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War Psalms of the Prince of Peace: Lessons from the Imprecatory Psalms

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Thank you, James E. Adams, even though I had never heard of you before. I found your book by chance. By chance? No way! The Lord slipped War Psalms of the Prince of Peace into my hand, and then into my heart. Yes, of course I agree with Paul that all of Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but up until I read War Psalms I steered clear of those difficult Imprecatory Psalms. You know the kind: the ones that tend to say things like, "Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow" (Ps. 109:8-9). Or, "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones" (Ps. 137:9). And then along comes War Psalms and, bingo-why-hadn't-I-thought-of it before, those Psalms became wonderful messages from my Lord.

This is one of those simply presented books which takes you easily into the deep things of God. Missionary, pastor, theology professor, and author, James Adams does not present some new and fancy thought. Just browse through the bibliography at the end of War Psalms and you will realize that the ideas Adams presents have been part of Christian thought from earliest church history.

The study starts with a look at the puzzles these particular Psalms present, searches for where they come from and who actually is praying them, sees our Lord as the instigator, looks at how they are quoted plentifully in the New Testament, and considers how we can use, pray, and preach these Psalms. Each chapter ends with questions for group study or individual thought. Several appendices add more information: our duty towards our enemies, sermon summaries, index to the Imprecatory Psalms, and New Testament references. Adams states about the Imprecatory Psalms, "All the enemies of the Lord need to hear these prayers of Christ proclaimed today. They are not the prayers of a careless and compassionless tyrant, but the effectual prayers of the Lamb of God who bore the curse of God for the sins of all who bow their knee to Him" (p. 34).

I invite you to a blessing. Open your Bible to the Psalms and read them cooperatively with James Adams' War Psalms of The Prince of Peace. - Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com

I bought this book based on good reviews and it came from within the Reformed theological traditions. I wasn't disappointed.

It attempts to take the imprecatory psalms seriously. It doesn't pass them off as being bad morality we shouldn't follow. It doesn't try to place them as Old Covenant ethics instead of from a new, better way.

The author's resolution, and it is a grand insight, is that these psalms are the prayers of Christ Himself. He makes a strong case. And I think he is right. However, I don not think these are only Christ's psalms. The best critique of this book I have found is an honors thesis which can be found online by John Day.

The basic takeaway from that work is that there are curses in other sections of the Bible which aren't Christ's prayers. Peter with Simon the Sorcerer and Paul in Galatians come to mind. Given these passages, I would go with a both-and approach. The imprecatory psalms are Christ's prayers to the Father and we can make the psalms are own. As could the original authors. But they find their ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah.

Now, beyond that, this book also acts as a tour guide. It helps introduce you to the imprecatory psalms so you can make them your own. It is incredibly valuable and will add to your understanding of the Messiah-centric nature of the Psalms and the Old Testament in general, not just the imprecatory psalms.

Our modern liturgies are weak and insipid because we neglect the Scriptures in general and the Psalms in particular. We especially neglect the "nasty psalms" that are so "mean" like Psalm 2, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, and Psalm 137.

Yet these are the very Psalms persecuted Christians and first the Jews of course have prayed for centuries.

Why pray them? Because, Jesus said "Ask,Seek,Knock". God hears them and avenges His people.

In our conscienceless society we don't believe that because "nobody" is sinful or needs punishment...unless it's a bible believing Christian of course.

If you believe in prayer, get the book and pray these psalms. They're the perfect liturgy for our freewheeling society.

James Adams has done a great service to the body of Christ. This is an excellent discussion of the theology of the imprecatory psalms with much practical help and exhortation. This book will open your eyes to not only the psalms but much of the New Testament and the Lord's prayer in particular. It's only real down side is that there is not author or Scripture index for the book itself. ...

This book is a great help to all who believe in the verbal inspiration of Scripture and that God is love, but are puzzled by the strong language of the imprecatory Psalms. The book is giving me a better and deeper understanding of God's Word.

James E. Adams is a pastor who has also served as a missionary in Latin America. He is also the author of Decisional regeneration and Let Me Sow Love: Living the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.

He writes in the Preface to this 1991 book, "I knew that all of our preaching and teaching of God's Word must come from the context of God's great love and the forgiveness we find in Jesus Christ. But how was I to preach psalms of vengeance? ... I found that many theological disputes spring from the Psalms. One of the most important of them concerns who is speaking the psalms of imprecation.... are these merely HUMAN words? This is a crucial issue... the most penetrating question I had to answer for myself was, What is my relationship as a Christian to the Psalms today?"

Here are some quotations from the book:

"I was disappointed to find even the thought-provoking C.S. Lewis in the camp of protestors. He actually speaks of these psalms as 'devilish' and 'diabolical'!" (Pg. 9)
"What a difference it makes in our preaching when we know that these psalms are not the emotional prayers of angry men, but the very war cries of our Prince of Peace!" (Pg. 33)
"Do you pray that this curse may come upon the enemies of God today? Do you ask God to destroy His enemies today as He has in the past? Do you who are pastors instruct your people in this kind of prayer? Surely you MUST if you pray in line with God's Word and His promises for the future." (Pg. 59)
"What a glorious privilege is ours to pray for the capture and punishment of Satan and all his followers!" (Pg. 90)

This is a book with a well balanced message. It presents the psalms of warfare without negating the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you've been looking for a teaching that gives you an edge above the enemy, then this is that.
This book will help to explain the warfare psalms by teaching you their purpose and how to proclaim God's truth from them. It is a needed and important message for such a time as this.