Some psalms fall into the category of imprecatory psalms and this is one of them. In such psalms, the authors pray to God to intervene and judge sinful people. David, in this psalm, complains about unjust rulers. It was common to address them as gods, which David does here. Instead of judging righteously, they planned evil and used their power cruelly to compel obedience from their subjects (vv. 1-2).
Why do they do this? David’s answer may seem surprising. They have been deceitful from birth, a reminder of the effects of original sin. Not that such a nature is an excuse. Within them is poison and they are deaf to what other people think or advise. In fact, they are stone deaf, like the snake that merely judges by what it sees (vv. 3-5). But David does link their adult practices to their birth.
What can a righteous person do about such evil rulers? He can pray to God to remove them in such a way that they no longer have any role at all in authority. David uses several illustrations to describe the complete removal that he desires. He wants their power, which is like the teeth of lions, to be removed quickly (vv. 6-9).
When that happens, the righteous will rejoice because of their deliverance, and others will see that there is a God who defends his people (vv. 10-11).
It is obvious that this psalm is very relevant for today because there are many unjust rulers. The psalm also reminds us that the most effective way to bring change is to pray, which usually is the last option that is used. It also calls us to observe when unjust rulers are removed and to remind ourselves that there is a God who judges in his providence.
The psalm is also a reminder that we can use our imagination or use illustrations as we pray. David uses numerous descriptions of those unjust rulers - they are lions and snakes, but he wants them to be like powerless slugs. That is three examples, but there are more. They give strength and clarity to our requests.
No comments:
Post a Comment