Psalms
83:16 KJV
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
Barnes Notes:
"This explains the drift and design of the whole
prayer in the psalm. It is not a malignant prayer for the destruction of their
enemies; it is not a wish that they might be made to suffer; but it is a prayer
that the divine dealing might be such as to lead them to the acknowledgment of
the true God. "
"Anything that leads people to an acquaintance with
God, and results in securing his friendship and favor, is a gain, and will be
cause of thankfulness in the end."
This may be the New Testament way of viewing all of the
imprecatory Psalms. No doubt the Christian is called upon to use even the hand
of chastening, not as a means to get even, but as an attempt to bring
restoration to the will of the Lord. There is little place in the New Testament
for calling down fire unless it is that the one is away from God and the intent
of the one who is more spiritual is to see them reconciled. God's plan is
unity. It is a quality that must be fought for and when we finally possess it
we will know that it was in a battle hard won.
No comments:
Post a Comment