c) Pilgrim/Songs of Ascents (Archer)
i)
Jewish tradition refers them to a semicircular flight
of steps leading to the court of men in the temple.
ii)
Most likely refers to stages of pilgrimage to Jerusalem
during the annual feast days.
d) Imprecatory (Leupold)
i)
Def: psalms
in which the writer prays that God may afflict the evil doer and punish him acc
to his desserts. Ps 35,69,109 have the
longest portions.
ii)
The Issue of
Retribution.
(1)
Dt 32:35; Prov 25:21f; Rom 12:19-20: God is a God of
vengeance.
(2)
David had an exemplary spirit of tolerance &
forgiveness (e.g. Saul).
(3)
The objects of retribution are enemies of God's people
& God's cause.
(4)
By this prayer David moves the matter from his hands into
God’s.
(5)
In some instances the writer is concerned about the
ultimate conversion of the evildoers (2:10-12)
(6)
He may have in mind …
(a) the
vindication of God's cause (79:10)
(b)
not having the wicked despise God (10:12f)
(c) having
the righteous take courage (35:26f)
(d)
having the wicked taught to fear God (64:7-9)
(7)
Other notes:
(a) The
evil that is wished on the enemy is something they fully deserve both on the
score of just retaliation as well as on the score of prevailing rules of
warfare.
(b)
It appears to him that the only way to get relief is to
have the enemy completely humbled or even utterly destroyed.
(c) The
Psalmists in no wise minimized or overlooked their own guilt but confessed it and
cast themselves on the mercy of God.
(i)
The NT has striking points of similarity (2 Tim 4:14:
Alex the coppersmith; Ac 23:2: before Annas Paul speaks sharply; Ac 8:20: Peter
against Simon Magus.)
(8)
Discretion is called for in our day:
(a) We
must not forget to pray for the conversion of the persons who are engaged in
these lines of business.
(b)
We must pray for and love our enemies. (Matt. 5:43-48)
No comments:
Post a Comment