Psalms - Why We Don't Skip Imprecatory Psalms

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Words spoken long ago out of Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth have set themselves and the rulers to take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us burst the bonds apart and cast their cords from us.

He who is in heaven laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion on my holy hill.

Words spoken long ago out of Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

This is our hope this morning.

This is our good father as a nation's rage.

The king has been set on the holy hill.

And so I would ask Emily, would you just sing over us just a little bit more how our our good father, and let us, as we prepare ourselves for the truth this morning, church, we're gonna see the justice of God unleashed on this place.

That we're gonna we're gonna see and taste of that He's coming.

As Brett has said before, that he's good.

And so let us sing that.

Our good good father.

It's you are loved by you, it's I am it's you I am it's I am you're a good father.

Promised long ago that you set your king on the holy hill.

The nations will rage, things are gonna happen, tragedies are gonna take place, God, but wait, what makes those bearable, and what makes those doable, and I'm even willing to say that makes it even possible is that our king has won this morning, that we're not at the mercy of our rulers, God, because we serve the ultimate ruler, our Psalm 2 Christ, who's conquered death and who's coming back to make things right in the midst of chaos, God, we have this hope of restoration because of you.

And so let us think big this morning and think of all of you.

We love you, God.

It's your name I pray.

Amen.

Well, if you would grab a seat for me.

Uh, let me introduce myself.

My name is Aaron Cotton, and I am the student pastor uh here at Grand Parkway.

Uh, and if you have been with us for the month of July, we have been going through the book of Psalms.

Um, and uh, this is our third week in.

Uh, Wade led us off with a psalm of thanksgiving.

Uh Clyde uh last week uh talked about the psalm of praise, of preparing to meet um our God.

And this morning, uh church, we are in uh the psalm uh called the imprecatory psalms.

Um the imprecatory psalms.

If you uh uh if you have a Bible there on your pew, I'm on page 522.

Uh we're gonna uh be in Psalm 139 uh this this morning.

Um when I say imprecatory psalm, uh that can seem kind of distant and and thick and something we may say in school.

And so uh what I mean by an imprecatory psalm uh is is this the definition is an imprecatory psalm is a call for God to curse and judge his enemies.

It's a call of God to curse or judge uh his enemies.

And one of the things I love about the book of Psalms, as we uh have been confronted with week in and week out, uh, is we're able to see uh the differing emotions uh that the psalmists bring to the table.

Uh the first week, we're talking about the steadfast love endures forever.

And the steadfast love endures forever.

Uh and we then we talk about meeting with God uh last week, and this morning uh we talk about the justice of God.

Uh because what I what is good about the book of Psalms is it uh it stirs up some emotion that we experience on the inside that we can really identify with.

And this morning we're going to identify with a familiar psalm, but maybe not some familiar passages within that psalm.

So, Psalm chapter 139, let me read it to you.

Psalms 139 · chapter mention

The Bible says this.

King David writes.

How precious to me are your thoughts in verse 17, O God.

How vast is the sum of them.

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake and I am still with you.

But oh that you would slay the wicked, O God.

O men of blood, depart from me.

They speak against you with malicious intent.

Your enemies take your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them.

I only hate not only hate them, but I hate them with complete hatred.

I count them my enemies.

Verse 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me, God, lead me in the way everlasting.

I remember in high school we were given a devotional book.

Uh it was a youth curriculum that our youth pastor gave us, printed out, uh, and gave us to us.

And when we think of Psalm 139, uh we think of you were beautifully, wonderfully made.

Uh, or how precious your thoughts are, oh God, how vast is the sum of them.

Before I even knew any of my days, God, you formed them.

We see God as omniscient, we see him as omnipresent, we see him as all-knowing, all-powerful, seeing all things.

When we think we're hiding, God sees us.

And then this is slipped in there.

This imprecatory psalm, oh God, that you would slay, slay the wicked.

And I remember being in high school, looking through that devotional book that our youth pastor gave us, and I remember seeing how how all the verses that we have on our coffee cups, uh, the ones that we are very familiar with and fearfully and wonderfully made.

Uh, we got little flowers uh on our coffee cups that we have.

And then I don't see any coffee cups that have, oh, that you would slay the wicked, oh God.

I've missed that one.

