ESV passage heading - The Lord Will Not Forsake His People KJV [*] passage headings - The prophet, calling for justice, complains of tyranny and impiety He teaches God's providence He shews the blessedness of affliction God is the defender of the afflicted *edit
Does He do that? I mean has anyone ever seen God avenge them in some way? When I read The Psalms I place myself in New Covenant rather than Old Covenant mindset. Praying for enemies is sort of the opposite of wanting/wishing for them to suffer. Enduring Word quote above this Psalm commentary: “In this song we see how the very things which assault faith, and threaten to produce despair, may be made the opportunity for praise, in the place and act of worship.” (G. Campbell Morgan)
I have seen God absolute destroy the lives of those have that attacked me in the past. I've also seen those that attacked me in the past seem to prosper without limitation in spite of their evil. As my wife says, Wife: Jesus, they really hurt me. Destroy them, please. Jesus: "Revenge is mine," saith the Lord. This is too big for you, child. Let me carry this one. Wife: OK, Jesus, revenge is yours. I can live with that. Jesus: Thanks, baby girl. You'll be better off in the long run. Wife: OK, Jesus. Pause... Wife: Hey, Jesus? Jesus: Yes, what's up? Wife: Revenge is yours, but can I watch? Part of our struggle as Christians is the demand for stewardship of our minds and emotions. Having feelings of hurt, anguish, revenge, etc., are a part of the human condition. What we decide to do about those emotions is not. What we decide to do about those emotions is a spiritual issue. We are told to take every thought captive and to subjugate it to the will and authority of our Father. Thus, the struggle. We are dead men and women walking. We have died to self, and the life that we now live, we live in Jesus. Dead men have no right to be avenged. Dead men can't be hurt. Having our minds renewed by the washing of the Word is a daily... daily... process.
Sometimes suffering is the road for them to Jesus. Here's a hard prayer to pray for either your loved ones or your enemies. "God, do anything that you have to do the them or to me so that they will see and accept you."
That makes sense. After all, the road is narrow, and “few find it” for a reason. If it were easy to walk down, I would think more people would take that way than what we actually see.
I would say it is an uphill narrow path. RK-- We are dead men and women walking. We have died to self, and the life that we now live, we live in Jesus. Dead men have no right to be avenged. Dead men can't be hurt. Having our minds renewed by the washing of the Word is a daily... daily... process. Love this!
Yep, but not until after I get my ego out of the way. To me the best revenge is God restoring me and turning the plans of the devil on its own head. I don't need God to ruin someone else's life for me. Usually people are really good at ruining their own lives with their own sin, so it's best to get out of their way and letting them have at it. Granted, living this way isn't always easy (there are plenty of times when I want to punch people in the head or shove them off a cliff when I'm still in the middle of feeling pain and depression), but if it was easy, everyone would do it, eh? Then again I've never been up against truly horrendous monsters that other believers have had to deal with, so considering all that ... I'm good.
I prefer to be relieved of being in relationship with those who want to war with me, if in fact boundaries and such have no avail..and I have experienced God removing people from my life without me having to "be removed". I might "think"(at the time) it is by His hand, but it could be just what it is, people making choices completely removed from my desire to be far from their weirdness! I prefer to think God is giving me grace in such situations, and maybe giving it to them as well.
I also see much of Psalms as a revelation of David's anger and have learned to discern the difference, realizing that he spoke and wrote under the Old Covenant.
Close to my original thought/question. When we take what David says in certain Psalms, is it relevant- to address God with grievances in the same manner; OR see this a different way? I KNOW I have desired God to personally decree upon those who directly or indirectly cause me grief what they deserve for causing it..and then of course; I cannot escape my own foibles that I have obtained mercy for. He does not want unbalanced weights. I believe He desires justice, I do not believe I always see this justice- and am thinking it might be a waste of time to request it?
Yeah, in light of Christ, while I desire justice with the firm assurance that justice will be accomplished in God's time, I'm compelled to seek mercy, redemption and restoration for all concerned in the meantime.