Lamentations - Imprecatory Prayers
Notes
Transcript
Imprecatory - dictionaries would relate this to cursing, or praying a curse upon
They are in fact prayers, and they are prayers for justice in the face of injustice.
Imprecatory prayers are found in the scriptures. Should we pray imprecatory prayers?
I know that in the past few years I have heard Christians wanting to use imprecatory prayers as a justification for cursing political opposition. Is that what imprecatory prayers are for?
Imprecatory prayers are most often found in Psalms of lament. Today, we will see an imprecatory prayer in Jeremiah’s lament, found in Lamentations 3.
By way of review… what is lament?
4 elements of lament as found in Mark Vroegop’s Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy:
Lament:
Turn
Complain
Ask
Trust
Lament: Ask
Lament: Ask
Mark lists 9 different categories of requests in the laments in Scripture.
“Arise, O LORD!”
“Grant us help.”
“Remember your covenant.”
“Let justice be done.”
“Don’t remember our sins.”
“Restore us!”
“Don’t be silent—listen to me.”
“Teach me.”
“Vindicate me.”
Today, the main request is, “Let justice be done.”
Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief,
until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.
What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city.
Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.
They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me;
the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish.
I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.
You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.”
You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.”
You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.
Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!
You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me.
Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.
Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.
Pay them back what they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done.
Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them!
Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.
Imprecatory Requests in Lam. 3:
Imprecatory Requests in Lam. 3:
Pay them back what they deserve
++Put a veil over their hearts
++Pursue them in anger and destroy them
Pay them back what they deserve - Jeremiah 17:10 ““I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.””
Put a veil over their hearts - Jeremiah 17:5 “This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” and Isaiah 6:10 “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””
Pursue them - Jeremiah 9:16 “I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”” and Jeremiah 29:18 “I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them.”
Imprecatory Requests are for God to do what He has said He would do
Imprecatory Requests are for God to do what He has said He would do
What Jeremiah asked the Lord to do was be faithful to what he had said he was going to do to these people who opposed Jeremiah, a prophet of the Lord who spoke the message of the Lord, and yet refused to repent.
We see this principle more clearly when we examine other imprecatory prayers.
This is not the first imprecatory prayer by Jeremiah. While he was still prophesying before the fall of Jerusalem, he prayed this:
Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.
Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure— not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing.
Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.
Again, Jeremiah is only asking the Lord what he had said he was going to do...
Jeremiah 25:12–14 ““But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.””
Jeremiah 27:6–7 “Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.”
Jeremiah 50:29–32 ““Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord. “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.””
They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”
Listen to me, Lord; hear what my accusers are saying!
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them.
So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle.
Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.
But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.
v.21 - prophesied in Jeremiah 11:22 “therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine.”
Jeremiah 14:16 “And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.”
v.23 - do not forgive - Jeremiah 5:7 ““Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.”
Jeremiah 20.7-18 is another imprecatory prayer of Jeremiah where in verse 12 he asks that the Lord allow him to see God’s vengeance on his enemies.
Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me.
For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted In taunting and derision all day long.
But if I say, “I will not remember Him Nor speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am tired of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.
For I have heard the whispering of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce him; let’s denounce him!” All my trusted friends, Watching for my fall, say: “Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him.”
But the Lord is with me like a powerful champion; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be put to great shame because they have failed, An everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
Yet, Lord of armies, who tests the righteous, Who sees the mind and the heart; Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have disclosed my cause.
Jer 20.12 - let me see your vengeance - Deuteronomy 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”” and Jeremiah 5:9 “Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” and repeated in Jer 5.29; Jer 9.9
Key elements of imprecatory prayers:
Key elements of imprecatory prayers:
Injustice, injury was suffered by the complainant.
++The injustice was against the Lord’s anointed
++The complainant asks the Lord to avenge—to set things right as he has said he would do
++The imprecatory prayers are often Messianic
Against the Lord’s anointed -
David was anointed king
Prophets were anointed for God’s work
Asaph was a prophet according to 1 Chronicles 25:1-2
Job (Job 27.7) was prophet according to James 5.10-11
Apostles - Paul (2 Tim 4.14; Gal 1.6-9, 5:10-12)
Israel is God’s anointed people
Saints are God’s anointed people
And being against the anointed it is against the Lord and His work
Messianic in that they were about the Messiah, quoted by Jesus or by apostles in relation to Jesus, or about the coming Messianic Kingdom and justice.
Aren’t Imprecatory Prayers an OT thing?
Aren’t Imprecatory Prayers an OT thing?
We already saw that Paul made imprecatory statements.
What about Jesus? Don’t they contradict Jesus’ own words, like
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Well, let’s look at Jesus and the imprecatory Psalms:
for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
John 2:17 “His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.””
Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.
Matthew 7:23 “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.
AND
Psalm 69.4
Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
John 15:25 “But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.
