Father, give me wisdom to lead your Family in your praise!
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
Ok. Wow. David really doesn't hold his emotions in check at all, here, does he? We need to go back and read the entire passage, though, to see who he is praying against. Looking back at the piece from yesterday, David is referring to unjust judges. (He calls them "gods.") These are people who plan violence against other humans and constantly devise wrongdoing against them. David is calling for their demise.
Is there truly a place for this type of prayer? I confess that I watch in horror as people that I know verbalize similar prayers about our president. Folks, there is no place for that type of behavior at all. Just because we don't agree with someone's politics doesn't give us power or right to judge them. And we must remember that all government officials are there because God placed them there, whether we like them or not.
And if we look at the New Testament, we are given a fresh, new perspective on David's attitude. We are basically told to leave vengeance up to God. (Which is, of course, what David is doin here...he is asking God to enact vengeance on wicked men.) I don't think there is anything wrong with praying in a way that David prayed in Psalm 58. However...we had better be darned sure that the people we are praying against are truly "wicked" people, not just someone who ticked us off.
The basic message of Jesus, though, in the New Testament is a message of love. We are to love our enemies. There was no exclusion clause in that command. We are to pray for those who "spitefully use" us. We are to be a people of peace. If we go around praying for our president's mother to be childless, I don't think we're being very peaceful.
Jesus calls for love, not vengeance. I'm struggling with that right now. I want to pray for vengeance against a corporation right now. In fact I have prayed for vengeance. And I realize I'm not praying against any people, but against a corporate entity. But if my prayer were carried out, more people would be affected, so it's probably not a very good prayer. So I'm struggling to bring that attitude around to the will of Christ in my life.
Jesus calls for love and peace. We are to be dispensers of grace. Not, as Philip Yancey calls it, "ungrace."
26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
"Constant exercise of faith in Christ is the most important and difficult part of the obedience required from us, as sinners seeking salvation...Christ shows that he is the true Bread; he is to the soul what bread is to the body, nourishes and supports the spiritual life. He is the Bread of God. He is the Bread which the Father gives, which he has made to be the food of our souls. Bread nourishes only by the powers of a living body; but Christ is himself living Bread, and nourishes by his own power. The doctrine of Christ crucified is now as strengthening and comforting to a believer as ever it was. He is the Bread which came down from heaven. It denotes the Divinity of Christ's person and his authority; also, the divine origin of all the good which flows to us through him. May we with understanding and earnestness say, Lord, evermore give us this Bread. Those who look high in the expectations, and hope to enjoy the glory of God, must aim high in those endeavors, and study to do the works of God, works which he requires and will accept, works of God, distinguished from the works of worldly men in their worldly pursuits. It is not enough to speak the words of God, but we must do the works of God."
(From Matthew Henry Daily Readings)
I also pray that my life will be sustained by the Bread of Life. Jesus is that Bread. Let me seek after that Bread more than physical bread. Let me trust that you will always provide, as so well stated in Matthew 6. I also pray for the power and strength to do your works, not just speak your words. Father, I confess...I am quick to speak your words. Yes, I know your words well. But when it comes to doing your works, I am less quick. I am spiritually lazy sometimes. I pray for a remedy to that laziness. Inspire and encourage me to do your works. Let opportunities arise.
Grace and peace, friends.