Psalm 91

For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
   lest you strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12)

In the second temptation of Jesus, we find the tempter urging Jesus to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem thereby immediately proving that He was the Son of God (Mathew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11). By quoting this psalm, Satan suggests that God has promised to deliver Jesus from all harm should He do perform an act.

The nature of this temptation, as Dalglish rightly points out, is an ethical one; will Jesus use God's means of ambiguity, obedience, obscurity, weakness to achieve His purposes or will He use unworthy means such as power and public acclaim to accomplish this noble end?[1] Jesus rejects Satan's temptation by responding from Deuteronomy 6:16 with its command not to tempt the Lord. The temptation that Jesus is subjected to is to use earthly means to accomplish God's purposes.

God's messengers are still tempted in this way. But Jesus' rebuttal indicates that the promises of Psalm 91 are not universally applicable; they must be interpreted in the total context of the situation and in the larger reference of Scripture.[2] Indeed, a closer examination of the context of the verses themselves shows that the psalmist never intended them to be understood in the fashion in which the tempter used them. This is, indeed, a promise to deliver the righteous as they abide in God's shadow and walk in obedience and love towards Him (v.1, 14). The righteous can count upon God's help when they call upon Him (v. 15) with the assurance that they shall not be ultimately destroyed by those who would ambush them.[3] The child of God can be assured of God's help in the midst of trouble but he should not presume upon God's protection if he acts autonomously or in contradiction to God's ways and means. It is enlightening to note that when it was when Jesus was on the cross that He claimed assurance from Psalms (Ps. 31:5; Luke 23:46). [4]
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[1] Edward R. Dalglish, "The Use of the Book of Psalms in the New Testament." Southwestern Journal of Theology 27, 1984: 27: 38. cf. Arthur Weiser, The Psalms. SCM Press, 1962: 611.

[2] Dalglish: 38

[3] Marvin E. Tate, Psalm 51-100. Word Biblical Commentary, Word, 1990: 459.

[4] J. Clinton McCann, Jr. The Book of Psalms. The New Interpretator’s Bible, Vol.IV. Abingdon Press, 1996: 1048

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22)

Psalm 22 is one of the major Old Testament passages that the early church saw as a testimony to the gospel facts or as disclosing the determined plan of God.[1] Matthew, Mark, John, Paul, and the author of Hebrews all referred to this psalm. Verses 1 and 18 are specifically quoted and verses 6, 21 and 22 are alluded to.

Hanging on the cross, knowing that His Father was not going to intervene on His behalf, Jesus ass reminded of a prayer He has known from childhood, an agonized cry wrenched from the heart of another servant of God in a time of trial.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? (22:1) [2]

Jesus' use of Psalm 22 is significant. We know that the Jews had regular, formalized worship three times daily, including readings from the Law and the Prophets and singing of Psalms. The Psalms constituted their hymn book, and most faithful Jews would have had the psalms memorized. “My God, my God,” is the beginning of Psalm 22 and the Jews at the foot of the Cross would have recognized this. Some of them would have remembered that Psalm 22 begins in apparent defeat or tragedy, but ends in triumph. Undoubtedly some would have asked, “How can He be quoting something that has a happy ending as the life drains from him – where is the hope of which the Psalm speaks?” Some, in Matthew’s account, mistakenly took the Aramaic “Eli, eli” to be a cry for Elijah to come and save him.

For those of His followers who stayed with Him, one wonders how much they would considered that this incident, like the psalmist's, would ultimately end happily. Given Matthew's account of the incident, it is obvious that some, like Jesus, recognized, as they looked around them, the prophecies in the middle section of Psalm 22 being fulfilled before their very eyes: “They gape upon me with their mouths…” “They pierced my hands and my feet…” “they stand staring and looking upon me…” “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Hearing Jesus' words and seeing the events unfolding around them the word of this psalm must have been running through the minds of those faithful Jews who stayed at the cross when most of Jesus' other followers had fled. As John witnessed the soldiers dividing Jesus clothing as He hangs on the cross, he saw a parallel to the plight suffered by the psalmist in Psalm 22:18:[3]

they divide my garments among them,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.[4]

As recorded in the psalm, the wicked loot the righteous with callous indifference and ruthlessness. The innocent victim is left helpless in his nakedness.