Uh, if it's out there, uh, we need to make one uh because we've missed it.

I remember being in high school reading through this text, and I remember going through that devotional book, and it totally skipped over this part.

It totally just jumped to now search me, oh God, and know my heart and try me and know and know my thoughts, because, church, this is a passage uh that is not talked about often within the church.

And so uh this morning, the title of uh of this morning, probably coming from that experience, is this is why we don't skip the imprecatory psalms.

Why we do not skip the imprecatory psalms.

What I want to do this morning is I got three uh uh introductory thoughts about what Christians believe, and then I got two points, and then my third point, I want us instead of me explaining it, I want us to experience it.

And so the first point this morning uh is uh is this is that um that God reminds us that divine justice is coming.

God reminds us that divine justice is coming because when we see this passage, there's some emotion that stirs within us.

How can David be talking about him hating people?

How can he be calling out, oh God, that you would slay the wicked?

It brings up some things.

And so before we jump in, here are three concrete truths that we as Christians believe.

And the first one is this is that the Bible does not contradict itself.

The Bible does not contradict itself.

In 2 Timothy chapter 3, around verse 16, the Bible says that all of Scripture, all of Scripture means all of Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for the people of God.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

All of Scripture, not just parts that we like or uh maybe that we were taught we were young and we haven't been exposed to because you are not the divine inspirer, the Holy Spirit has inspired the text.

And the Bible says that all of it, all of Scripture is God breathed.

Therefore, what is said in the Old Testament is in union with what is said in the New Testament.

Secondly, God has many attributes, and justice is one of them.

God has many attributes, and justice is one of them.

And we see this early on, Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

God looks at the earth and the world, and he sees that every intention and every thought of man was wicked, deep down rooted wicked.

So what's he do?

He rises up this guy named Noah and then wipes out the world.

Which is, you think about it, like we have children's ministry books, we color about it.

I see bright rainbows uh as I go through and all that.

It's okay.

But when you read the text and you kind of put yourself in there, God is wiping out humanities because they've rebelled against him.

And he spares Noah, the righteous, the one who would look to God.

We only see now we see the flood, we see the plagues of Egypt as we're going through the book of Exodus.

We see God raise up Gentile nations to discipline his own children.

That God is just, is so just that he even loves his children enough to discipline them through Gentile nations.

And in case you miss it, the whole book of Revelation is just an entire statement of God unleashing his justice through seals, through trumpets, and through bowls.

God has many attributes and justice is one of them.

Last, as Christians, what we believe, the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

Some say that the God of the Old Testament is not the Jesus we see in the New Testament.

And so what I want to do this morning is read to you the Jesus we see in the New Testament.

Luke chapter 10, verse 13 through 15.

Luke 10:13–15

Because how often, church, we can think there's this angry God in the Old Testament, uh, and that's not seen in the New Testament.

But let me read to you, Luke chapter 10, verse 13.

Luke 10:13

Jesus says this, Woe, woe to you, Charison, woe to you, Besseda.

For if the mighty works done in you in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they've repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it will be more bearable in the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

And you can perd them.

Will you be exalted to heaven?

You shall be brought down to Hades.

Look at the way Jesus talks to religious people.

In Matthew 23, he says, Woe to you, which is an imprecatory statement.

It's a divine curse.

Woe to you, Pharisees and scribes, you hypocrites.

You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces, for you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who enter to go in.

You may when you make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

What about the Jesus when he sees the religious and the wealthy taking advantage of the poor when he goes in the temple and starts flipping tables?

Where is that Jesus talked about?

Because God hates when the poor and the weak are taken advantage of, and then puts God's name on top of it.

When the disciples ask Jesus, how should we pray?

How should we praise?

Jesus said this in Matthew 6, pray then like this.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, and your will be done.

It becomes so familiar in the church, and we maybe even know it, uh we even maybe have it memorized, but when we are praying that God, your kingdom come and your will be done, that is to invoke a curse or divine judgment on all other kingdoms that oppose the reign of God.

All other kingdoms, when Jesus was asked, how do we pray?

we pray this, your kingdom come.

Not my kingdom, but your kingdom come.

Therefore, church, out of all of this, we are responsible for believing and embracing all that has been revealed about God.

My God is a God of love or compassion, yes, but more.

