Tag Archives: Imprecatory Psalms

Sep 29 2013

Psalm 140 – Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

When Absalom rebelled against his father David, and tried to kill his father to become king, Mephibosheth's servant Ziba brought gifts to David, fleeing for his life (2 Samuel 16:1--17:14).

When Absalom rebelled against his father David, and tried to kill his father to become king, Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba brought gifts to David, fleeing for his life (2 Samuel 16:1–17:14).

Psalm 140 is another short psalm of David, asking for the Lord’s deliverance from the wicked and the unjust. Also considered one of the imprecatory psalms, This song also expresses faith and confidence in the grace, mercy and justness of the Almighty.

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.

The Lord, it says is the deliverer of those who are weak and oppressed and will not let those who continue to do such evil go unpunished. But the song also has the definite “feel” of having been written by David during the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 15-18) – note verses 7-8 in particular.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  

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Sep 11 2013

Psalm 109 – Help Me, O Lord My God

Ziklag area, a Philistine city where David hid from Saul.

Ziklag area, a Philistine city where David hid from Saul.

Psalm 109 is another of what are considered “imprecatory” psalms, which bible critics and skeptics love to denigrate. They are psalms that call for God’s righteous judgment on the enemies of the psalmist, who have done, or intend to do harm wrongfully to the psalmist and others (please see this previous post for our comments on the subject). One must always keep in mind that this is the word of God when reading some of these commentaries; and the Holy Spirit does have a reason for its inclusion.

For one thing, it should be noted that the psalmist (likely David, as the superscription says) is speaking not only of someone who has done, and intends to continue to do, great undeserved evil to him. This is someone who is leading others to do the same to the helpless, poor, and needy (i.e. verse 16 – “but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death”). The psalmist is asking for God’s righteous judgment upon incredibly evil men. Furthermore, the pleas for help come from a faithful servant that has already told us in the psalm of his attempts to show love and kindness to these evil ones. One must be very careful about criticizing the pleas for justice contained in these psalms. God does not expect those in the psalmist’s position to have no emotion about such evil.

Finally, the connection of at least part of this psalm to prophecy, especially where Judas is concerned, cannot be ignored. Note verse 8 and its connection to Acts 1:17-20.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  

May 8 2013

Psalm 58 – God Who Judges the Earth

There is considerable dispute over both the translation and meaning of verse one: “Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?”  Some translations have the last word replaced with “mighty lords.”  Others insist that it is “silent ones,” implying those accustomed to running things from afar.  In any case, David (for we have no reason to doubt the superscription’s claim that it is another of David’s “Psalms of the Golden Secret” – a Miktam) would certainly not speak of false gods as entities that actually did anything.

snake charmerAs one of the so-called imprecatory psalms, it speaks with sarcastic irony of the rulers and judges that are corrupt and wicked as being like deaf adders who cannot be charmed.  The psalm declares that the righteous will rejoice when God has his vengeance upon such evil men (verse 10).  It is a mistake to believe that righteous people will not do so when evil is defeated.  even the souls of those in heaven who have been slain by such men will rejoice when evil is crushed by the Lord (Revelation 6:9-10).  It is God who judges the earth!

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.