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Guardrails Against Wrongful Use of the Imprecatory Psalms

Guardrails Against Wrongful Use of the Imprecatory Psalms

Concerning the use of imprecatory Psalms prayers, Gurnall issued these warnings: Do Not Pray Against Our Own Particular Enemies Take heed thou dost not make thy private particular enemies the object of thy imprecation: we have no warrant, when any wrong us, to go and call fire from heaven upon them. We are bid indeed […]

imprecatory prayers

Imprecatory Prayers?

“And thus I clothe my naked villany With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”[1] Lately Twitter has buzzed with talk of imprecations—that is, the usefulness of modern believers praying imprecatory prayers over the deeds and lives of our enemies. Some of it is […]

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In the Shadow of Herod’s Trouble

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king […]

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“It’s Hard Not to Notice”

Some things have a way of forcing the issue; of thrusting the truth before my heart—the truth that I should have known all along. Or perhaps I did know and simply chose to ignore it. Pride is stubborn that way. This truth in this piece by Petra Hefner made me want to weep. “Lord be […]

laughter of the gods

Laughter of the Gods

The Ancient Greeks told the story of a man who had lost the ability to laugh. Parmeniscus consulted the oracle on this subject, the Pythian priestess replied to him, "You're asking me, you laugh-less man, about the power to laugh again. Your mother will give it you at home, if you with reverence to her come." So, on this, he hoped that when he returned to his country he should be able to laugh again.

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The Principle of Parsimony

O what transcendent subjects doth Providence daily present you with, to take up your discourses! How many experiences of extraordinary mercies and preservations have you to relate to one another, and bless the Lord for!” [1] Vanitypress. A colleague of mine had used the term to describe a self-absorbed segment of internet population—one to which […]