If you miss the more of who God reveals himself to be, then you miss God.

To talk about his love and his compassion, we must consider his righteousness, we must consider his holiness, and we must consider his justice.

And so why the why do we not skip the imprecatory psalms?

Number one, it's because the imprecatory psalms remind us that divine justice is coming.

Look with me in the in in the word in Psalm 139, verse 19.

Psalms 139:19

Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God.

Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O men of blood, those who murder and seek to kill, depart from me.

They speak against you, God, with malicious intent, and your enemies take your name in vain.

If you have a pen, look look at there within the text, church.

Don't miss the O in there.

It's so easy to focus on what's after that, but there's there's an O in there.

There's a O how O that you would slay the wicked, oh God.

There's this hunger that is present.

There's this deep groaning that is there, and we've all experienced the O.

Oh God, that you would slay the wicked.

And for example, to illustrate this, have you been to Walmart uh in the evening when everybody's off of work?

Have you been to Walmart?

I think everybody, their mom and their cat and all the black crows in Sugarland are at Walmart, all right, with the at the at the evening time.

I remember we had we had an event this past week uh with my students, uh, and it was an event uh we we like to call uh Yuck Wars, uh, where we make our own homemade slime uh and then we uh just literally have tarps and we have all these games for them.

The kids love it, right?

But it's double-time work uh to get all that.

And so I'm going through Walmart and I have all my supplies in my cart.

Uh I'm that guy when you look at like what stinks to be you uh because you know it's coming.

You got about 50 registers at Walmart, but only three of them are open.

And you go over there to roll your cart, and I got all this stuff in, and it's almost like a game to me of how can I pick the right line?

I'm scope, I'm scoping them out, I'm I'm reading the room, I'm looking at the cashiers, like, does that look like someone who's competent and who knows or and who has embraced their job and they're passionate about their job?

No.

So I keep going to the to the next one, right?

Keep on going.

Maybe, maybe this line, maybe, oh, she's quick.

She's getting people through.

I'm gonna get in this line.

And it's the worst when you're shopping with your wife, because if you choose the wrong line, she's gonna let you know.

Because we're of course, I am king at choosing the wrong line.

I always I always am, and I was out myself.

I get in the wrong line, and we're sitting there for no joke, probably about 20 minutes.

Because the cashier up there is carrying on conversations with people and being miss happy with everybody, and I'm on a mission, and I'm on a mission to get out of Walmart, and I'm going through, and I finally get up to the register, she's checking out our stuff.

Hey, how are you?

I'm super, I'm super, I'm so good today.

I'm ready to get out of here, though.

Would you just begin to check my stuff out, right?

And begin to go through as it's building up, and then as we're she's checking through our items, because my wife is very particular about what people charge us for, and God bless her that she double checks every little crook and cranny and every detail.

Praise Jesus for all of that.

But in this moment, she starts double checking what was on the receipt, and then sure enough, we got double charged for some fabric sheet that costs$250.

She's like, we're gonna make this right, we've got to go to customer service.

Not only are we going to this line, now we're going to customer service, right?

We're going through it, and everybody knows you think the checkout line at Walmart is bad, go to the customer service line.

You're sitting there, and I'm so enraged because I'm looking around me, pray for me.

I'm looking around me at those who are doing their job, and they've got, I don't know what the employees are doing today, but they love their phones.

And so I got employees on their phones.

I'm sitting in line thinking, would would somebody just do their job?

Just somebody, somebody do their job.

And I'm I'm in there and I literally I'm I just laid myself out over our cart.

Right.

And my wife looks at me and says, Aaron, are you are you okay?

And I'm just like, don't talk to me, woman.

Let me sit for a second.

And you know what's going through my mind?

Oh God, oh that you would slay the wicked.

The imprecatory psalm was coming out of me, and I'm sitting there, and I in that moment, I just heard the Lord loud and clear, yeah, Aaron, this is what it's like to go into a place and for things to be so jacked up and so and so broken, but I'm coming back to fix things.

Not only Walmart, have you been in Houston Traffic?

Have you been those with those people that are on the side in that right lane?

You're thinking, do you have a driver's license?

Oh no, you're on your phone.

Knew it! I knew you were on your phone.

But let's get real.

If we look at the news, we turn on our TV, Brett brought it up earlier.