The words of Psalm 22:6 (together with Isaiah 53:3), "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people" are alluded to by Mark in 9:12.[5] Mark refers to the fact that "it is written of the Son of the Man that He would suffer many things and be treated with contempt." Psalm 22, as a whole, would have been prime source material to support this.

Allen notes that Psalm 22:21 is likely what Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy 4:17, speaking of his first defence before Nero where he was acquitted.[6]

Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Before and during his first legal hearing before Nero, apparently Paul prayed the lament section of Psalm 22 and upon receiving the favourable outcome, he "transformed the petition into an element of thanksgiving, namely the report of God's intervention."[7] Now, as he faces his second trial, which he does not expect will end with similar deliverance, he still remains confident of God's ability to deliver him from every evil attack and to bring him safely to God's eternal kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18).

The words of verse 22, "I will tell of your name to my brothers’ in the midst of the congregation I will praise" are quoted in Hebrews 2:12. Because of the suffering that He endured, Jesus has been crowned with glory that is to be shared with all mankind. This is what is referred to in Psalm 22:22. The suffering that Christ endured, as seen throughout the psalm, resulted in glory that will be shared with all those whom He is not ashamed to call brothers (Heb. 2:11).
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[1] C.H Dodd, According to the Scriptures. Fontana Books, 1965: 30 argues that when two or more separate authors cite the same passage from the Old Testament, unless there are definite reasons to the contrary, "they represent to that extent a common tradition."

[2] Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

[3] John 19:24

[4] John 19:24

[5] Dodd: 92-93

[6] Leslie C. Allen, Psalm 101-150. Word Biblical Commentary. Word, 1983: 88.

[7] Ibid: 89.

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What to do with the imprecatory psalms (part 2)

How are we to take Psalm 58 with its prayer to God to smash in the mouths of their enemies (verse 7), and the expressed wish of the psalmist to have the righteous bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked (verse 11)? Or of Psalm 109 with its prayer that God would make the children of the wicked man fatherless and his wife a widow (verse 9)? And what of the author of Psalm 137 rejoicing at the thought of the little ones of Babylon being dashed against the rocks (verse 9)? How are these psalms to be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus to love one’s enemies and to forgive them?

Several things need to be considered. First, it must be remembered that these are prayers for divine justice, not human grudges.[1] The petitioners are asking for God to take direct action; they do not ask for the power to take things into their own hands and to be able to personally punish their foes, nor is permission ever granted for them to do so.[2] In these petitions, the psalmists pour out their pain, anger and hurt. The tone is indicative of the horrors that they have faced.[3] They startle us into feeling something of the desperation that produced these words.[4] But the psalmists do not hide these less "noble" sentiments from us, and God, in His sovereignty, inspired them to record them for our good. Among the lessons we may learn from their inclusion in the canon is the fact that God is less shockable than we are, looks beyond the words to the heart of the supplicant and is afflicted in all our afflictions.[5] Hence, He is pleased when His people pour out their hearts to Him in their entirety.

Additionally, it should be noted that forgiveness of enemies and gaining God’s perspective is not found in concealing these emotions, but in acknowledging them to God, which is what these writers do.[6] As Bonhoeffer writes, "It would mean much if we would learn that we must earnestly pray to God in such distress and that whoever entrusts revenge to God dismisses any thought of ever taking revenge himself."[7]

To rejoice in the fall of our enemies is also not strictly an Old Testament sentiment. The fall of Babylon in Revelation 18, for example contains language reminiscent of the imprecatory psalms.[8] Jesus instructed His disciples to curse cities that did not receive them (Matt.10:14). He, Himself, called down judgment on Bethsaida and Capernaum (Matt. 11:21-24). Paul declared a curse on anyone who did not love the Lord (1 Cor. 16:22) and on anyone who preaches another Jesus (Galatians 1:8-9). The martyrs in heaven cry out for vengeance on those who killed them (Rev. 6:9-10). Hence, the desire to see justice is not strictly a reflection of a less graceful Old Testament disposition corrected in the revelation of Christ.

