Imprecatory Prayers?

January 7, 2019

WORD:

Ps 28:1-5 28 To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. 2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. 4 Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. 5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. NIV

Ps 28:1-5 28 1 I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. 2 Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked— with those who do evil— those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts. 4 Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others. 5 They care nothing for what the LORD has done or for what his hands have made. So he will tear them down, and they will never be rebuilt! Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Ps 28:1-5 28 Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. 4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. KJV

Ps 28:1-5 28 To you, O LORD, I call;  my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands  toward your most holy sanctuary. 3 Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil,  who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. 4 Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. 5 Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more. ESV

I.  Minor Key: vv. 1-5

            A. Pleas (vv. 1- 3)

1.     Hear Me! - v. 1  

2.     Have Mercy! – v. 2a

3.     Help! – v. 2b

            B. Imprecation (vv. 4-5)

II. Major Key: vv. 6-9

            A. Praise (vv. 6-8)

            B. Supplication (v. 9)

We come now to verses 4 and 5 and David’s prayer for the wicked who we read about in verse 3. I have titled this portion in my outline as “Imprecation.” In terms of imprecations, this is a mild one. In fact, in my study on this issue, these verses hardly even appear on the radar screen of most commentators or those discussing imprecatory prayers. Yet, in light of the Lord’s words concerning praying for and loving our enemies, what David says here seems out of place or contradictory to the Christian way of praying for them.

Before I set up the tension concerning the issue of “imprecatory prayers,” let me first define what we are talking about. The root word of “imprecatory” is “imprecate.”

Here is the Webster Dictionary definition:

Impre·cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Imprecated; p. pr. & vb. n. Imprecating.] [L. imprecatus, p. p. of imprecari to imprecate; pref. im- in, on + precari to pray. See Pray.]1. To call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous.
Imprecate the vengeance of Heaven on the guilty empire.Mickle.
2. To invoke evil upon; to curse; to swear at.
In vain we blast the ministers of Fate, And the forlorn physicians imprecate.Rochester.
(from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Now let me set up the tension evoked by these prayers:

The Imprecatory PsalmsHere and there in the psalter, like jagged thorns in a chain of roses, there occur certain psalms which express vehement anger and imprecation against enemies and evil-doers. These are known as the "Imprecatory Psalms." There are also occasional shorter passages of a similar nature elsewhere in the Psalms. These imprecatory psalms and passages have been a sore perplexity to many a reader. The imprecatory psalms are 35; 58; 69; 83; 109; 137, The lesser passages are: 5:10; 6:10; 18:4; 31:17,18; 40:14,15; 41:10; 55:9,15 and 70:2,3; 71:13; 79:6,12 and 129:5-8; 140:9,10; 141:10; 149:7-9. To some minds, these imprecatory psalms and passages are perhaps a more difficult obstacle than any other in the way of a settled confidence in the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures.(from Explore the Book. Copyright © 1960 J. Sidlow Baxter. All rights reserved.)

People have attempted to do an end-run around this tension by throwing these prayers to the past, or to the future, leaving them irrelevant to the present. So, some will say that these were from the Old Testament, but we are from the New Testament era.

Baxter replies:

Again, it has been argued that these imprecatory sentiments are peculiar to the old dispensation. This argument, however, while it attempts to limit the difficulty, certainly does not remove it; for what is essentially bad at one period must be so always. Moreover, under the old dispensation, God emphatically inculcated kindness, not only to widows and orphans, but to the stranger, and the Egyptian, and the slave who was of foreign birth. Moreover, the attitude found in the imprecatory psalms is also found in the New Testament; as, for instance, in Paul's words: "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works!" (2 Tim 4:4). See, also, for a most solemn execration, Gal 1:8,9.(from Explore the Book. Copyright © 1960 J. Sidlow Baxter. All rights reserved.)

Others have endeavored to avoid the seaming problem by relegating these verses to the future during the millennial reign of Christ. 

For example:

The view of others, therefore, is that the Psalms comprise but one book with an order and unity throughout, the key to which is found in its final application to the millennial age and establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth. According to these, this explains what are known as the imprecatory or cursing Psalms. These have puzzled many, but when we consider them as terminating on that period when the era of mercy for the Gentile nations closes, and the time of their judgment begins, it lightens their problem very much.(from Christian Workers' Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Biblesoft formatted electronic database. Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

But this fails on two fronts. First, it falls victim to the same problem as the previous one does:

This argument, however, while it attempts to limit the difficulty, certainly does not remove it; for what is essentially bad at one period must be so always. (from Explore the Book. Copyright © 1960 J. Sidlow Baxter. All rights reserved.)

