by jimwalton » Tue May 05, 2020 4:08 pm
All psalms were also songs. David was a poet/lyricist, and there was originally music that went along with these lyrics. At the same time we can say with confidence that David is speaking from his heart, and we are hearing his true thoughts (in other words, he's not just writing something to get published). And so they are also worship, prayers, complaints, laments, prophecy, and recitations.
This psalm (35) is imprecatory, which means it expresses curses. In this psalm David takes on the role of prophet and judges the enemies of God, calling down God's punishment on their sin. It's not really a prayer, but a prophetic pronouncement under the influence of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1.20-21).
All psalms were also songs. David was a poet/lyricist, and there was originally music that went along with these lyrics. At the same time we can say with confidence that David is speaking from his heart, and we are hearing his true thoughts (in other words, he's not just writing something to get published). And so they are also worship, prayers, complaints, laments, prophecy, and recitations.
This psalm (35) is imprecatory, which means it expresses curses. In this psalm David takes on the role of prophet and judges the enemies of God, calling down God's punishment on their sin. It's not really a prayer, but a prophetic pronouncement under the influence of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1.20-21).