| Author | Message | ||
     Tankhead |
http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/blog/kansas-speak er-cites-psalm-praying-for-death-of-president-obam a/ That is one crazy bird. And for those of you who look towards the Bible for inspiration could you explain how one finds inspiration in the Psalm 109? Maybe the guy who wrote it fasted too long and not only are his knees weak but he seems very unable to forgive and maybe hallucinating a bit. The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000. The Psalms 109 I erased the psalm 109 from this post because I did not want to offend. If you read the article only a part of it is in there. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Context means everything. I'LL post the entire Psalm 109 passage: Psalm 109 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, 2 for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. 3 With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. 4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. 5 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship. 6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. 8 May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. 9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 10 May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes. 11 May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. 12 May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. 13 May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. 15 May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may blot out their name from the earth. 16 For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted. 17 He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him. 18 He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil. 19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him. 20 May this be the LORD’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me. 21 But you, Sovereign LORD, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love. 27 Let them know that it is your hand, that you, LORD, have done it. 28 While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice. 29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak. 30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him. 31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
If someone is evil, particularly in a position of power, praying that God would remove that person isn't unrealistic. Imagine what those under Hitler, or Saddam, or Pol Pot must have prayed. My guess is much worse than what you see in Psalm 109. The question isn't whether you pray that God would intervene to remove an evil man but whether or not you believe that leader to be evil. | ||
| Blake |
G-d didn't tolerate unrepentant wickedness. As for the Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives, Mr. Mike O'Neal, if he himself is not a righteous man--by his actions he appears far from it--then he's wading in very treacherous waters. Shame on him. Spiteful gossips are not righteous. He more resembles the target of the Psalm than its author. A lengthy critique of Psalm 109 for those who may be interested: http://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-109-prayer-punis hment-wicked | ||
| Tankhead |
Thanks Gentlemen. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I think what you'll find is that those who REALLY have faith in God are EXTREMELY hesitant to call down this kind of heat in prayer. It isn't to be taken lightly. It isn't a bumper sticker. It isn't to be used to garner favor among the "religious right". To do so, is to call down judgment upon one's self. When I see it used in such a brazen manner, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I wouldn't really want to be standing next to him.  | ||
| 86129squids |
I wonder if his district covers the Westboro batshits. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Another group of people who will pay dearly for their words. At the pearly gates, Peter, Paul, and Jesus himself will be standing there holding "God Hates Westboro" signs. | ||
| Moxnix |
Not claiming to be righteous, by any means, but as a serving brother I prayed parts of that Psalm more than once. Just sayin'... (Message edited by moxnix on February 01, 2012) | ||
| Sifo |
Be careful with that prayer. We could end up with Biden! Didn't he just come out saying that we shouldn't have gone after OBL in Pakistan?  | ||
| Blake |
Not that we shouldn't have in retrospect, just that at the time, he advised against a strike pending further investigation. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Not claiming to be righteous, by any means, but as a serving brother I prayed parts of that Psalm more than once. Just sayin'... My guess, though, is that you weren't using it for public display or for political reasons. Like using the Holy Grail for a kegger. | ||
| Moxnix |
There were times.... My ex-wife said, about the time I disappeared for a few years, that I'd either find God or go crazy. It's not for me to say which way it went.... but I returned long enough to get a divorce. | ||
| Kenm123t |
Mox had yourself a walkabout ! | ||
| Moxnix |
I called it the "geographic solution" (Mt. 10:14). | ||
| Blake |
>>> And for those of you who look towards the Bible for inspiration could you explain how one finds inspiration in the Psalm 109? I guess I neglected to answer that question in full. After carefully considering the entire Psalter, here's my take. Given the author was King David, the same David who as a boy took down the Philistine's champion warrior, Goliath, what might we find inspiring about the his ordeal as King of Israel concerning one of his enemies? Have you ever been so maliciously and unjustly maligned and hatefully tormented that your health was failing? Have you ever gone out of your way to do good on behalf such an enemy, someone who
If so, when you did, were you met in return with yet more evil, with vile malicious lies, hatred, and venom intending your destruction? If so, were you in a position of honesty and rightness with G-d that allowed you to petition His justice? Are there any parallels today to the ordeal King David describes? It seems that the situation in Israel may not be too different today. Read Brigitte Gabriel's Because They Hate, a gripping personal testimony of how growing up in Lebanon she was taught hatred and lies about Jews and the nation of Israel, all while those preaching the lies and hate were making war against her home, laying waste to her town, killing her close friends and family. It's an amazing story. |