Secondly, it fails contextually and linguistically and logically. While there may be some ambiguity in Hebrew when it comes to word tenses, the context in which things are set shows that these are not meant for some future time but are real issues that the people of God are facing at their present time. Logically it does not make sense that these passages were written with no relevance to the actual person writing them or the people of God who sung them in worship.

Some have argued that these are the honest unsanctified feelings by God’s people. Others, are less charitable and call them devilish prayers. If that is so then they will have to say the same thing of the Lord and the Apostles who quoted approvingly from some of these imprecatory Psalms (see Jn. 15:25 – Ps. 35:19; 69:4) and Acts 1:20 – Ps. 69:25; 109:9).   

So what is the solution to this seeming dilemma? I do not propose that what follows will satisfy everyone. I confess that after all my investigating that I may not be able to give a cogent argument for them that will convince everyone. But let me try.

Words on a page are two dimensional. They don’t usually come with parenthesis to explain the emotion behind them. Today we use punctuation to help with this, but it only goes so far in revealing the emotional content bound up in a word or phrase. The Old Testament writers did not use any punctuation when they wrote. Therefore, it is easy for us to infuse into a passage an emotion that really isn’t there. It is also easy to impute wrong motives to them which may reveal more about ourselves than the one who wrote them.

Such is the case I believe with the imprecatory prayers. These prayers were made with a passion for the glory and righteousness of God. They were pleas for God to act with justice and defend His chosen one(s).

Wiersbe says:

These "imprecatory psalms" are not expressions of selfish personal vengeance, but rather cries for God to uphold His holy Law and vindicate His people.(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

He also says:

The Jews were a covenant people whom God promised to protect as long as they obeyed Him (Lev 26; Deut 27:1-29:29). In His covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless those who blessed Israel and to curse those who cursed them (Gen 12:1-3). When the Jews asked God to deal justly with their wicked enemies, they were only asking Him to fulfill His covenant promises. "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16), but God is also "light" (1 John 1:5), and in His holiness, He must deal with sin. Ever since the fall of man in Gen 3, there has been a battle going on in the world between truth and lies, justice and injustice, and right and wrong; and we cannot be neutral in this battle. "If the Jews cursed more bitterly than the Pagans," wrote C. S. Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms, "this was, I think, at least in part because they took right and wrong more seriously. For if we look at their railings, we find they are usually angry not simply because these things have been done to them but because these things are manifestly wrong, are hateful to God as well as to the victim" (p. 30).

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

So before I judge, I must ask myself if I have the same revulsion to sin and the dishonor it brings to God and the devastation it brings to its victims?

Another thing I must note is that there is the fact that David was king in a Theocracy. As God’s ruler, he was interested in the protection of God’s people, and the promotion of justice and public morality.

Baxter points out:

These Davidic imprecations are uttered from the standpoint of public justice and not of private vengeance.(from Explore the Book. Copyright © 1960 J. Sidlow Baxter. All rights reserved.)

Please note also that David isn’t talking about your garden variety bad guy who liked to drive his chariot too fast through the street or take a few free samples from the farmers market when no one was looking. No, these were evil men who denied the works and will of God and defrauded their neighbor. To make matters worse, at least in this passage in Psalm 28, they were hypocrites as well. 

David is only asking God to fulfill what He had said would happen to those who broke His covenants as noted previously in a quote from Wiersbe.

I realize that this study has become long and perhaps a little unwieldy, but I want to finish this portion with a series of quotes. I present these as good reasons for seeing these prayers as inspired and relevant words that belong in Scripture. Some are rather long. However, I think they will be helpful in your own formulation of thoughts concerning this subject.

Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

But as to the so-called imprecatory psalms, in the position occupied by the Christian and by the church towards the enemies of Christ, the desire for their removal is certainly outweighed by the desire for their conversion: but assuming, that they will not be converted and will not anticipate their punishment by penitence, the transition from a feeling of love to that of wrath is warranted in the New Testament (e.g., Gal 5:12), and assuming their absolute Satanic hardness of heart the Christian even may not shrink from praying for their final overthrow. For the kingdom of God comes not only by the way of mercy but also of judgment; and the coming of the kingdom of God is the goal of the Old as well as of the New Testament saint (vid., Ps 9: 21; Ps 59:14 and other passages), and every wish that judgment may descend upon those who oppose the coming of the kingdom of God is cherished even in the Psalms on the assumption of their lasting impenitence (vid., Ps 7:13 Ps 109:17). Where, however, as in Ps 69 and Ps 109, the imprecations go into particulars and extend to the descendants of the unfortunate one and even on to eternity, the only justification of them is this, that they flow from the prophetic spirit, and for the Christian they admit of no other adoption, except as, reiterating them, he gives the glory to the justice of God, and commends himself the more earnestly to His favour.

