It’s funny and not necessarily good how a view can lodge in your head and stay there unchallenged for years, even though you hold other views on the same subject that actually contradict the first view and, unlike the first view, are actually based on evidence.
So I know, because I’ve read them, that the Psalms contain sections that are harsh and apparently unforgiving. The classic example is Psalm 137:9, which says “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”, and it’s by no means the only one.
But despite realizing that verses like this are peppered throughout the Psalms, and despite having spent years as a Christian reading and singing Psalms, I’ve long held the view that if you went through the Psalms one by one, this sort of cursing by the psalmists would be exceptional. And yes, I have gone through the Psalms one by one over the years, and I’ve been trying to pay attention too, and sometimes I’ve taught individual Psalms because they work so well as one-off sermons between other series. So you would think that I’d know what I’m talking about.
Yesterday I got it into my head to test my theory, and, in the grace of God, I happened to be sitting on the bus, which is a great place to read the Bible uninterrupted. What gave me the idea to test this out was reading Psalm 3:3, and being shocked to find a verse that I’d known and even sung for years (“But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head”) was not in a context I’d expected. If you’ve ever sung the song I’m thinking about, you will know that it is a boppy and completely disposable little ditty that you sing in youth fellowship at the beginning of your time, along with about three other songs, with the intention of getting people to quiet down a bit and focus on the fun you’re about to have. It’s uplifting, it’s bouncy, you sing and forget. It’s the church equivalent of a McDonald’s Happy Meal, perfectly timed and delivered to keep kids entertained without necessarily being well nourished (but who cares about nourishment when you’re on a long car trip).
Anyway, back to Psalms. Before you read on, check Psalm 3 and see if you see what I found.
Take your time now. I’m only putting this paragraph in to encourage you to do it and stop your eye accidentally flicking down to give away what I saw.
So there I was, reading Psalm 3, and I noticed that it was written when David “fled from Absalom his son”. That in itself is striking, and if you know the story in context, you will know that Absalom is trying to kill his dad (see the start of the story right here in 2 Samuel 15). The wrapping of this Happy Meal is none too happy.
And if you read on in Psalm 3, you’ll see David praying that God will take sudden and deliberate action against his enemies, at the head of whom was his own son. “Arise, O Lord!” he cries. To do what? To help David out of a tight spot? To cheer him up out of his depressed state? To inspire him with a suitably up-beat tune to go with his Psalm? Well, I’m not sure whether those things are irrelevant, but they are not what he specifically asks for: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.”
Do you know for all the times over the years that I’ve sung about God, “my glory and the lifter of my head”, I have never once got to the bit where I sang about God striking my enemies on the cheek, and breaking the teeth of the wicked. Why not?
It’s not the only Psalm where the violent bits have been censored. Try to find any reference to babies’ heads being dashed against rocks in this piece of Youtubery featuring Psalm 137 (3 minutes 19 seconds, funky memories for all fans of the 1970s).
I’m about to make a point here, but I feel I’ve said enough for one post. If you have enough time between now and when ‘Break your teeth on this part II’ appears, read through the first 75 Psalms (I managed it on the bus back home; if you can do more, then more power to your arm), and just make a little note of where the Psalmist decides to record the downfall of his enemies with satisfaction, asks God to bring shame upon them in general terms, or prays that specific physical violence might fall upon them. How many of the 75, do you reckon, are couched in these terms? 8? 18? More?
You’ll have to come back in a day or two to compare your answer with mine.
Ah, the imprecatory psalms. Here’s three good resources:
John Piper on Psalm 139, Don’t I hate those who hate you, O Lord?
http://tinyurl.com/6zukwg
Please Zap them, Lord from David Reid
http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/zap.htm
Ardel Caneday, The Propriety of Christians Invoking God’s Curse and Wrath on Evildoers
http://tinyurl.com/5bx7nc
I also wonder about people quickly saying that things we read in Psalms are not applicable today, such as David asking God in Psalm 51 “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me” Is this completely unapplicable today, or does it have an application to Christians in the 21st century of our Lord, as well as Jews in 100 BC?
the one that for me takes every prize is ps 109.
from verse 7 …let his prayer be counted as sin,
let his days be few, let someone take his property
let his children be fatherless, his wife a widow
let his children be beggers…
and so on.
