Imprecatory Psalms – Planter, Pastor, Preacher

When the Wicked Rule

1 and 2 Kings contain primarily the royal history of Israel’s rulers, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most were bad, and if by ugly we mean vile, then many were that too. In fact, it’s easy to list the good ones, because there were so few. But if we were to rank the bad ones, where would we start?

The Loving Discipline of our Father

The purpose of God’s discipline is not alienation but reconciliation, that our restless hearts may find contentment not in our circumstances but his presence. And in his presence, our hearts are kindled in grateful praise of the One who loves us most. And so, as we gather to worship the Lord in spirit and truth (John 4:24), as the children of God, we trust the loving discipline of our Father, because “the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Heb. 12:6a).

Look to the Lord

In other words, if you’re concerned that there will be a day when the church will not be, don’t be. But if you’re concerned that there will be a day when a local church could degenerate into “synagogues of Satan,” do be. It’s happened before.

The Prosperity Conundrum

If you forget that we live in a world under God’s curse, amongst the fallen in sin, you can get discouraged in a hurry (Many of us do from time to time, don’t we?). Sometimes I wonder about Noah, whom Scripture says, “was a righteous man, blameless in his generation” who “walked with God” (Gen. 6:9): What did it feel like then for Noah to live surrounded by the wicked, where “every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5 NET). Was it discouraging for a man who walked with God to witness mass faithlessness?

Amidst Persecution

The seventh psalm is one of the imprecatory psalms, psalms that invoke God’s judgment upon his and our enemies. The seventh psalm is also a personal lament of David, who is being persecuted….