(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. Biblesoft formatted Electronic Database. Copyright © 2015 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Willmington's Bible Handbook

*         Many psalms, such as 7, 35, 55, and 109, are "imprecatory," calling on God to punish the wicked. While the violent language of these psalms may sometimes seem out of keeping with a God of grace and love, the following should be kept in mind:

*         The hatred expressed reflected concern over violation of God's laws, not personal grievances.

*         The psalmists were right in expressing these things to God in prayer rather than seeking their own vengeance (see Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19).

*         The psalmists were motivated as much by concern for the victims of sin as by hatred for the sinners themselves (see 10:8-10).

*         Though the psalmists prayed against their enemies, they prayed for them as well (see 9:20 and exposition on 35).

*         Even NT writers, with their more complete knowledge of grace, pronounced curses on people under certain circumstances (see Gal 1:8-9; 2 Peter 2:12).

(from Willmington's Bible Handbook by Harold Willmington Copyright © 1997 by Harold L. Willmington. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

John Stott

As for the imprecatory psalms, in them the psalmist speaks not with any personal animosity but as a representative of God’s chosen people Israel, regards the wicked as the enemies of God, counts them his own enemies only because he has completely identified himself with the cause of God, hates them because he loves God, and is so confident that this ‘hatred’ is ‘perfect hatred’ that he calls upon God in the next breath to search him and know his heart, to try him and know his thoughts, in order to see if there is any wickedness in him. That we cannot easily aspire to this is an indication not of our spirituality but of our lack of it, not of our superior love for men but of our inferior love for God, indeed of our inability to hate the wicked with a hatred that is ‘perfect’ and not ‘personal.’

The truth is that evil men should be the object simultaneously of our ‘love’ and of our ‘hatred,’ as they are simultaneously the objects of God’s (although his ‘hatred’ is expressed as his ‘wrath’). To ‘love’ them is ardently to desire that they will repent and believe, and so be saved. To ‘hate’ them is to desire with equal ardour that, if they stubbornly refuse to repent and believe, they will incur God’s judgment. Have you never prayed for the salvation of wicked men (e.g., who blaspheme God or exploit their fellow humans for profit as if they were animals), and gone on to pray that if they refuse God’s salvation, then God’s judgment will fall upon them? I have. It is a natural expression of our belief in God, that he is the God both of salvation and of judgment, and that we desire his perfect will to be done.

So there is such a thing as perfect hatred, just as there is such a thing as righteous anger. But it is a hatred for God’s enemies, not our own enemies. It is entirely free of all spite, rancour and vindictiveness, and is fired only by love for God’s honour and glory. It finds expression now in the prayer of the martyrs who have been killed for the word of God and for their witness. And it will be expressed on the last day by the whole company of God’s redeemed people who, seeing God’s judgment come upon the wicked, will concur in its perfect justice and will say in unison, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just … Amen. Hallelujah!’

Stott, J. R. W., & Stott, J. R. W. (1985). The message of the Sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian counter-culture (pp. 116–117). Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Warren Wiersbe

In words that may seem unchristian to us, David denounced the unjust rulers of his day, people who promoted evil by condemning the righteous and defending the wicked. In a prayer that would probably not be “Amened” in churches today, he asked God to judge sinners and establish righteousness on the earth.

David used many images as he prayed for their judgment: “Make them toothless lions! Let them disappear like water on the sand or like the slime of a snail! Make them broken arrows! Let them be like stillborn children! Let them burn up like fuel under a pot! Let them be taken away in a whirlwind!”

You will find similar passages in other Psalms, such as 35:1–8, 26; 59:11–15; 69:22–28; 109:6–20; and 139:19–22. These verses seem to contradict the admonition of Matthew 5:43–48 and the examples of Luke 23:34 and Acts 7:60. How should today’s Christian respond?

Because he was God’s chosen king, David’s enemies were God’s enemies (Ps. 139:21–22). No doubt his personal feelings were involved in these prayers, but his great concern was the righteousness of God and the good of God’s people. David had the authority to denounce national enemies; we have the privilege of forgiving personal enemies.

But you cannot forgive enemies until you realize how wicked their words and deeds are. A holy anger against sin, and a forgiving spirit toward sinners, is the mark of a true child of God. The person who has no concern to oppose wickedness in this world does not know the sinfulness of sin or the holiness of God. That believer needs some backbone!

