A Prayer for the Justice of God (Psalm 33–35)

Praise can lift the heart, but what do we do when hurt and injustice won’t let go? We walk through Psalms 33–35 and trace a real spiritual journey: joyful worship grounded in God’s creative power, a testimony of rescue and God’s nearness to the brokenhearted, and a raw, honest plea for justice when enemies strike without cause. Along the way, we talk about the tension many feel—how to love enemies without denying the reality of evil—and why biblical love includes a holy hatred of sin.

Stephen Davey helps unpack key context behind imprecatory psalms, connecting David’s prayers to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants and the Old Testament’s eye for an eye standard. That backdrop clarifies why David asks God to contend with his adversaries: he is appealing to the Judge, not taking vengeance into his own hands. We then bridge to the New Testament where God is storing up wrath for a final day and where the cross reveals how perfect justice and steadfast love meet. Because Jesus bore wrath for repentant sinners, we can extend mercy, pray for repentance, and still long for God to make wrongs right.

Expect a thoughtful, practical conversation that moves from the lyre-led praise of Psalm 33 to the gritty rescue behind Psalm 34 and the fierce honesty of Psalm 35. If you’ve ever been wounded by lies, watched wickedness flourish, or wondered how to pray when outrage swells, you’ll find language for both lament and hope. We close with a simple image: asking the “big brother” of divine justice to ride the bus with you, trusting His timing while you keep your heart clean.

If this helped you think and pray with clarity, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What line from the Psalms is shaping your prayers today?

The first of Stephen's two volumes set through the Book of Revelation is now available. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ3XCJMY

Chapters

• 0:00 Love Overflowing And Hating Sin
• 1:04 Joyful Praise In Psalm 33
• 3:07 David’s Escape And Psalm 34
• 4:41 Hurt, Anger, And God’s Nearness
• 4:51 Psalm 35 And Pleas For Justice
• 6:23 What Imprecatory Psalms Mean
• 8:38 Covenants, Law, And Justice
• 10:55 New Testament Wrath And Hope
• 12:01 Closing Blessing And Resources
• 12:30 The Big Brother Of Justice

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:34

As believers, our lives should be filled with love. Our hearts should overflow with love for God and thanksgiving for his goodness to us. We should also be filled with love for others. But there's another truth as well. And it sometimes seems counterintuitive. To follow the Lord also means hating sin. Today on The Wisdom Journey, Stephen Davy will show you these two truths from God's Word. This lesson is called A Prayer for the Justice of God.

