Psalms Sermon Illustrations

Psalms Sermon Illustrations

Twenty-third Psalm

The harp strings lie rusted and broken,
The kingdom has gone to decay:
The harpist king sleeps in Mount Zion
Not far from the ancient gateway.

But the sweet tender Psalm of the shepherd
Sings on through the wearisome years;
The shepherd may sleep, but his message
Still lives to dispel mortal fears.

(Ps. 23)

Imprecatory Psalms

  1. Not one psalm is purely imprecatory:

  2. Only one psalm is half, or more than half, imprecatory:

  3. Only fifteen psalms out of one hundred and fifty contain imprecations:

  4. Out of 2,350 or more verses in the Psalms, about 65 contain imprecations:

  5. Some of the imprecations are not prayers but predictions, with future tense verb:

  6. The authorship of eleven of the imprecatory psalms is ascribed to David:

  7. Imprecations are fewest in Books III and IV.

In considering the Imprecatory Psalms, four things must be taken into account: David's character, David's circumstances, David's convictions and David's creed.

(Ps. 83. 15, 16; 139. 19-24; 1 Cor. 16. 22)

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