John 13:18 ““I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’”
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened— burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
Hebrews 10:5–7 “Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’ ””
Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
Luke 23:46 “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
Matthew 27:46 “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).”
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
AND Ps 22.15
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
Matthew 27:34 “There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.”
They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
John 19:30 “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
The Imprecatory Psalms are quite often Messianic
The Imprecatory Psalms are quite often Messianic
..., either speaking of Jesus and what he will do, or about the justice he will bring in his kingdom.
Don’t Imprecatory Prayers contradict NT principles?
Don’t Imprecatory Prayers contradict NT principles?
Principles like...
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
To answer that we need to understand the purpose of imprecatory prayers.
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers:
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers:
Help us work through injustices, wrongs done to us
++Express our desire for justice
++Turn our desire for revenge over to the Lord who avenges
Imprecatory Prayers do not Contradict NT Teachings
Imprecatory Prayers do not Contradict NT Teachings
When misused, people will pray imprecatory prayers which contradict NT teachings.
However, Imprecatory prayers, when used as God shows us in the sciptures, do not contradict the NT teachings, but show how we move from the pain of injustice to embrace the mercy and forgiveness Jesus commands us to show.
Consider the example of David.
He prayed imprecatory prayers in his laments about Saul pursuing him. For example...
Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.
Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.
You, Lord God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.
And after praying these prayers, when he had the opportunity, spared Saul’s life.
His prayers helped him to work through the injustice, leave vengeance with the Lord who anointed him, and showed mercy in person.
But do not kill them, Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might uproot them and bring them down.
For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,
consume them in your wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.
That is mercy!, which he worked through the pain and arrived at mercy in his lament.
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.
David learned through the injustice that God was his fortress, and turned the injustice to praise.
And when pursued by Absalom and cursed by Shimei
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
But he wanted Absalom spared, and did spare Shimei when he returned to Judah.
Imprecatory prayers do not contradict the NT call for mercy, but show how we learn to be merciful as we work through the pain of injustice.
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers:
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers:
Help us work through injustices, wrongs done to us
++Express our desire for justice
++Turn our desire for revenge over to the Lord who avenges
++Lead us to then be merciful
As we know what it is to fall into the hand of an angry God, we can be merciful, Just like David was merciful, and Jesus was merciful.
Consider 2 Corinthians 5:11 “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.” and 2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
Doesn’t Imprecatory Prayer contradict forgiveness?
Doesn’t Imprecatory Prayer contradict forgiveness?
Forgiveness is commanded, and something we see emphasized in the NT. for example...
Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Do Imprecatory prayers contradict forgiveness?
How does God forgive?
He is willing to forgive. He made forgiveness possible when Jesus died not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) so that through him forgiveness of sins may be proclaimed to everyone who believes (Acts 13:38–39 ““Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” ).
But how does the forgiveness of the Father work?
He is the father of the prodigal waiting patiently. Waiting for what? The prodigal to return and repent.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So to, we must have the spirit of forgiveness, but forgiveness is a transaction that can only take place when there is repentance.
Which is why Jesus said,
So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.
Imprecatory prayers are asking the Lord to carry out justice, to bring proper punishment in this life so that they may seek Him, so that they may be saved for eternity.
Just as Paul speaks of the purpose of church discipline.
hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
How do we know imprecatory prayers are to bring repentance or justice? Consider Psalm 83.
Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind.
As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name.
May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace.
Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers: To bring Repentance among People and Glory to God
Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers: To bring Repentance among People and Glory to God
The purpose of praying for the Lord to work is for their good, that they may come to repentance. Punishment so that they will seek your name. And perish if not, so that God will be glorified.
This is what Jeremiah’s prophesying, and his laments were all about.
God was sending punishment which was due to Judah for their stiff-necked rebellion, their sin against the Lord. The point of the punishment was that they would turn/return...
Remember Jer 3.22?
“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.
Imprecatory Prayers in Lament:
Imprecatory Prayers in Lament:
Help us work through injustices, wrongs done to us
++Express our desire for justice
++Turn our desire for revenge over to the Lord who avenges
++Lead us to then be merciful
++Are to bring about repentance in people, and glory to God
What about me?
What about me?
Should I pray imprecatory prayers?
If your purpose is to your enemies/your political opponents suffer… no. That is revenge for you. That is something for which you need to repent.
Are you wanting to use it for someone who did something you didn’t like? No. It is for those who are opposing the work of God, and the work of those God anointed and appointed into his service.
If your purpose is to see justice because the work of God has been hindered, yes.
If your purpose is to work through the very real hurt you have suffered and turn it over to the Lord—to work through your pain and bitterness so that you can forgive and do good to those who hurt you and let God deal with the injustice, yes.
Use the lament with imprecatory prayer to work through the pain, and learn mercy, to seek repentance, learn the spirit of forgiveness, and come to rejoice...
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
