Our Prayer Book: The Unsanitized Prayer of the Psalms
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We stepped into a series last week called “Our Prayer Book”, with the goal and hope of introducing you to Scripture as a help in our prayer life.
That scripture can not only be an aid to our prayer life but breathe life into it.
That scripture helps us to pray understanding that God has revealed himself to us.
Today I want us to look at the psalms as a manual and an invitation to prayer.
Understand that in the Near East as the people began to worship God, it was different than every other worship around them in that, God had spoken!!
God had revealed who he was and how those who loved him ought to worship and speak to him.
All other worship in the ancient Near East was an attempt to reach and understand the gods with not real blueprint for worship, all with gods who changed if they felt like it! There was no hint of a desire for the gods they worshipped to have a relationship with those who worshipped them.
PRAYER (also our scripture reading)
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.
5 For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
Ok, this is what I want us to understand this morning.......
PRAYER
The Psalms are an invitation for you and I to put our liturgy aside, our flowery language and pretence, and come to God unfiltered and raw, and to allow Him to do His justice in His time.
4th century theologian, Athanasius:
Most of scripture speaks to us the psalms speak for us.
Most scripture speaks to us about who God is, the Psalms speak for us to that God.
Psalms are the prayer book of Israel AND of Jesus.
Jesus as a first Century Jew would have grown up reading and learning the psalms.
he was involved in the synagogue (three year cycle of reading the psalms, 50 a year)
Jesus mother knew the psalms
the Magnificat -
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
it is a reflection of the psalms
it was the moms job to educate the home
Jesus prays the psalms on the cross
“I Thirst”
“Why have you forsaken me”
“Into your hands I commit my spirit”
When we face the darkest valley our hearts will use words deep within us because of habit.
Jesus uses these words because they have been a part of his life since childhood
We can find prayer for every occasion in the psalms.
I. THE PSALMS COVER THE SPECTRUM OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
It would be difficult to find a human emotion that the psalms do not address!
Calling out for forgiveness and spiritual cleansing in .
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
Calling our in our destress; when we are scared and things are uncertain!!
1 Save me, O God,
for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
2 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can’t find a foothold.
I am in deep water,
and the floods overwhelm me.
Psalm 69:
Guidance and purity.
33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
36 Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
37 Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.
38 Reassure me of your promise,
made to those who fear you.
39 Help me abandon my shameful ways;
for your regulations are good.
40 I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.
:
And for that reason, the psalms have been a go to for God’s people!
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.
5 For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Charles Spurgeon writes in his commentary of the psalms...
Psalm 69
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Lilies.”
1 Save me, O God,
for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
2 Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can’t find a foothold.
I am in deep water,
and the floods overwhelm me.
3 I am exhausted from crying for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
waiting for my God to help me.
4 Those who hate me without cause
outnumber the hairs on my head.
Many enemies try to destroy me with lies,
demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.
5 O God, you know how foolish I am;
my sins cannot be hidden from you.
6 Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me,
O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated,
O God of Israel.
7 For I endure insults for your sake;
humiliation is written all over my face.
8 Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me;
they treat me like a stranger.
9 Passion for your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
they scoff at me.
11 When I dress in burlap to show sorrow,
they make fun of me.
12 I am the favorite topic of town gossip,
and all the drunks sing about me.
13 But I keep praying to you, Lord,
hoping this time you will show me favor.
In your unfailing love, O God,
answer my prayer with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mud;
don’t let me sink any deeper!
Save me from those who hate me,
and pull me from these deep waters.
15 Don’t let the floods overwhelm me,
or the deep waters swallow me,
or the pit of death devour me.
16 Answer my prayers, O Lord,
for your unfailing love is wonderful.
Take care of me,
for your mercy is so plentiful.
17 Don’t hide from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!
18 Come and redeem me;
free me from my enemies.
19 You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace.
You see all that my enemies are doing.
20 Their insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
If only one person would show some pity;
if only one would turn and comfort me.
21 But instead, they give me poison for food;
they offer me sour wine for my thirst.
22 Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare
and their prosperity become a trap.
