Psalm 109

Good morning, church family!

A group of us, after spending time in the Psalms at a men’s retreat, decided to “pray the Psalms.” This is an ancient practice where you read a psalm several times. Then you read it out loud, replacing the Psalmist’s personal or generic reference with your own name to make it your prayer. Psalm 1:1 would read for me, “Blessed is David who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked . . .” You get the idea.

We committed to praying though the entire Psalter. We posted almost daily for motivation, accountability, and sharing personal insights. When we got to Psalm 109, our Facebook page blew up! The most common questions were, “Can we pray things like this? Is this Christian? What do I do with this?” This might be a good time for you to stop and read Psalm 109 in its entirety. I’ll wait . . .

Psalm 109 is an imprecatory psalm, where the author vividly, even angrily calls down curses on his enemies. David dialed up catchy phrases like “may his children be fatherless and his wife a widow” (v. 9), and “may his children become wandering beggars, driven from their ruined homes” (v. 10). And my personal favorite, “may the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out” (v. 14). Nice.

What do we do with Scriptures like this? Well, we should rejoice! Rejoice in the freedom of being this honest before God. David clearly pulled no punches in this psalm, which by the way, he wanted put to music! If the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) could be this gut-level honest with God, why do we think we need to sugar coat our words?

I think David knew in his heart God would not grant these angered petitions. I also think David knew if he didn’t release his anger somewhere, it would consume him. So, he took his rage to the safest One he knew – the God who loved and called him by name (cf. Isa. 43:1). Once his heart was emptied of its venom, he could present to God his most urgently needed petition.

“But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me” (Psalm 109:21). David asked for help, not because of who he was but because of who God is. David sought deliverance, not because he was good but because God is. David could then admit his condition: “I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me” (v. 22). From an emptied and broken heart, David invited God to transform his life.

I am convinced David could not have prayed vv. 21-22, without praying the venom of the first twenty verses. Back to the questions. “Can we pray things like this?” Yes, and the ability to do so is a gift from God. “Is this Christian?” It can be, as we lay the ugliness of our heart bare before God. “What do we do with this?” Mimic it, releasing our anger before asking God for cleansing.

Go to the Psalms not to shape your theology but to expand your prayer life, as it will! Pretty sure I still don’t want my ugliest thoughts put to music but I have had this tune stuck in my head!

Blessings,
Pastor David