Posted on 04/13/2018 8:37:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
THIS is the beginning of the gospel, NOT John 3:16:
Romans 1:
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
The writer is yet po’d, and would take up the sword of Joshua. He’s human. Yet the early sages and rabbis would have him “Love they neighbor as thyself”.
But he comes within the name of Israel, which means “to struggle with God”.
Revelation 6:9-10
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
There it is, an imprecatory prayer, and not in Psalms.
Imprecatory prayer is valid, it is not trivial; but, if you plead with the Lord to uphold your cause and rain down wrath on those who hate and persecute you it should be done with great care that you really are suffering for righteousness sake, for His name’s sake.
That said, the Lord understands our weakness. When we talk to Him, for that’s what prayer is, we shouldn’t just pretend all is well because being confused, hurt and confounded is somehow not the right attitude in prayer (or whatever). Does a smiling prayer when a heart is breaking honor God? Does forced cheer when in reality anger boils within? A Father hears our laughter and our tears, our thanksgiving and our crying out, the hopes and our passions, everything. So maybe we should expect the odd crying out “do something about those guys!” and not be hung up about it.
Aside: I oftentimes think people have become terribly squeamish about God’s wrath, as if it just shouldn’t be in the Bible.
I pray imprecatory prayers against the enemies of the cross consistently. In each case, I pray to God that He treat them exactly as He treated Saul of Tarsus. He utterly destroyed the old man and greatest enemy of the Church, Saul of Tarsus, and transformed him into the greatest evangelist that the Church has ever known in Paul. I believe that this prayer is perfectly in alignment with Christ’s commandment to pray for our enemies and not curse them.
No.
22 Let their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, let it become a trap.
Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
A couple of previous verses in that Psalm:
Psalms 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
"Restitution" made for that which he didn't steal in the first place.
Psalms 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
John 2
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
The House of Laban, or the House of Jacob?
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous.
The Messiah comes to restore what has been lost i.e. stolen and destroyed. The thieves are going to freak out when they are visited by the "thief" who takes it all back and returns it to its rightful owners. One man's Jubilee is another man's bad juju.
We can see this in the Establishment's reaction to the election of President *Trump*. How on earth did he end up in the White House? It's literally called the House of Laban ("white"). Everything used to be for sale therein. Seventy years was that temple [Establishment] in building.
The place barely escaped total collapse in 1948:
>>The investigation concluded that the problem was in fact a collapsing building, not just a floor, and "heroic remedies" would be required."<<
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Reconstruction#Collapse
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous.
The ways of Laban ("white") or the ways of Jacob?
In the usual pattern of history that is the flipped over story, we've already seen what happens: rectification via Divine puns of exceeding irony:
The Lord said that vengeance was His. People should not question His methods. It's way beyond anything man could think up. Wite-out, haha. This stuff is literal.
Just discard chrstianity and the “new testament.” You’d be surprised how many problems that solves.
RE: Just discard chrstianity and the “new testament.” You’d be surprised how many problems that solves.
But it creates even more problems.
I would grant some theological problems, but then the United States could not have been founded.
Of interest?
So?
I'm sorry, but I just don't see the problem.
No it doesn't. These "problems" come from chrstian preconceptions, which are themselves erroneous.
It mattered to millions, and still matters to billions, though many would not admit it either.
RE: No it doesn’t. These “problems” come from chrstian preconceptions, which are themselves erroneous.
Actually, if you read the article, one does NOT have to stop being Christian because the imprecatory Psalms do NOT really pose a problem for the Christian.
The Bible is clear!
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16All scripture is inspired by God and is* useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Amen to that!
I agree. I view them as a call to God asking him to JUSTLY punish wicked behavior. But as in all things, we also ask God to execute HIS WILL, not ours.
That is what “In Jesus’ Name” implies - that we are praying to advance the cause of Jesus Christ, praying in his place with a power of attorney, so to speak. And God gets to decide if He will accept that power of attorney.
I have no problem with asking God to bring down the wicked who are trying to destroy His people - assuming, of course, that they don’t repent first. And without repentance, all of us stand justly condemned.
And yes, I think it is stupid to lie to God in our prayers. Far better to be honest, and then ask Him to change our attitude as needed. But God DOES understand suffering, and the desire to see justice done!
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