23 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
and make their bodies shake continually.
24 Pour out your fury on them;
consume them with your burning anger.
25 Let their homes become desolate
and their tents be deserted.
26 To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury;
they add to the pain of those you have hurt.
27 Pile their sins up high,
and don’t let them go free.
28 Erase their names from the Book of Life;
don’t let them be counted among the righteous.
29 I am suffering and in pain.
Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.
30 Then I will praise God’s name with singing,
and I will honor him with thanksgiving.
31 For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,
more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
33 For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
he does not despise his imprisoned people.
34 Praise him, O heaven and earth,
the seas and all that move in them.
35 For God will save Jerusalem
and rebuild the towns of Judah.
His people will live there
and settle in their own land.
36 The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land,
and those who love him will live there in safety.
A prayer of David.
1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4 Give me happiness, O Lord,
for I give myself to you.
5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.
14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
16 Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save me, the son of your servant.
17 Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.
Psalm 86
“Time was when the Psalms were not only rehearsed in all the churches from day to day, but they were so universally sung that the common people knew them, even if they did not know the letters in which they were written. Time was when bishops would ordain no man to the ministry unless he knew “David” from end to end, and could repeat each psalm correctly; even Councils of the Church have decreed that none should hold ecclesiastical office unless they knew the whole psalter by heart.[…] the labourer, while he held the plough, sang Hallelujah; the tired reaper refreshed himself with the psalms, and the vinedresser, while trimming the vines with his curved hook, sang something of David....They were the love songs of the people of God.”
In other words, there was a time when those at work, in the fields, in the orchards doing the stuff of life, prayed the psalms as a regular part of their day.
“For years I avoided the book of Psalms[…]With uncanny consistency I would land on a psalm that aggravated, rather than cured, my problem.”
Instead of black and white proclamations from a prophet or a disciple, these were the raw “this is how I feel in this moment right now”, kind of prayers.
Yancey goes on to say,....
“These, however, are not pronouncements from on high, delivered with full apostolic authority, on matters of faith and practice. They are VERY PERSONAL PRAYERS in the form of poetry, written by a VARIETY of people - peasants, kings, professional musicians, rank amateurs - in WILDLY FLUCTUATING MOODS....."
I love that!!
So we don’t come necessarily come to the psalms to gain knowledge but to find relationship.
So the thing is, that the very thing that makes the psalms uncomfortable also makes them approachable, and realistic and useful.
The psalms are honest.
They are not just what we think we ought to say, they are also a collection of things we would really like to say.
In the psalms we find all the movements of the human soul.
Sadness, loneliness, joy, hope, anger, angst, rage, doubt, it almost seems irreverent!
Author Philip Yancey says this in “The Bible Jesus Read” (some of you might know him as Bob Ross
II. THE PSALMS
“For years I avoided the book of Psalms[…]With uncanny consistency I would land on a psalm that aggravated, rather than cured, my problem.”
Instead of black and white proclamations from a prophet or a disciple, these were the raw “this is how I feel in this moment right now”, kind of prayers.
Yancey goes on to say,....
“These, however, are not pronouncements from on high, delivered with full apostolic authority, on matters of faith and practice. They are VERY PERSONAL PRAYERS in the form of poetry, written by a VARIETY of people - peasants, kings, professional musicians, rank amateurs - in WILDLY FLUCTUATING MOODS....."
I love that!!
So we don’t come necessarily come to the psalms to gain knowledge but to find relationship.
All the thing is, that the very thing that makes the psalms uncomfortable also makes them approachable, and realistic and useful.
The psalms are honest.
They are not just what we think we ought to say, they are also a collection of things we would really like to say.
PAUSE
I’ve mentioned this before....there are psalms (MOST psalms) that we read in segments that make them unpalatable. Right?
“Crush them, kill them, make em hurst”
How are we supposed to pry that kind of stuff!
See we love to read Psalms like , right!!??
See we love to read Psalms like , right!!??
It is so beautiful....
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
Psalms 139:1
it goes on this way for awhile....
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Psalm 139:
And then like good cop bad cop.....there is seemingly an immediate switch that goes off.....
