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Psalm 109:8--A Reminder to Pray Daily for President Bush

Discussion in 'Free-For-All Archives' started by Rosell, Oct 21, 2004.

  1. Rosell

    Rosell New Member

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    Pray daily for our President, and quote Psalm 109:8
     
  2. Gershom

    Gershom Active Member

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    Would you like us to quote it and pray in the context of which the verse appears in Scripture?
     
  3. Rosell

    Rosell New Member

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    You couldn't, since it's Old Covenant. No longer literally or contextually applicable.

    The passage of scripture associated with praying for the President was handed to me on a card being sold in a Christian bookstore in Tennessee in 1994, when Clinton was President. I was just returning the joke, which you apparently didn't catch.

    I find it interesting that die hard extremist religious right supporters of Bush don't find it funny when things that they used to perpertate on Clinton are applied to their man. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the religious right. And that's the point I'm making here.
     
  4. Gershom

    Gershom Active Member

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    See, you have a fundamental problem in thinking that the Psalms are no longer "literally or contextually applicable." That is false. You could absolutey pray this Psalm, though I wouldn't recommend it. Especially in regards to our President.
     
  5. Rosell

    Rosell New Member

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    I disagree with your assessment. The Psalms were written during the Old Covenant. They are certainly valuable in providing a very strong and clear picture of the worship of God during that covenant, as well as providing us with some words to fill the gap that our own inadequate spirit cannot come up with in our worship and adoration of the Lord.

    The circumstances no longer exist which make them literally applicable. They have a symbolic and historical value, but cannot be literally applied. We now live under a grace covenant as individuals redeemed by Jesus Christ, and worship corporately in a church body, not as national Israel, so the context of the Psalms also no longer applies.

    Prayer can be literal. If I were asking God to remove the President from office, I would pray only the words in verse 9, and leave the rest of the passage out of the prayer. Actually, my own personal prayer is much simpler, and that is for God's will to be done in choosing our leader. I believe that the Bible, in the New Testament, teaches that government leaders are agents of the Lord and are put their according to God's purpose. When Bill Clinton was President, I prayed for him daily, because I believe that God wanted him there. I also pray for President Bush daily (not the words of the Psalm that I listed) because I believe that God wants him there at this time. I devoutly hope that God is ready for a change, and I will also pray for President Kerry, should he be elected. I wonder how many extremists in the religious right will do the same? From their past record, I doubt if they prayed very much for President Clinton, except the prayer of Psalm 109:8.

    I'd prefer that you state you disagree with my position, rather than declaring it to be "false," since I don't know you well enough to accept your conclusion, but will respect your opinion.
     
  6. Pennsylvania Jim

    Pennsylvania Jim New Member

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    So, Rosell, the only part of the Psalm that applies today is the part that supports hyour present situation? How can you pick and choose based on the situation of the day?



    Rosell, check out the passages, especially Romans 13. "The purpose" that you mention is specifically outlined.
     
  7. Gershom

    Gershom Active Member

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    What you are saying here is that we can no longer apply literal meaning and practice to the Psalms because it is OT. That's false.

    I can simply point to the very first Psalm. Who is blessed? Why is he blessed? What practical steps are taken to be blessed? On the other hand, what about the ungodly? What about verse 6? That is a literal truth that we preach today.

    We learn in the Psalms that we are to fear the LORD. We learn of resting in comfort. We learn of judgment. We learn how to praise our God. There are so many practical, literal truths in the book of Psalms that are to be applied in our lives today. I don't know how you could miss that, dismissing them as non-applicable, using the argument that the book is Old Covenant.

    What about creation? Do you apply this truth to your life today? The sin in the garden? What about the teachings of Jesus before the cross?

    There are practical truths throughout the Bible that we literally apply to our lives today as the Body of Christ, not only in the letters of Paul.
     
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