Why is the author so malicious? We know from Ezekiel that the sins of one will NOT be visited upon his or her children.
I am attempting to take up Gordon’s challenge, but I’ve only done the first 25 Psalms. I’ve found 17 of the first 25 Psalms to be invoking SOMETHING upon ones enemies from “let them be disappointed” or “don’t let them beat me” to… more violent requests.
How to take it? I’ve always been told that it shows God can handle our anger, and saying “God, please beat up these baddies” is a lot better than beating them up yourself.
Perhaps some of our road rage is a result of pent up anger towards others that society says we can’t express and doesn’t give us a healthy way to express. We only pray nice prayers in church “Please heal Aunt Mildred, please bless the Queen, bring about world peace…”, we don’t say “Kill the idiot (would like to type something more violent but wont for fear of it not being printed) who drove while drunk and killed three children, may he rot behind bars and die a painful death”.
Just my $0.02
Thank you to David (commenter) for his links. They were helpful in drawing my attention to their cry for justice and avenging crimes directly against God.
At what point, however, do we declare someone “wicked” and beyond salvation – at the point where we should no longer pray for their salvation and pray for their damnation instead? Is a jihadist terrorist suicide bomber-to-be beyond salvation the day before he commits his suicide bombing? A week? Five years?
I don’t have an answer, just many, many questions.
Liz
Having just walked out of the second of “Annual Moore College Lectures” tonight I thought it might be good to mention that two of the attributes that Mike Ovey has described the ‘Unrepentant’ as having is Unforgiving and Begrudging of Mercy to others. He show this particularly in the Pharisee On tuesday night (Lecture 1)
I’m not really sure how that connects to this discussion yet but I feel that it should possibly because of the discomfort raised in Liz’s questions about the appropriateness of us begging curse on wrong doers.
Anyway I’ll continue to reflect as the series goes on, but I have no hesitation in recommending the series so far (which will be availble to purchase from MTC…
About Psalm 3, David’s cry for God to fight for him reminded me of the theme of God fighting on behalf of his people that runs throughout Joshua and Judges.
The wicked generally in Psalms: Is it fair to say that apart from Jesus, all of us are “the wicked” in these Psalms?
Jesus, the only righteous one, has undertaken to transfer us from the status of wicked, ungodly, sinful, enemies to being reconcilied and justified, dearly loved and adopted (Romans 5:1-12 etc).
Perhaps if we looked at the Psalms this way, some of the tensions are at least shifted, if not made redundant.
It’s taken me a while to get back to this one… But I think that I have a better grip on the uncomfortablity I had with Liz’s question…
As I mentioned in my last post Mark Ovey had discribed the unrepentant as Unforgiving and begrudging mercy to others.
I think I was connecting it to Romans 12:9-21 – Now I am clear that the particular issue on view is persecution…
However I think the Christian way of dealing with evil can be applied fairly broadly and that is not to repay evil with evil – to leave evil for God’s judgment(rom 21:17,19). If we left it here you may be able to justify a calling down of God’s wrath Psalms style, but verse 21 says not just to leave vengeance to God, but to repay evil with good.
I think too, if we remember the context of this Letter to the Romans, that our filth before God and the undeserved mercy shown to us should be in the forefront of our minds.
What better good that to pray that our Father would also have mercy on this drunk driver, (etc.)
We are assured thoughout Romans that God’s wrath will come to all unrighteous, and can take heart that he will ‘kick a few teeth’ to say the least on that day – but let’s not ungraciously forget that for the justification that Christ has given us we would be those very same unrighteous.
I think that the answer to our own rage is to remember our own offence against God, and trust that he will judge justly, I think the answer to us determining a person’s ‘wickedness’ – and “beyond salvationess” is to realise that it is never our part.
We are all ‘wicked’ and without God’s intervention beyond salvation.
So plead he does.