WWUTT 929 Psalms of Imprecation and Lamentation?

Psalm 5 as an Imprecatory Psalm

Psalms 5 and 6. One is an imprecatory psalm and the other one a psalm of lamentation. But in either situation, David trusts in the Lord. When we understand the text.

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Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our Old Testament study, we have been in the Psalms and we come today to Psalm 5. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, this is the first of what are called imprecatory psalms.

And I'll explain that here in just a little bit. Let's go ahead and do the whole thing, all 12 verses of Psalm 5. Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.

O Lord, in the morning, you hear my voice. In the morning, I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes.

You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth. Their inmost self is destruction. Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue.

Make them bear their guilt, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Because of the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice.

Let them ever sing for joy. And spread your protection over them that those who love your name may exalt in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord. You cover him with favor as with a shield. So this reference to this being an imprecatory psalm, where does that come from?

Well, the word imprecatory is from the Latin imprecary, which means to invoke, specifically to invoke evil. Whenever we use that word imprecation, that's not a common English word. You probably don't use that in everyday vernacular, but an imprecation is to curse somebody.

It's to hurl a condemnation upon someone. And so here in this psalm, we see that David says there's no truth in their mouth, and specifically in verse 10, make them bear their guilt, O God. It's verse five where he says, you hate all evildoers, and then verse 10, let them fall by their own counsels.

And so David is praying for the destruction of his enemies. Now, where this gets confusing for us as a New Covenant people, Jesus said in Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter five, to pray for your enemies, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you is what he said.

And then in Matthew six, where he gives the Lord's prayer, he says, pray then like this. The example of the prayer that he gives is not an imprecatory psalm. So where do the imprecatory psalms fit in our understanding as New Covenant people?

Well, whenever you pray, Lord Jesus come quickly, you're actually praying an imprecatory prayer. You don't think of that being Lord judge my enemies, but that is what it is that you're praying. Because when you ask for the Lord Jesus to return, it's not only to deliver you, but that his judgment is gonna come upon the wicked.

And all of these things are happening in their own time. When the fullness of time has come, when the fulfillment of God's plan has reached its ultimate finale, that is when Christ is going to return to judge the living and the dead.

Those who are in Christ will be delivered up with him into glory. And those who are not in Christ, of course will be judged and cast into hell. So come Lord quickly, oh Lord Jesus is a prayer for the judgment of God to fall upon man.

We know that we who are in Christ are not destined for wrath but we are destined for glory. So we have nothing to fear of that day. But as it says in Zechariah, a day of wrath is that day, the day of the Lord's return.

Also, when we consider what Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew chapter six, he said, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that's everything that falls under your will be done, including Psalm five, all of the imprecatory Psalms, everything that would be hurling a curse upon the enemies of God falls under the understanding of your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The apostle Paul actually instructed the church in Romans 12 to show kindness to others. And this actually was imprecatory. By showing love to those who hate us, we are hurling a condemnation on them.

Knowing that vengeance is the Lord's, see, we don't take those matters into our own hands, but God is the one who is going to have the final say, the final judgment. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, Romans 12, 19, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Now, oftentimes we take that verse to mean that if we show kindness to somebody, then we're counteracting their meanness with love, and that's what's going to win them over.

Not that we're mean in return, and we are vengeful, taking vengeance into our own hands. And you know, of course, that's not going to win a person to our side, certainly. But if we show them love, then that's what's going to win them.

That's what's going to defeat evil is if we just love. But Jesus said to us that the world is going to hate us. And the apostle Paul said to Timothy, those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

And so people are going to hate us because we desire godliness. Peter said the same thing, 1 Peter 4. They will malign you because you won't join them in their debauchery. Your desire for holiness means that the world is going to hate you.

Because you say you follow Christ and you believe what it is that he said in the Bible, the world's going to hate you for it. I happened to notice that Vice President Mike Pence is going to be speaking at the commencement ceremony at Taylor University in Indiana coming up next month.

And there are already students, this is a Christian campus, by the way, liberal arts, but Christian campus. And there are students that are outspokenly against Mike Pence coming because of the negative message this would have for LGBTQ students.

Remember, Mike Pence's wife, Karen, works at a Christian school where if you identify as LGBTQ, you can neither work there nor can you go to school there. So they're saying this is horrible, it's a terrible message for LGBTQ students.