One day, God will judge the wicked. When you pray the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, you are expressing briefly what David wrote in vivid detail. David left all judgment to the Lord but did his part to further God’s holy will on the earth. If more saints today felt a holy anger against sin (Ps. 4:4; Eph. 4:26), the church might have a more effective ministry as the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

“If the Jews cursed more bitterly than the pagans this was, I think, at least in part because they took right and wrong more seriously. For if we look at their railings we find that they are usually angry not simply because these things have been done to them but because these things are manifestly wrong, are hateful to God as well as to the victim.”

C. S. Lewis

Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). With the Word Bible Commentary (Ps 58:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The Treasury of David

A broad and vital distinction is to be made between desire for the gratification of personal vengeance, and zeal for the vindication of the glory of God. "The glory of God" includes necessarily the real good of the offender and the well being of society. Desire for retaliation is always wrong; desire for retribution may be in the highest degree praiseworthy. For personal motives only can I desire retaliation upon the wrongdoer; but for motives most disinterested and noble I may desire retribution. — R. A. Bertram, in "The Imprecatory Psalms," 1867.

(from The Treasury of David, Biblesoft formatted electronic database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Bible Illustrations, by John Kitto

Let any right-minded reader look at the lives of Antiochus Epiphanes, of the first Herod, of some of the Roman Emperors, of the Fouquier Tinvilles and the Carriers of the French Revolution, and fail if he can to rejoice, yea exult, when the same cup is poured out to them which they had mingled for others. The feeling in the minds of those who penned Ps 55; 69 was not malice. It was the indignation excited by cruelty and injustice, and the desire that crime should be punished. They doubtless followed the precept—“Be ye angry, and sin not.” If we were acquainted with the circumstances which called forth the imprecatory Psalms, we should doubtless find, as the cause or occasion, striking cases of treachery, practised villany, and unblushing violations of law.

The truth seems to be, then, that it is only a morbid benevolence, a mistaken philanthropy, which takes offence at these Psalms; for in reality they are not opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, or to that love of enemies which our Lord enjoined. Resentment against evil-doers is so far from being sinful, that we find it exemplified in the meek and spotless Redeemer himself, as when he looked around upon the Pharisees, “with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.” (Mark 3:5) If the emotion and its utterance were essentially sinful, how could Paul (1 Cor 16:22) wish the enemy of Christ to be accursed; or say of his own enemy—“The Lord reward him according to his work?” How then could he say to the high priest, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall,” (Acts 23:3) or how could Peter say to Simon, the sorcerer, “Thy money perish with thee?” (Acts 8:20) Above all, how then could the spirits of the just in heaven be represented as calling upon God for vengeance upon their enemies and persecutors? (Rev 6:10) Assuredly it is not in the Old Testament only that God is set forth not only as a Father, but as a Judge and Vindicator—as one “angry with the wicked every day.” The God of the New Testament is also “a consuming fire;” (Heb 12:29) and it is still “dreadful to fall into the hands of the living God;” (Heb 10:31) and to those who fall away after having received the knowledge of the truth, there is “a fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation to consume the adversaries.” The Divine righteousness has indeed lost so little of its rigor under the new covenant, that he who despises the far richer means of grace offered under it, becomes the heir of a much sorer punishment than he who perished under the old law. (Heb 10:28-29)

 Let us be satisfied. The Bible, even here, where many have deemed it most vulnerable, most open to attack, does not stand in need of any apology.
Bible Illustrations, by John Kitto. Biblesoft Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2015 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

J. Sidlow Baxter

The imprecatory psalms are sound in their motive, in their standpoint, in their spirit. They express a constitutional moral sense of human nature, and not an individual desire for revenge. The supernatural predictive element in them seals them as genuinely inspired. There are also passages in the New Testament which fully correspond. We therefore deduce that objections to these psalms arise from the sentimental susceptibilities of human nature rather than from logical reasoning. But when sentiment disagrees with sound logic, sentiment is wrong and must be firmly restrained.

(from Explore the Book. Copyright © 1960 J. Sidlow Baxter. All rights reserved.)

Phew! Are you still there? Perhaps you need a break to mull things over. 

My witness section was written over a week ago (It’s January 20th now). It testifies once again to God’s faithfulness and readiness to give comfort to His children. Yeah, it’s a bit long too. I may be short in stature and unskilled in small talk, but I can be long and verbose when it comes to writing. Please accept my apologies.

