Page 82 - Psalms Ebook

“How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.”

Would you ever pray this prayer against somebody? Psalm 109:7 says:

“When he is judged, let him come forth guilty and let his prayer
become sin.”

Now that’s rough, “Let his prayer become sin!”

All right, in the light of these strong passages against the enemies of
God, I have to ask the question “What am I supposed to do with this?” It
is there. I cannot ignore it. Does David really hate his personal
enemies? Is he really seeking God’s vengeance on those who have come
against him? Is there personal animosity here?

I know one man in Long Island who made this comment to me, and I was
shocked. We were discussing this, and he He said, “These prayers
should never be on the lips of Christians”. And then he said, “Christians
have no right reading those Psalms”. Can you imagine that? No right
reading those Psalms? I thought, surely, he must be missing the boat
somewhere. God would not put it in the Bible and then forbid you to
read it.

But what about that? Do these imprecations contradict the spirit of the
New Covenant and the Spirit of our Lord Jesus? Do these prayers go
against “Turn the other cheek,” “Love your enemy.” Let me make
three general observations and then I will leave it to your spirit controlled
consciences to apply it your own way.

The first principle is actually more of an observation. This kind of
praying is not necessarily vindictive. Now, I am sure it could be
vindictive, but it is not necessarily vindictive. In other words, you could
pray this and not hate. I know the Book of Jeremiah is full of vitriolic
prayers. Jeremiah, much more than any other prophet.

In the book of Revelation it says, “Those who were beheaded for the
name of Christ.” You know they were Christians. You know they are in
heaven. You know, according to Hebrews, that those in heaven are “the
spirits of just men made perfect,” and just means righteous there. But
we know these people are in heaven, and yet in Revelation chapter 6,
verse 10, they pray a prayer of imprecation. They say, “Lord, how long
before our blood is avenged on the earth and You bring these people to
justice?” So I know there must be a way because they are in heaven;