I mean, what what a week.

In Psalm 139, as it talks about how our days have been formed, this moment at the church and where we have our landing at in the imprecatory Psalms is not a coincidence.

And I don't know if because I've been sitting with it and I've been preparing myself for it, but to see what's going on in our nation, the Planned Parenthood lady who uh is selling aborted babies for money, to the Chattanooga shooting rolled up on this military recruiting center and opened fire.

And here we are, we see these things and what the decisions are made within the judicial court about gay rights and gay marriage and all these things that are going on.

If we don't have the imprecatory psalms, we'll go crazy.

But the impregatory psalms remind us that justice, that justice is coming.

Not only within our nation, but what's also happening within the church.

That right now, in this moment, there are Christians being persecuted for their faith.

Marcy sent out an email about uh uh excuse me, uh, Saeed, uh Pastor Said, who uh we heard from Nagma last year, who's still in prison.

Who's still in prison for a thousand days uh he has died, but for a thousand one God has risen from the grave.

That he's endured this persecution, he has suffered.

Uh we traveled to India, and I remember the last one of the last days when we were on our India trip, we had a widow's conference.

We got passion, we got all these conferences that we go here in the States.

I'm I'll just admit, I'll just put myself out.

I've never been to a widow's conference.

There in India, we got these women in front of us who've lost their husbands, who wicked men rose out and killed them.

And they're sitting before us, sitting there, hoping to hear some truth, and hoping to hear a word.

And that's when it gets real.

And it's interesting, in that widow's conference that we were doing as a church as we traveled over there, every single one of us, where did we go?

We didn't plan it either.

We just landed in the Psalms.

And each and every single one of us went to the Psalms.

Boom.

Boom.

And then it got to me and went to Psalm 73.

Oh, my flesh and my heart may fail.

But God, you are the strength and my portion forever.

But you're gonna come back and you're gonna make things right.

We've all experienced the oh.

Oh, oh, how long, oh Lord.

How how long.

And so it's very easy for us to say, yes, Jesus has come back.

He's he's gonna the righteousness is gonna come.

But let me love you enough, church, to say this that be careful that your zeal for God's righteousness and justice doesn't lead you to sin.

Be careful that your zeal and passion for God's righteousness doesn't lead you to sin.

Notice the pronoun.

Oh God, oh that you, oh, that you would slay the wicked.

This is not a personal vengeance uh David is writing about, but it's calling on God to do what he already said he was gonna do back in Psalm 2.

He's already coming.

There's a verse in Luke chapter 9 when Jesus is traveling with his buddies and he rolls up on the Samaritan village.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And as he's passing through, the Samaritan village didn't receive Jesus because there was some racial tension between the Samaritans and the Jews, and the disciples are walking with Jesus.

And the disciples uh said to Jesus, Lord, since these guys didn't receive you, do you want us to call down fire on them?

I'm reading in the text, like, this is there, this is in the New Testament?

Yes, yes, yes, it is, because John and James and John, they know their Old Testament.

They know Elijah called down fire multiple times on people.

And so they're looking at the Samaritans in precatory psalm coming up, it's rising in them.

God, let's just call down fire, let's wipe out these people.

And we know that, maybe know that story, but Jesus turns in verse 55.

And he rebukes them.

So, Aaron, how can you say, be careful that your zeal for God's righteousness and justice doesn't lead you to sin?

Because here in this moment, the disciples are rebuked for the impregatory that's coming out.

What happened is that their zeal for God's righteousness turned into a sinful anger.

They were rebuked because of their personal vengeance and possibly maybe even some racial prejudice that was going on.

And Jesus says, no, no, no, no.

When justice comes, it's not about you, but it's about God getting glory.

They were rebuked because of their motive.

That's why it says in Nehemiah 5, when the wealthy are taking advantage of the poor, Nehemiah gets not only angry, verse 11, he gets very angry when he hears the outcry of his people.

Ephesians 4 26 says this be angry and do not sin.

Do not let the sun go down while you're angry.

Paul commands us, hey, be angry, but don't be angry as you lay your head down at night, as you relish in that anger.

Because as a Christian, and what we believe, if there's a Christian that has offended us, we're thankful that their sin has been covered and that they have been forgiven.