Witness:

Today was another day of little sleep. I ended up hitting the snooze button on my alarm. However, I didn’t want to waste the day. I had been lying awake in bed for several hours, and I had enough of that. Someone had asked if I could give them $20 for gas (they said borrow, but I knew they really just meant give) so I went to the bank to take out the cash. I took out $40 because I initially thought they said $25. When I realized my error, I told myself to use the other $20 for a hair cut I desperately needed. Unfortunately, when I got to Walmart, I remembered that I had a coupon at home for a hair cut, so I decided to put it off until tomorrow. I bought a few supplies totaling about a little over $4. Then I went home and talked to my daughter. She said she needed food for two days for her family. I gave her the $20 I was going to use for a haircut. I told her to do her best with it. She said she would but needed to spend some money because it would not feed her family of four for 2 days. 60 dollars later and the $100 is gone before it has even posted in my bank. In fact, because of the $4 I spent, I’ve gone over the $100. I had planned to use this money to get ahead a little on my budget.

Even though I was tired and frustrated, I took two of my grandsons to church because they missed yesterday and wanted to go. In church, I tried to worship, but my mind was clouded by the worry and anger over the turn of events of the day as well as the upcoming mortgage payment. I would fall short for the second month in a row because my budget keeps being busted by all these unexpected expenses. I found myself praying more than singing. I was responding to the words in the songs and pleading with God for help.

When the sermon began, I felt very down, and when I get like this, I often write a poem. So I wrote one while my pastor preached.

Here’s what I wrote:


Another pain, another poem
My heart is hurting and wants to roam
In debt, I'm drowning
As my bills are mounting
I cannot sleep and worries I reap
But I've prayed the Lord my soul to keep
I know You do what's right and best
So help me God, in You to rest
Take my worries and my fears
Take my sorrows and take my tears
I cast them on You, who bears my cares
Who hears my cries and answers my prayers
- Amen

Tonight, when I sat down to write this portion of my journal, I decided to look at an old entry as I often do before I begin a new one. God is truly good. He opens up the past truths I have discovered, in order to unlock me from the present I’ve locked myself into.

Here is a portion of what I wrote back on November 22, 2015:

Come on David… “all the days of my life”?  I know about your life. It wasn’t all fields of green and tranquil waters. So what does David mean here? Is he overstating? Is he using hyperbole? Neither of these make sense, so what is meant here. Perhaps one of the problems is our definition of goodness and mercy. I think it is because we have it in our minds that they describe only fields of green and tranquil waters. Yet have we forgotten verse four already? I’m sure David hadn’t. Sometimes the most good and merciful thing is to allow one to go through rough times, dark times, times of testing. Laura Story’s song “Blessings” attests to this truth:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It’s not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

James 1:2-4, to which Laura Story makes reference to in relationship with this song, says:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-5 NIV

Another pearl is added to the necklace of God’s grace that adorns my spirit (ok these are manly pearls :D).

God indeed took...

      “my worries and my fears.”

Because He is the One...

     “Who hears my cries and answers my prayers.

                            Amen!

Worship: God of All My Days by Casting Crowns

I came to You with my heart in pieces

And found the God with healing in His hands

I turned to You, put everything behind me

And found the God who makes all things new

I looked to You, drowning in my questions

And found the God who holds all wisdom

And I trusted You and stepped out on the ocean

You caught my hand among the waves

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same

You're the God of all my days

I ran from You, I wandered in the shadows

And found a God who relentlessly pursues

I hid from You, haunted by my failure

And found the God whose grace still covers me

I fell on You when I was at my weakest

And found the God, the lifter of my head

And I've worshiped You

And felt You right beside me

You're the reason that I sing

'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take

You make a way

And I will give You all my praise

My seasons change, You stay the same
You're the God of all my days

In my worry, God You are my stillness
In my searching, God You are my answers
In my blindness, God You are my vision
In my bondage, God You are my freedom
In my weakness, God You are my power
You're the reason that I sing
'Cause You're the God of all my days

Each step I take
You make a way
And I will give You all my praise
My seasons change, You stay the same
You're the God of all my days

In my blindness, God You are my vision
And in my bondage, God You are my freedom
All my days

Songwriters: JOHN MARK HALL, JASON INGRAM

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics: https://www.bing.com/search?q=lyrics+to+God+of+all+my+days&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=f298043cce03412ce73557e7945a7d6e&sp=-1&pq=lyrics+to+god+of+all+my+days&sc=5-28&qs=n&sk=&cvid=f298043cce03412ce73557e7945a7d6e

Video: https://youtu.be/ZYkZE8AogDE