The imprecatory psalms also challenge the reader to identify with the oppressed and suffering, even though he, himself, may be quite comfortable.[9] They invite us to pray on behalf of others, as they evoke in us an awareness of the wickedness that is in the world. They may not, as Tate, reminds us, be our prayers, at the present moment, but they are the prayers of our brothers and sisters who are trampled down by persons and powers beyond their control.[10] The Christian church has long seen these psalms as the prayers of Christ on behalf of the suffering and needy. Bonhoeffer revived this old tradition in his small book Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible[11] and his sermon on Psalm 58.[12] The incarnate Son of God, knowing all of our weakness, is able to stand in our place before God and pray these prayers on our behalf. Hence, they really truly are our prayers, as well as His.[13] As the perfect Son of God, He is able to pray these prayers without guilt, which we cannot do for we are liable to be reminded of our own guilt and how we often act as those against whom we are praying. Hence, these psalms may awake in us an acute awareness of our own violent sins and hatred for others, and of our need for confession and repentance.[14]
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[1] Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Skeptics Ask. Victor Books, 1992: 242.
[2] Marvin E. Tate. Psalm 51-100. Word Biblical Commentary, Word, 1990: 88-89.
[3] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72. InterVarsity Press, 1973: 27.
[4] Ibid.: 28
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid: 88.
[7] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "A Bonhoeffer Sermon." Theology Today 38, 1982: 469.
[8] It may also be helpful to note that God is mentioned as a God of love more often in the Old Testament than in the New (cf. Geisler and Howe: 242).
[9] Tate: 89.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible. trans. James H. Burtness. Augsburg Publishing Co., 1970: 20-21.
[12] Bonhoeffer, "A Bonhoeffer Sermon"
[13] Bonhoeffer, Psalms: Prayer Book of the Bible: 21
[14] cf. Tate: 90

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What to do with the imprecatory psalms (part 1)

As part of my doctoral studies on suffering for righteousness in the book of Psalms (before I had to abandon them because of health issues), I had to wrestle through what biblical scholars call "The Imprecatory Psalms." These are the psalms that cry out to God for vengeance on their enemies. They call down curses on their foes and look forward to their destruction. Psalms like 137 that declares, "Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (verse 9)." Or Psalm 58:

O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. (verses 6-10)

Many Christians are uncomfortable with these verses. The Anglican Church of Canada's Book of Common Prayer actually removes them from the Psalter as being inappropriate for Christians to pray such sentiments.

Recently, however, I came across an excellent discussion on the Imprecatory Psalms by John N. Bray, pastor of the Bellewood Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Washington. Entitled, "Crying for Justice" (Kregel, 2005). In this concise exposition, Dr. Bray demonstrates conclusively, I believe, that these words are the prayers of God's people today as well as they face extreme suffering and oppression. In page 13, he summarizes his position with the following observations:

But the question may yet be asked, "How can it be right for Christians to cry out for divine vengeance and violence, as in the imprecatory psalms?" Four observations from Scripture address this question.

First, the vengeance appealed for is not personally enacted. Rather, God is called upon to be the Avenger.

Second, this appeal is based upon the covenant promises of God, most notable of which are "He who curses you, I will curse" (Gen. 12:3), and "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay" (Deut. 32:35). If God has so promised, then it would not seem wrong for his people to petition him (even passionately) to fulfill these promises!!

Third, both testaments record examples of God's people on earth calling down curses or crying for vengeance. Yet there is no literary or theological intimation of divine disapproval over such sentiments being expressed. Indeed, the implication is that, in its appropriate place, such utterances are commendable (cf. the imprecatory psalms and the Pauline and Petrine curses of Gal. 1:8-9 and Acts 8:20).
Fourth, Scripture further records an instance in which God's people in heaven, where there is no sin, cry out for divine vengeance and are comforted by the assurance of its impending enactment (Rev. 6:9-11). Since these martyred saints are perfected, their entreaty would presumably be "right."

Of course, Day develops his thought much more completely in the rest of the book. But I thought that I might just whet your appetite for more. I would highly recommend this valuable resource. You can order one from most online book stores like Chapters, Amazons or Abesbooks.

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