Here is the part that is not on your facebook posts!!!!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
: 19
And that is one of many!! , , , .....
12 If a person does not repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and shoot his flaming arrows.
15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
Go after them until the last one is destroyed.
Psalm 10:
13 Arise, O Lord!
Stand against them, and bring them to their knees!
Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
Psalm 17
4 Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me;
turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
5 Blow them away like chaff in the wind—
a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
6 Make their path dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me.
I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let sudden ruin come upon them!
Let them be caught in the trap they set for me!
Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.
, , , , , , and I don’t want to depress you but there are more, many man y more.
and I don’t want to depress you but there are more, many many more!
, , , , , and I don’t want to depress you but there are more, many man y more.
Imprecatory Psalms psalms that invoke judgment, calamity, or curses upon one's enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God.
How do we deal with these? I want to spend the rest of the message here.
II. PRAYING UNCOMFORTABLE PSALMS
So how do we pray these prayers!!??
Because....any conversation about concerns about the God of the OT usually find some fodder in psalms like these.
Any praying of the psalms seems to be in danger of a patchy sewing together of pieces and a careful navigation.
How can we pray through the Psalms and not over them, when they seem to call for violence?
So what I would like to do is highlight a few important things while reading/ and praying the psalms
Here are a few thoughts on reading the Psalms:
The Psalms are part of Scripture - it is part of what Paul calls God-breathed and useful
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
So we cannot simply ignore it, it has a purpose. It is part of the over all revelation of God that is meant to teach us
so we cannot simply ignore it, it has a purpose. It is part of the over all revelation of God that is meant to teach us
2. The Psalms were Part of Jesus life- Jesus would have studied them, prayed them, growing up as a Jewish boy in first century he would have been taught them. There is no hint that Jesus rejected them. In fact they are a part of how the NT writers explained the backstory and need for Jesus.
3. The Psalms require context - these psalms come out of extreme suffering. Each of the I mentioned are set in the middle of description of suffering and brokenness inflicted by surrounding nations.
None of these psalms are spoken in a vacuum. None of these psalms just begin with a call for God to thrash their enemies because they are annoying. Every one of them starts with an invitation for God to see the injustice that has been taking place, at the hands of those who hate Israel and hate God, and are trying to snuff them out. It is a call for God to respond to wickedness that has taken advantage of widows and orphans.
When David was feeling as though he was being treated wickedly, he called on God to fight for him.
When the psalmist looked at the suffering of Israel, it called on God to fight for them.
These are feeling you and I have if we are honest, we just don’t have them printed!!
So imagine, all the times you’ve watched the news, and it is horrible, stories of rape, abuse, murder, people taking advantage of the poor and children. What do you call out for? You might not Tweet it! (although there are some that do) But our cry is for vengeance! Our cry is for justice! Maybe you’re better than me, but when I hear stories like these my hearts cry is that God would move swiftly and do justice.
Take Israel out of our 2019 world. There are no United Nations, no embargoes, or pressure to be put on them by the rest of the world; Israel is in the shadow of wickedness, massive nations trying to snuff them out, with no way out, the psalmist call out to God and says bring justice quickly.
4. The Psalms encourage God’s Justice (not our own)
What the psalmists are doing in these kinds of psalms are actually obeying God’s command that we should not take revenge. We do not get even! We hand it to God and let him deal with the wicked in His way and in His time.
The Psalms place the act of justice in God’s hands; not ours!
35 I will take revenge; I will pay them back.
In due time their feet will slip.
Their day of disaster will arrive,
and their destiny will overtake them.’
Deut. 35
The psalmists are calling on God to bring justice as He promised he would. They are saying you want us to leave this to you, then we will leave it to you, but here are some ideas!!
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
5. The Psalms are hyperbolic and symbolic
which is in the style of the day
God is called on to defeat His enemy with his bows.
asks that God’s enemies be trapped, using the language of a trap used to catch a bird.
The psalmist is not asking that God use a snare to capture his enemies. He is saying God put a stop to this.