I'm sick to my stomach over this. I cannot stand the fact that Mike Pence is going to be speaking at this college. I actually have a personal connection to this college. I won't say what it is. But this story is incredibly fascinating to me,.

Nevertheless.

Anyway, so that just goes to show, because Mike Pence just desires godliness, he believes what the Bible says about homosexuality. Just because he holds that position, there are people who hate him for it and they want him to be dismissed from this commencement.

May no one who ever believes such a thing be allowed to speak at a commencement ceremony even on a Christian campus, according to all this hubbub that's going on right now. And Mike Pence is not hurling insults back at those who are insulting him.

There are people who are going to hate us just because we desire godliness. And instead, by showing kindness, he would be heaping burning coals on his head. By showing kindness to someone else, we heap hot coals.

What does that mean exactly? Well, hot coals, this is always a reference to judgment. So those who continue to hate us, though we show the love of God to them, this is the judgment that's going to come upon them.

And the vengeance is the Lord's, it's not ours. So we don't take the matters into our hands. God is the one who will handle all of this. Verse 21, this is still in Romans 12, "'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'".

When we do the good of God, we will overcome all evil. Ultimately, in the very end, evil is not gonna win, amen? We who are in Christ will reign victorious. So in the meantime, we fear God, we do not fear men.

And God has said, this is the way I expect my followers to be in this world. And so in the fear of God, we must behave in this manner. So how is it that we are supposed to consider the imprecatory Psalms then?

I say that we consider them very carefully. Notice that David is not praying for the destruction of anyone in particular, but that the enemies of God would certainly come to judgment. And we should desire that, that God will ultimately reign supreme in the end.

And we desire that our God triumph and that His justice would be served. In Revelation chapter 15, we see the saints forever in heaven, rejoicing in God because His wrath was poured out on the ungodly.

That's what they are rejoicing in. So we are actually gonna celebrate our God forever over the fact that His judgment has been served over all the earth. And we who are in Christ, our sins have been forgiven.

We would otherwise be worthy of that judgment ourselves, but we've been delivered from that sentence. We've been bought back by the precious blood of Christ, and now we are gods. We are God apostrophe S, not we are ascending to be gods.

I hope that made sense. Anyway, we are adopted into His family, sons and daughters of God. So we belong to Him therefore. And this is our salvation in Christ Jesus. Notice that in this Psalm, David asks forgiveness for his own sins.

He says, Oh Lord, in the morning, you hear my voice in the morning. I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch for you are not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil may not dwell with you. I almost even wonder if that reference there goes back to Genesis where Abraham was looking over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when God said that he was gonna destroy the cities and Abraham stood and watched to see what was gonna happen to the cities.

He appealed for the lives of those people in those cities, but ultimately no righteous people could be found there except Lot who was rescued out of that. So where it says in the morning, I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch for you are not a God who delights in wickedness.

Evil may not dwell with you. And then he goes on to say, you destroy those who speak lies and make them bear their guilt, oh God. I kind of wonder if there's somewhat of a, an Abraham-esque understanding in David's mind when he's considering that as the way that Abraham looked over the sinful cities in the valley before God destroyed them.

And so David may consider that the same way. He's thinking of that also watchful to see that the judgment of God is gonna be poured out upon the wicked. But he says in verse seven, but I, through the abundance of your steadfast love will enter your house.

So David is recognizing here. It's not because he's great that God is delivering him, but because God is great. God is the one who has been faithful to David and his covenant to his people. And because of God, then David can say, I will bow down towards your holy temple in the fear of you.

Lead me, oh Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before me so that he might know the right way to go and be away from his enemies. The way of the Lord is away from the wicked.

The further we go toward God, the further away we stay from the wicked and bloodthirsty and deceitful men. So that there's kind of the contrast that David is creating. I'm on this path. I'm not on the path of the wicked.

There's no truth in their mouth. Their inmost self is destruction. Their throat is an open grave where we've heard those passages before. And that's out of Romans chapter three. Paul repeats those in Romans three.

Make them bear their guilt. Let them fall by their own counsels because of the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out. Contrast that with what we read in verse seven. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, the abundance that David has is a gift that's given to him from God.

The abundance that they have is the wickedness that's in their own hearts. Because of the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out for they have rebelled against you. David is saved because of the abundance of God's love.

