Imprecatory Psalms: Living in the Tension
Notes
Transcript
How do we live in the tension?
How do we live in the tension?
Let us love our enemies, pray for those who persecute you, do good to those who love you. It makes us feel fake, doesn’t it? The human emotions are either still waters that run deep, or sometimes are more like a torrential river rushing close to the surface. In either event, go tell a river to calm itself, and see if it cares. See how that works out for you. Yet, God still says what he says. Do not return evil for evil, or reviling for reviling. When we come out on the short end of the stick. When we are betrayed, when we are misused. Anger is not always a good thing, it is supposed to be held in check, but there are instances of righteous anger. But God tells us that we are supposed to love, and care about justice. How do we do that? This is called biblical tension. We are called to two things that seem to pull against one another. We are supposed to care about justice, but then love the ones who violate it? We feel torn by these two forces; pulled this way and that way, depending on the day, leaving us in an emotional mess. The book of Psalms steps into this mess of daily life and gives us tools so that we can live in that tension. One such tool is something called an imprecatory Psalm.
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
In the cry for justice there are five main components.
The Broken Cry
The Broken Cry
There is more praise in a single, heartfelt “Oh God, help me!” than in all the mechanical hallelujahs in the world. This is where the healing begins, right here. In our decision to bring God into the equation.
The Self Vindication
The Self Vindication
This step in important because when we are wronged, we need to bring forward the whole scenario. Don’t keep anything back. God I don’t deserve this. The whole point of this prayer is that we are processing injustice done to us, within our relationship to God. In order to process, we can’t hold anything back. It is all wound together into a tangled mess. To hold back any piece of the picture is to hold back a piece of the anger to grow and fester into darkness.
Calling God for Justice
Calling God for Justice
This stands at the center of the Psalm. The entire structure of the Psalm points to this key portion.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
To live in the tension, between loving our enemies and hating sin and injustice, we are here to ask God to bring it to an end. In short, “Oh righteous God, make it stop!” We are not the righteous judges of this world, only God is. Even the pitiful attempts at a judicial system that we actually do have are broken, condemning the righteous and releasing the evil. Do you believe that God answers prayer? Do you really believe? Good, because there are days when I doubt it. Oh yes, pastors doubt, we have our own wrestling matches. But if we believe that God answers prayer, then let’s live it. Ask God to be the righteous judge over your situation.
Releasing to God’s Justice
Releasing to God’s Justice
“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword”. If a man does not repent....... God will whet his sword. There is abundant mercy and forgiveness for those who repent, lucky for us. The justice of God towards us poor wretches has been satisfied in the death of Jesus. His sacrifice has brought us justification before the righteous judge. We who are guilty are given pardons. That is God’s delight. This is true of us, and it can be true of our enemies too. However, for those who harden their hearts, be sure that God’s justice will be satisfied. But that is not your worry to carry. This is a pivot point that must happen. We must pivot from needing to control this, to releasing in faith. At this point of the prayer, it is time to release our grip on this matter. Time to let go of the balloon.
Resting in Worship
Resting in Worship
Finally, we are to rest in worship. We have called on God for justice, released our worry, now its time to rest in worship. Anger, even righteous anger, exacts a toll on our hearts. It drains us of emotional energy. We can be left feeling free, but tired. Turn to the Lord, worship him because that is our purpose. True worship is restful.
The Broken Cry
The Self Vindication
Calling God for Justice
Releasing to God’s Justice
Resting in Worship
Each of these pieces are crucial. They all work together to bring cohesion and function to the whole. I know that’s a lot of bullet points, but take a minute and copy them down. Fold a piece of paper in half for a book mark, or something like that. Hang onto it, and the next time you have to face this tension of anger and love, use this tool to take you through the steps of calling on God for justice.