In the ancient near east there was en entire list of phrases, much like we would have today that were used when asking for justice to be done.
OT theologian Christopher Wright says it this way...
[The psalmists] suggest a few possible actions they would like [God] to take! However, we need also to realize the in the ancient world (and still in many traditional cultures today), there was a whole catalogue of curses that you could use. They had many stock phrases and stereotypes. They had very colourful and rather nasty lists of curses you could choose from. So when we read something like , for example we should not imagine that the writer meant every word literally. A lot of the language is rhetorical and exaggerated.
asks for God to deal harshly with someone who is treating David wickedly.
11 May creditors seize his entire estate,
and strangers take all he has earned.
12 Let no one be kind to him;
let no one pity his fatherless children.
Ps 109:
Interestingly vs 4 of David also says,..
4 I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
even as I am praying for them!
but he uses hyperbole and symbolism to call out for justice.
6th and finally we must remember this...
6. The Psalms must be read in light of the New Testament/Jesus
ultimately in light of the greatest revelation of God, through Jesus!
Jesus made it pretty clear that we are to bless and not curse. Something that David hints at in !
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
And who followed this teaching more than Christ himself?!
With all of heaven at his disposal, on trial, persecuted like David, Christ could have quoted any of those psalms of vengeance, but instead.... instead chose forgiveness.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
34 But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.
And here we come to a very important point.
And that is this....as we red the psalms that proclaim curses on the wicked, we need to remember that...
On the cross Christ became a curse for all of us.
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Catch this....
In Christ, the prayers of the psalmists, the cries, that God would judge the wicked, were fulfilled!
Jesus answered every Psalm of vengeance in Himself.
God DID judge the wicked and evil, but he did it by taking that judgement and that curse, upon himself in the person of Christ.
And by the way, when we read the psalms from this side of the cross, we are reminded that the rebellion and the evil in us is dealt with as well.
So we find ourselves on the other side of the cross, like the early Christian Martyr, Stephen in being killed by a mob, crying out...
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
It is also what the Apostle Paul invites us to....
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
20 Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
I would add that as we read the psalms we are reminded as we pray that our battle
12 For we are not fighting 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.
PAUSE
I am thankful for the psalms...
The psalms are a beautiful invitation to pray in such an authentic way.
They are reminder that vengeance does not belong to us and that our response is to be one of a love and desire for justice, and that we would continue to look to God to brings about justice on his watch and in his way.
And what I love is this. The psalms are a model and an invitation to be honest, to say how we feel and leave it with God.
It is as if God invites us, “Pray to me unfiltered, raw, don’t hold back! Tell Me everything, and I will filter through it and do justice.”
Who saw themselves as a chosen people of God not in the way we do as Christians but in as a country.
David saw himself as in a position to make sure the people of God lived holy life, he knew first hand that disobedience did not bring life.
That as people chosen by God to live holy lives they ought to be serious about living for God, and that those who fought against Israel were fighting against the purposes of God.
To be clear, you and I are not under the old covenant we are under a new covenant, given us by Christ. S we approach the psalms not as an ancient Israelite but as an ambassador of the Gospel, so it is RIGHT that we should be uncomfortable with some of the Nationalistic old Covenant language. And we should be reading the psalms, life the early church did, through the lens of the new covenant. Not as kings of an ancient Israelite calling out for military victory, but as one who know that our battle is not against flesh and blood.
IT DOES NOT APPLY TO US.
Jesus has given you and I a new ethic.
In Jesus great....you have heard, but I tell you discourse in .......
He says.... “raca”
The Psalms are an invitation for you and I to put our liturgy aside, our flowery language and pretence, and come to God unfiltered and raw, and to allow Him to do His justice in His time.
We should have a distaste for evil, tempered by the grace and love of Jesus.
I want to encourage you this week. To practice prayer in the psalms. To read through and echo the words of the psalmist from the prospective of the cross that enlightens every text in scripture.
PRAYER
33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
36 Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
37 Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.
38 Reassure me of your promise,
made to those who fear you.
39 Help me abandon my shameful ways;
for your regulations are good.
40 I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.