Pastor Wiley Drake prayed that abortionist George Tiller's wife would become a widow. Tiller is now dead. Drake claims that his...
I'm blessed and thankful that my friend and co-laborer in the Lord, Trevor Hammack, would post his News in Focus audio bite so promptly, and on a Sunday just before church service. As Pastor Hammack has challanged pastors to teach their congregations about the balanced Biblical view of Imprecatory Psalms, I heartily stand with him in his challenge to pastors.
I have posted some sermons that I have preached in the Psalms while preaching itinerantly between churches in 2008. They are included below the News in Focus audio of Pastor Hammack's for this Fox News article concerning Pastor Wiley Drake's dark interpretation of the Imprecatory Psalms.
Here are some perspectives to help us understand Imprecatory Psalms:
1. They are understood as inspired and prophetic and must be interpreted in the light of the whole counsel of God, particularly as it relates to "Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor 2:2).
2. As prophetic utterances, these Psalms express the wrath that we deserved when we were unsaved, unregenerate sinners who hated Light, loved darkness, and were the enemies of God (Jn 3:19-20; Rom 5:10; Rom 8:7).
3. Because Jesus Christ is the substitutionary Sacrifice for the wrath that we so rightly deserve, God the Father, with willing obedience from the Son to do so through the eternal covenant, and witnessed and sealed by the Holy Spirit, poured out His holy and just wrath upon Jesus Christ, in His death upon Calvary's Tree, He fullfilled the prophetic uttereances of the Law, the Prophets, and the Imprecatory Psalms (Gen 3:15; Isa 53; Psa 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137, 139; Gal 3:13; 2 Cor 5:21; et al).
4. Because we have been forgiven of sins through His shed blood, we have been declared righteous by Christ's imputed righteousness, because we have been reconciled to God Almighty through Christ, and have had the wrath for disobedience removed through Christ's Atoning Sacrifice, we have great reason to rejoice that those utterances made in the Psalms have been removed far from us. Our sins which were many, are forgiven, so that we may love much (Lk 7:47).
5. Since salvation was paid by the priceless, precious blood of Jesus Christ, and because His Sacrifice is of such infinite worth and eternal preeminence, through that revelation, as well as the revelation of the height, length, depths, and breadth of wrath that we have been redeemed from, &etc., how could we possibly think that we deserve to judge with finality the vengence that Scripture says belongs to the LORD, and to Him alone? (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:18-21).
6.Therefore, also through the revelation of salvation from the judgment upon the enemies of God, we, by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, upon the authority of God's Word, can submit and surrender to the commandments of God, such as "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you," because "His commandments are not grievous" (Matt 5:44; 1 Jn 5:3).
7. Finally, death is the enemy of God, and the last enemy God will destroy (1 Cor 15:26). Adam ran headlong into death when he disobeyed God in the Garden, for God said, "...in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen 2:17). This is why Jesus must pray the prayer He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane; because for Him to not pray His prayer would be as if He rushed headlong into death apart from the answer to that prayer in communion and obedience to the heavenly Father. This is why it should be unthinkable for the Christian, saved by God's grace, to wish for the death of anyone. We are commissioned to preach eternal life, not desire the death of others.
Concering my enemies or the enemies of God, my heart breaks for them so as to love them and pray for them as the Lord commands, for all I can think is: there, but for God’s grace, go I.
UPDATE:My efforts to contact Pastor Drake have been unsuccessful, and that possibly due to his phone and emails being inundated as a result of the many articles circulating on the Internet.
Other Internet resources concerning this story may be found here,
Let us be reminded that the Bible commands us to pray for all men, with supplications, petitions, and thanksgiving (1 Timothy 2:1), which includes praying for, both, Pastor Drake and President Obama.