational grid to the Scriptures. When Christ was asked what the greatest Commandments were by a scribe He responded that it was love of God and love of neighbor. The scribe
agreed. There is a dispensational notion (and in some cases repeated by people who haven't read the Sermon on the Mount properly) that Christ somehow changes the nature of the Law from one of vengeance upon those "outside the Camp" to one of love. Not so.
Christ repeatedly
corrects a mis-apprehension of the OT by Rabinnical schools. "You have heard it
said, but I say to you...." He
never says: "It is
written, but I say to you...." Never.
Even in the Law itself is a command to be kind to the stranger in your midst as a reminder that the people were once strangers in a foreign land. Love is the summation of the Law itself. I completely reject any notion that the reason that the OT had imprecatory Psalms is because that "dispensation" was some sort of "eschatological intrusion" when the Law itself repudiates the hatred of our neighbors even if they are our enemies.
I think people need to look "behind" the Psalms a bit more. Randy is absolutely correct about the comfort that the imprecatory Psalms offer. If you ever find yourself in a period of intense spiritual onslaught then singing those Psalms is tremendously comforting. I'm not directing my imprecations at individuals but that which afflicts me or the the Church. Ultimately, I believe these Psalms are given that we might cry out against the forces of the enemy that assault God's people. To relegate these Psalms to a "bygone dispensation" robs the Church of a tremendous comfort.
My child's favorite Psalm to sing is Psalm 3 because one of the verses talks about going to sleep and he wants to sing to God asking Him to protect him while he's sleeping.
I agree that they can be abused and people who get their Kingdoms gooned up can mis-use them but the complete abandonment of them is reprehensible in my view.