The wicked are destroyed because the abundance of their lawlessness. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them ever sing for joy. There's the hope aspect that comes into even the imprecatory Psalms.

There is a deliverance. There is a way out of the judgment of God. And that is, of course, by faith in Christ. By faith in the promise for those who are in the Old Testament, by faith in Christ, who is that promise?

We just know the name of the promise here for us who are in the new covenant. For you bless the righteous, O Lord. You cover him with favor as with a shield. Let's go on to the next one. Psalm 6, O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.

Psalm 6 as a Lament Psalm

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, deliver my life. Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

For in death, there is no remembrance of you. In Sheol, who will give you praise? I am weary with my moaning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief.

It grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. For the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled.

They shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. So while Psalm 5 is the first of the imprecatory Psalms, Psalm 6 would be the first of the Psalms of Lamentation. Now we've had somewhat of both of these elements in previous Psalms, imprecatory and lamentation.

So even in Psalm 2, it said, now therefore kings be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way.

So there's somewhat of an imprecatory nature in that, but it wouldn't necessarily be categorized as an imprecatory Psalm. And we also had an expression of mourning in Psalm 3. Oh Lord, how many are my foes?

Many are rising against me. Many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. But you still find a peace, a peaceful resolve in this Psalm where there's not as much of one in Psalm 6. Because clearly David has been resolved already in Psalm 3.

I lay down and slept. I woke again for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Salvation belongs to the Lord. You're blessing on your people.

But in Psalm 6, that deliverance hasn't come yet. David anticipates it, but at the time of this writing and at the time of this prayer, that deliverance has not yet come. Which is why David says, Lord rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.

Be gracious to me for I am languishing. He's not yet come out of that presence or that place of lamentation yet. There has not been a solution to his plight. The Psalm begins with tears and it ends with tears, but he still clings to the hope that has been promised to him in the Lord.

Where he says, the Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. I know that he has heard me, even though I've not yet received deliverance from this, yet he continues to hope in the Lord. My enemies shall be ashamed and they will be greatly troubled and they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Turn, oh Lord, deliver my life. That's verse four. Save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death, there is no remembrance of you. In Sheol, who will give you praise? I am weary with my moaning.

Every night, I flood my bed with tears. So if, let's consider both of these Psalms here, the imprecatory Psalm, Psalm five, and the Psalm of lamentation, Psalm six.

Where are you at?

Would you be in a place right now where there are people that are probably oppressing you and you are asking for deliverance and the judgment of God might fall upon them so you would be delivered from this?

Maybe you fall in desiring the imprecatory Psalm category? Or are you in a place of such lamentation that you have wept and cried out for God, but you have not yet seen a solution to the problem that you have lifted up before the Lord?

You have taken your anxieties upon him because, you have cast your anxieties upon him because he cares for you, as Peter instructed in first Peter five, but you've not yet been lifted up. You're still, you still feel like you're in a pit.

And yet in both of these situations, whether the imprecatory situation or the lamentation situation, yet I encourage you. And as we follow the example of David in the Psalms, that you continue to rely upon the Lord and trust in him for this season will pass and God will lift you up from it.

Even if it's not in this life, we still ultimately look forward to the kingdom that is to come. It says in Hebrews 11, that these all died in faith, referring to Abraham, David, and other characters in the Old Testament.

They all died in faith, having not received the things promised, but only seen them from afar because they desired a better kingdom that is a heavenly one. Our Old Testament examples, the heroes of the faith, they desired a heavenly kingdom.

So even if they did not receive an earthly, a deliverance, nevertheless, they knew they were going to receive a heavenly one. And so continue to hold hope to that, whether you're in a situation of oppression or you're in a situation of lamentation, continue to hope in and trust in God because he will deliver us from all evil.

Even the pains and the hurts that we feel are a result of this evil world. The fallenness of this world is a result of sin. God will deliver us from these things. You are on the side of victory. So lift up your head and hope, though you still may be in mourning, hope in the Lord, your God.

He is faithful to his promises. Your sins are forgiven by faith in Christ. Know that he will lift you up.

Amen.

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text. Pastor Gabe is the author of the book, 40 of the Most Popular Bible Verses and What They Really Mean. Available in paperback or for your Kindle, found at our website at www .utt .com.

Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in the study of God's word, When We Understand the Text.