But for the unchristian who offends us, we remember Romans chapter 12, verse 19 through 21.

Romans 12:19–21

God says this, Hey, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The vengeance of God frees us up to love our enemies.

And so the Bible talks about a righteous anger, but also talks about a sinful anger.

An anger that is some perceived need or desire or personal preference that's not being met by someone.

I see this most, most visibly if you hang around kids.

You hang out, you're shopping, and there's always that kid, speaking of Walmart, there's always that kid in Walmart that's just gonna break down and lose it, right?

Some of your parents are like, yeah, uh, that was yesterday for me.

Actually, you know what?

It was this morning uh coming to church, uh, the temper tantrum.

We saw it.

And I have a little a little niece that is the same way.

But I think there is a there is a little kid in us when anger, when sinful anger emerges in us, it's because we're at the center and we're not we're not getting what we want.

I want you so bad uh to love me.

I want you so bad to accept me, I want you to understand me.

I want to be approved of, I want to be viewed as competent, and I'm gonna do anything I possibly can to get it.

And when you don't give it to me, that makes me angry.

That's a that's the sinful anger that is rooted in us.

The righteous anger is the one that looks at injustice and wrong in the world and the things that are going on within our nation and says, Oh, oh, how long, oh Lord, how long are you are you going to wait before you come and make things right for your name and your your glory.

This past week uh took my older students to go see Pixars Inside Out uh at the Palladium.

And if you haven't gone to the Palladium, uh go check it out.

It's sweet.

They got this bowling alley, uh and I got this little fancy ice cream right there in the middle.

And if you're a Starbucks fan, they got Starbucks right in uh the middle.

Right?

I heard about this, the film Pixars uh Inside Out, and I thought I'm a student pastor, let's go take the kids.

So we take everybody who go watch Pixar's Inside Out.

If you have not seen it, uh I highly, highly recommend it because they have all these characters uh that are in there.

They got these different emotions.

Uh one person's name, are we talking about Pixar right now?

We are.

Uh there's this one person named Joy, and then there's one person disgust, uh, and then there's fear, uh, and then there's this person called anger, right?

Which is interesting how they did this uh because it separates out all the emotions that we experience.

And it's hilarious.

There's some funny parts, but also what they were doing for the younger generation, and for me, by the way, as I was watching, uh as I was glued in more than the kids, right?

I'm like, why are they talking?

Uh oh, because this is this is kind of getting serious, uh, because it plays out for us.

The whole point, and I'm not spoiling anything, uh, is that it's okay to be sad and joyful, right?

That's the whole that whole point.

But as I was watching and as I was thinking about this morning, there's these different emotions that there's this control center, and then the diff the the emotion comes up, and then depending on how what plays out is the person who's on the control center.

So if anger's at the control center, people are getting angry.

If joy's at the control center, things are joyful, right?

And this I'm uh one of my favorite characters on there was anger, right?

Because he gets up there, it's like a like a walk-in volcano, right?

He there's these moments he gets to the control center and he just pulls it all the way up, and then things go ballistic, right?

And and there and then and then in that moment there's this this sinful anger that we're talking about.

But when anger comes up to the control center in your life, what kind of anger is it?

If you were to look at this past week, when anger was going on within you, what kind of anger was it?

Was it a righteous anger or was it a sinful anger?

This is how we know that our zeal for righteousness and justice has fallen us, and uh that where we have gone into sin is where uh we our motive is not to be righteous, but to be right.

And we're gonna let you know that we are right and you are wrong.

A lot about a person is revealed when they have the upper hand.

When they have the upper hand, a lot is revealed.

So why should we be looking at the imprecatory Psalms?

Number one, divine justice.

It's a reminder, divine justice is coming.

And number two, relationships are put in the right order.

Aaron, how can you say that?

Look with me in Psalm 139.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with complete hatred.

I count them my enemies.

And as I was reading through this, I was looking at how many times the word hate showed up in two verses, four times in my Bible.

I'm like, David, I think you've topped out the word hate uh in that small little section.

Why is David talking about hating people?

Is because he has his relationships prioritized right.

What's underneath all this with the hate that he's talking about is a supreme loyalty to God that can serve surface in hate towards others.

That's why it says in Psalm 97, verse 10, oh you who love the Lord, oh church, oh you who love the Lord, hate evil.