SPEAKER_01: 1:12

The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it's filled with a lot of tremendous emotion. One of my favorite Bible teachers, G. Campbell Morgan, wrote more than a hundred years ago that whatever your changing mood might be, you're going to find a psalm to express it. Are you sad? You can find a psalm that will help you cry. Are you glad? Well, you're going to find a psalm that'll help you sing. But in every one of these psalms, whether it's in a major or a minor key, the singer eventually becomes very conscious of the Lord. Well, now here we are in Psalm 33, and we're not told who the author is, but one thing's for sure. This one is written in the major key, and this songwriter is going to just kind of sweep us up into joyful praise to God. The author calls for this psalm to be accompanied by the lyre, that's the forerunner of the guitar. It's also a harp. You could imagine it with ten strings. And with them playing along the melody line, the songwriter sings here in verse three. Sing to the Lord a new song. He praises the Lord. Here is the great creator, verse six. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. He makes a really powerful statement that can be applied to every nation on earth now here in verse twelve. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Let me tell you this is true to this day. The nation that follows God is blessed. The nation that rejects God is going to pay the penalty in a thousand different ways, whether it's confusion, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, idolatry, despair, whatever. Well now Psalm 34 is really more of the same, but it's anchored to an event in the life of King David. The heading of this Psalm says, When David changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went away. Now this is referring to an event back in 1 Samuel 21 where David was running for his life from King Saul. David fled all the way up to the gate of his personal enemy, King Abimelech, no doubt thinking the enemy of my enemy, Saul, well, he'll be my friend. Well that wasn't the case at all. And David had to pretend to be insane in order to escape and get away from Abimelech. David realized then that his life had been spared by God. And he writes now in this psalm at verse three, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Over in verse eight he writes, O taste and see that the Lord is good. He sings down here in verse 18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. So how you feeling today? Joyful? Well then sing along with David. Let us exalt his name together. Are you sad? Are you crushed in spirit today? Well then sing along with David. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. He delivers those whose spirits are crushed by the weight of sorrow. You might even be angry at somebody who's hurt you. Maybe somebody's done something to you that's that's wicked, and and you're praying that God's justice will show up and make things right. Well, that's what's happening next here in Psalm 35. It's it's one of those moments when when David prays and verse one sort of sets the stage for us. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me, fight against those who fight against me. See, David is pleading here for the Lord to take those enemies and get them out of his way. He's describing their evil actions down here in verse seven. Without cause, they hid their net for me. Without cause they dug a pit for my life. Verse 11 says, malicious witnesses rise up and seek to repay him evil for good. Now I don't know who these people were, but they weren't very nice at all. In fact, they're downright wicked. David David wants the Lord to fight against them on his behalf. He writes back here in verse 6. Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. In other words, David wants their path to be so slippery they'll eventually get caught because he can't run away very fast. Here in verse 8, he says, Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it, and let the net that he hid ensnare him. Let him fall into it, to his own destruction. Now this psalm is what's called an imprecatory psalm. There are several here in the book of Psalms. Imprecatory psalms literally call out for divine judgment on the enemies of righteous people. Now does that rub you the wrong way? Didn't Jesus say in Matthew 5, 44, love your enemies? Well, yes, he did. But don't forget that one day every enemy of God and of righteousness will face the wrath and judgment of God. Let's make sure we pause long enough to understand the context of these imprecatory psalms so they're not so confusing to us. Remember, these psalms are in the Old Testament, and they're going to relate to the covenant God makes with Abraham, which was delivered through Abraham, of course, to the nation Israel. Unto the Abrahamic covenant, back in Genesis chapter 12, God promised Abraham, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. Now this judgment against wickedness is expressed as a curse, and that originates with God. The Lord also, by the way, repeated the covenant and expanded it with David and his offspring in 2 Samuel chapter 7. It gave the nation a special role in God's plan, and with David as king, God says to David, Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Now that covenant promise ultimately will be fulfilled one day through Jesus. By the way, don't forget that David lived in the Old Testament under the law of Moses, and as a king, he was responsible to rule his kingdom by that law. The law contained an eye for an eye principle given back in Exodus 21. If there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. Justice is the purpose of this law, and justice included punishment that matched the crime. Now all of these covenant promises provide a basis then for imprecatory psalms. You're going to read David, you'll read some other author of a psalm calling for literal judgment against the enemies of Israel. Now you might read one of these imprecatory psalms and think that the author just wants personal vengeance. No, he's actually defending Israel in relation to the covenant promise of God's protection. Now let me give you a principle in Bible interpretation. It goes like this The first mention of any given subject provides the key to understanding that subject. The first imprecatory verse we find in the book of Psalms is where David calls for God's justice to fall on his enemies. That's back in chapter 5 and verse 10. Because of the abundance of their transgressions, he writes, cast them out, for they have rebelled against you, God. So here's the message I want you to remember, beloved. It's not a very popular message today, but it applies to our New Testament dispensation. God hates sin. God will one day judge the unrepentant sinner, and it's going to be with perfect justice. Now God is not immediately acting in judgment on the enemies of his people today, the church today, as he did in the Old Testament with the enemies of Israel. The Apostle Paul tells us in this dispensation of the church age that God is actually storing up his wrath. And he's going to store it up all the way to the final day of judgment. Well, back here in the Old Testament, in this imprecatory psalm, David wants God to be honored. David wants the law immediately upheld here. And imprecatory psalms ask for that judgment to fall on the enemies of the righteous. And every time you got on that bus, that bully beat you up, or or he took your lunch money. What would you do about it? Well, if you had a big brother, you'd go ask him to get on the bus one day with you and take care of that bully. Well, that's what David's doing here. The justice of God is that big brother. David, the little brother, wants justice to get on that bus with him, so to speak, and and take care of that bully. Take care of his enemies. You see, this psalm is an invitation to make sure, and we can apply it to this day, that you've hidden your life in your big brother, that is, the Lord Jesus, who suffered the just wrath of God on your behalf. And now that you're forgiven, well, you can actually love your enemy and you can leave them to God. He might just take care of that bully right now, but remember, he will in the future, if they don't repent and come to Christ. One day, oh my, they're gonna suffer more than you or I can imagine on that coming day of judgment. Well, with that, we're out of time. Until our next wisdom journey together, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

SPEAKER_00: 12:25

Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with Stephen Davey. To learn more about us and access all of our Bible teaching resources, visit wisdomonline.org. Our phone number is 866-482-4253. And you can email us at info at wisdomonline.org. Stephen developed this daily program to help you know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life. So please join us next time to continue the wisdom journey.