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- When we pray for the Lord to defeat our enemies we are doing a very important thing: we are giving a desire for vengeance over to the Lord and trusting him to judge justly. Praying in this way is a way to remove the venom from the bite before it turns your heart black.
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Jul 27, 2015 · Yes, we should love our enemies. And yes, we should turn the other cheek (even while we press for justice in the legal system, as in Acts 22:25–29). And we should also yield up our cloaks and walk the extra mile and return good for evil. And that’s exactly why we need the psalms of judgment.
- Romans 12:19 ESV / 1,491 helpful votes. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Exodus 14:14 ESV / 1,388 helpful votes. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
- Proverbs 29:11 ESV / 1,188 helpful votes. A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
- Isaiah 48:22 ESV / 1,121 helpful votes. “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
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Psalm 109 is a similarly unpleasant passage for many. If classified as movies are today, it would hardly receive a G rating. Some psalms are soothing, such as Psalm 23. Others like Psalm 91 are comforting. There are soul-stirring psalms which inspire us to worship and praise such as Psalm 103. Psalm 109 is very troubling to most because it is perha...
Do give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to what my opponents are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before Thee to speak good on their behalf, so as to turn away Thy wrath from them. Therefore, give their children over to famine, and deliver them up to the power of the sword; and let their w...
Imprecations such as those found in Psalm 109 have caused some Christians to question the value of the imprecatory prayers of the Bible for New Testament believers:
It is surely a debatable question as to whether the church should retain the whole Psalter in its worship, including these troublesome passages, or whether the Psalter should be censored at those points which seem to be inconsistent with Gods revelation in Jesus Christ. It would be interesting to check the responsive readings included in modern hym...
This lesson is intended to accomplish two purposes. We will seek to understand the message of Psalm 109, both as it related to the saints of old and as it applies to men today. In addition this psalm will be used to address the broader subject of imprecatory prayers. We will strive to understand the purpose of such prayers, and the principles which...
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, Do not be silent! 2 For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause. 4 In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in pr...
Verses 1-5 are crucial, not only to this psalm, but to our understanding of imprecation. In this introductory section David makes two claims: (1) his innocence and (2) the iniquity of his enemies. The God who is the object of his praise (v. 1; cf. also Deut. 10:21; Jer. 17:14) is also the One who receives his petitions. Davids plea that God not rem...
I believe that verses 1-5 are crucial to a correct understanding of imprecatory prayers because they inform us about the prerequisites for imprecation. The requirements are rigorous for those who would thus pray. Likewise, those who are worthy of divine wrath are carefully defined. Only the innocent dare pray as David does, and only the wicked need...
Let us first consider the innocence of David, which qualifies him to pray as he does. David is, first and foremost, a worshipper of God. He dares not petition his God apart from being a man given to the praise of God (v. 1). While the accusations against David by his enemies are many, they are without basis (cf. Ps. 69:4). He not only has refrained...
David does not claim to be sinless here, but he is a worshipper whose heart is right before God.187 Often in the psalms David confesses his own sins: For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin (Ps. 38:18). O God, it is Thou who dost know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from Thee (Ps. 69:5; cf. 32:5; 51:5). If he has si...
The nature of the sin of the wicked against David is especially informative. The primary instrument of evil is the tongue of the wicked. They have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth and spoken with a lying tongue (v. 2). They have surrounded the psalmist with words (v. 3) and have accused him of wrongdoing (v. 4). I believe that Derek Kidner has...
Two lessons should be learned from verses 1-5 concerning those against whom imprecations are made: (1) The imprecations which God hears are those which are made by those who have clean hands and a clean heart. Imprecations are effective only when we see sin as God does and when we ask Him to deal with sin as He has promised to deal with it in His W...
A brief word should be said about the identity of the wicked. They apparently were closely associated with David. According to verse 5, they had been the recipients of Davids love, which they had spurned and showed him hatred instead. Examples of Davids enemies include Doeg the Edomite (Ps. 52:1; 1 Sam. 21:7), Shimei (2 Sam. 16:5-8), and Saul (1 Sa...
We are to plead for our enemies—just as Jesus prayed for His crucifiers—asking God to lead them to Christ and, for His sake, to forgive them. Prayer is key to our effort to communicate the Gospel and win people to Him. We need to remember that with God nothing is impossible.
Jun 16, 2021 · The question for us is: “Can we pray imprecations against an enemy and still be overjoyed if God draws them to Christ in order to remove their evil?” Yes, we may be allowed to pray imprecations, but what will be exposed in our hearts when God acts in mercy instead of judgment?
Jan 4, 2022 · The enemies we pray for hurt us from their own world of hurt. Their thinking may be influenced by the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4). Their attitudes may have been shaped by past wounds (Judges 15:7). Their actions may have been manipulated by peer influences (2 Kings 12:13–14).
Sep 29, 2015 · Fight right. God’s word says, “We don’t battle against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12.)