Psalms 97:10

When we are in love with God and synced up with God, we hate the things that He that He hates.

But if you're thinking out there, I thought we were told to love our enemies.

And we are.

Jesus says this in Matthew 5.

But I say to you, Matthew 5, verse 44, hey, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:44

Instead of trying to explain the love and the hate relationship, this uh past year in spring break of 2014, uh decided to take my students uh on a spring break trip uh to San Antonio.

Uh, and because I love the palladium, the number one thing that we did uh in San Antonio was went to the palladium.

Uh and we go to the palladium and uh we were in a rush, we got stuck in some traffic, uh, and we were getting there, get to the palladium, and when we travel, I got about 50 to 60 kids with me.

All right, so it's not just your family trip driving up, like you there's strategic ways that you've got to be thinking about because I got a trailer behind me and I got 50 of your kids with me.

All right, so I'm going through the parking lot and I always park in the back of the parking lot, always, because I got the trailer with me.

And for those men that have been driving or women, whatever, been driving with trailers, uh, you know that you've got to have some space.

And so I park in the very, very back of the palladium.

And we're in a rush.

I get out there, I get all the kids situated, uh, and and I'm I'm walking out and I get a call from one of my uh my youth leaders, and I can tell by my the conversation on the phone, things are a little shaky, uh, and something has happened.

And so immediately in that moment, uh I ripped off my shirt, and then there was this Superman outfit, right?

And I ran out there to the parking lot because that's where I knew she was at, and she I ran out there and she said, Aaron, Aaron, someone broke into our vans.

So someone broke into our vans.

I don't know where they went.

Have you called 911?

No, but I thought I was gonna go get them.

I thought I was gonna go put my Batman mask on and drive around in a 15-passenger van uh to go unleash some justice on some people.

I'm like, you're a 24-year-old young adult.

I think these guys are professionals.

Let's call 9-1-1.

Smart idea.

We call 9-1-1.

Cops come.

All the kids are in the theater, by the way.

They have no clue this is going on.

And like I said, we were in a rush.

I left, I'll never do this again.

I've learned my lesson, but I left my laptop in the front of the van.

The first thing I go to the swing open the door and I look in, I noticed my my backpack is gone.

And I've been angry some points in my life, but this is by far the most angry I've ever been in my life.

Like Pixar's inside out.

Angry Man is at the control center, volcano going out.

I'm swinging, missing, just swinging the air.

My wife is looking at me.

Aaron, are you okay?

She looks in the van, she realizes all her books, uh, her nursing books and her laptop is gone as well.

I don't know what's up with the cottons leaving their precious items in the van.

I know lesson has been learned.

Things have been taken away from us, and I remember in that moment, something's gonna happen.

Something justice has got to come, but there's nothing I could do.

But there was a sweet little app on my phone called Find MyPhone.

If you haven't installed it and synced up your devices, I suggest you do it because I log in on there.

The police officer tells me, Hey, do you have this app?

I say, Yeah, I have this app.

And I log in and you're able to track all your devices where they're at.

And so on my device, like I'm like Mr.

CS CSI person right now.

Like I'm on my phone and I'm tracking them.

I'm going through and I can see where they're traveling, I can see where they're going, I know the exact address where my laptop is at.

I have that right there in front of me through this app.

And can you imagine your students getting outside the movie theater?

Hey, where's Aaron at?

I don't know.

But he put on a Batman mask and he's in the 15-passenger van and he's driving to Laredo.

I don't know what's gonna happen, but something's gonna happen, right?

But there's nothing I could have done.

Kids come back into the van, they have no idea, they start talking, and they didn't know, and they start looking at their friends and they're saying, Hey, did you take my stuff?

Like, what'd you do with my what'd you do with my purse?

Like, what, what it, what did you do, what'd you do with this and this and this?

And what did what did you do with my backpack?

And all this is going on.

And by this point, I've able to sat with a little bit.

It's I'm I'm laughing to myself.

I said, hey, hey, just hold hold up a little bit, okay?

Just hold up.

And we're driving there and we get there, and we I find I have them all huddled up in front of me.

And I told them on my find my iPhone app, I sent them this message, and I think I have it for us uh to the people who stole my laptop.

Um I I told them this message.

True story.

On account of this, the wrath of God is coming.

That's a quote, by the way, Colossians 3.

Praying you would turn and repent and come to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

But if not, and precautionary psalm coming out, if not, you're gonna get it.

And the kids, I told them that, they're like, Yeah, God's gonna lay the wood to them, yeah, they're gonna get it.

And then I looked at him and I said, and I said, the the pastor and me, and the spiritual leader in that moment said, This is a real great moment to teach our kids what it's like to pray for our enemies.

Because the vengeance of God and the wrath coming enables us to love and pray for the worst of enemies.

And so we got down in that moment and I said, Hey, let's pray.

Let's pray for them.

And on my backpack, long story short, my backpack was dumped, and I still have my backpack.

My laptop wasn't in there, of course, but I still have my backpack, and there's this fray on my backpack.

Every time I see it, I'm always reminded to pray for them.

Aaron, how can you how can you say that?

Because what we see in the scriptures, we see the justice of God, but we also see the love of God combined.

And the greatest picture is the cross.

Jesus dying, loving us enough to die on the cross.

But yet at the same time, God's justice and wrath is being unleashed on him.

The justice of God and the love of God.

Loving your enemy doesn't mean that you tolerate their sin.

Somehow in our culture, it's been a sign of love, just to tolerate the pat on your head, to be okay, sing kumbaya.

But to not speak up and to speak of the justice of God is a form of selfish selfishness, stinginess, and sinful hate that keeps others from experiencing true freedom.

Not only churches it does this imprecatory psalm remind us that divine justice is coming.

But also it causes us to prioritize our relationships, that when we are in sync with God and we're loyal to Him, we hate the things that He hates.

It's not about us, it's not about our agenda, it's not about us being right and holding picket signs outside, out front, out of places.

It's not about that.

But it's about knowing and embracing that God, you're coming back.

You're coming back for your church, you're coming back to do what is right because we're jealous for your name and your glory.

We've heard the phrase, hey, hate the sin, but love the sinner.

Let me put a quote before you by James Montgomery Boyce.

It says, We hate, we say, hate the sin, but love the sinner.

It's nice advice, but it's also hard to do.

Since love of the sinner, if we're not extremely careful, leads us to love the sinner's sinful ways and then to a participation in them.

David was not all sure that he could successfully love one another and hate the other.

So taken was he with the greatness of God that he would not want in nothing to endanger his relationship with God.

And so our last point this morning that I'm not going to explain, but that we're going to experience, is that the imprecatory psalms request God to search us.

It requests and calls God.

God, I'm angry.

Okay, let's take a step back.

Why am I angry?

Am I not getting something that I really want?

Am I getting something that I really don't want?

Am I wanting something above you?

No, I'm angry right now because that's not okay.

That's one of the things that you hate, and so therefore I hate.

A righteous anger.

But David knows the tension.

And that's why he says this, verse 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting.

And so I'm gonna ask as we close our time, as we think about the impregatory psalms, church, divine justice is coming.

Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

It also puts our relationships in the right order.

That when we're synced up with God, we hate the things that He hates.

But lastly, it calls for us, it requests God to search us.

And so as Brett and Emily make their way on up front, I'm gonna invite you to search yourself.

Which is a dang, it's I say dangerous prayer.

It is a asking God within everything that's going on in our lives, any attitude, any action, God, you have full access.

I mean, we are going up to the airport of God Almighty and going through the line of security to say, God, search me.

If there be any grievous way in me, if there be any sinful anger in me, because I have a real desire to be right and not righteous that reflects you.

God, forgive me.

And so during this time, let me ask you some questions.

Do you relate to God based upon him of all who he is, or just one aspect of him?

How long have you been angry?

Is it righteous or sinful anger?

And what's preventing you from laying it down?

How much do you love being right and enjoy others to know about it?

Who do you need some healthy distance from?

Because they are bringing down and affecting your fellowship with God.

Let's think about these things.

Stand your feet for me.

I want to speak a blessing over you.

Here at Grand Park Way, we hold out our hands during this time to say, God, we want to receive from you.

And so receive this this morning.

The God's coming back.

He's coming to make things right.

The O inside of you that longs for justice.

It's God.

And so trust him.

As we wait, as we cling to who he is, all of who he is.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless you that you're dismissed.