{"id":55698,"date":"2011-11-11T20:48:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-12T02:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=55698"},"modified":"2022-11-11T20:50:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T02:50:20","slug":"the-cords-of-the-wicked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-cords-of-the-wicked\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cords of the Wicked"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Wayne S. Walker\n

“The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked<\/em>” (Psalm 129:4). The heading given to Psalm 129 in the New King James Version is “Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies.” Some Bible critics have raised objections to the argument for the inspiration of the scriptures based on the superior moral standard of the Bible, claiming that the “imprecatory” psalms which call upon God to punish the enemies of His people evidence mere human emotion-seeking vengeance rather than divine origin. It is affirmed that the spirit of hatred expressed in these psalms is in direct contradiction to the teaching of Jesus to love one’s enemies (cf. Matthew 5:44).<\/p>\n

Of course, Bible believers deny the charge. To call for the punishment of evildoers is not equivalent to hatred for them. God Himself so loved the entire world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for the sins of all mankind so that those who believe might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Yet when people reject God’s overtures of love and continue in their rebellion against His ways, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men<\/em>” (Romans 1:18). Like God, we do not want any to perish but all to come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). However, for those who refuse to obey God, we must accept the fact that they will be punished.<\/p>\n

“Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’<\/em>” (Ezekiel 33:11). Neither do the righteous have any pleasure in the death of the wicked. The song of victory over Zion’s enemies is not exulting over their downfall but simply an expression of joy that God’s ways are vindicated. We would that all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:4). At the same time, God has no choice regarding those who persist in disobedience but to punish with everlasting destruction (II Thessalonians 1:7-9). It is sad but true.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Wayne S. Walker “The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked” (Psalm 129:4). The heading given to Psalm 129 in the New King James Version is “Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies.” Some Bible critics have raised objections to the argument for the inspiration of the scriptures based…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1260,179,987],"class_list":["post-55698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-judgment-day","tag-sin","tag-wickedness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40908,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalms-119\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":0},"title":"Psalms 119","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverb 4:10-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do you learn? What do you need to learn? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The evil decay, but a child of God must learn - II Timothy 3:13-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is important for all aspects of life - II Peter 1:3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your parents have invested a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70575,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-songs-of-ascents\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":1},"title":"The Songs of Ascents","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Psalms 120-134 There is a special grouping of Psalms that were often used to prepare the Israelites for making the worship at the temple very special. It was like anticipating the worship to ensure it would not be a vain and wasted moment. You sang or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ascent-240x300.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67867,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/growing-old-in-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":2},"title":"Growing Old in the Lord","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above Text: Psalm 71 Young people may consider an aged person's life free from problems. \u00a0For example, they see an older person as one who does not have to face the difficulties of employment, child rearing, and sometimes even house payments. \u00a0They may note\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/micheile-henderson-PpZasS086os-unsplash-200x300.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64821,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-enemies\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":3},"title":"On Enemies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton They made up their mind not to like me for no good reason, but God loves me greatly for deep reasons. Who do I trust? They undermine me, but God upholds me! Who matters to me the most? They choose to keep me out, but God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-overthrows-the-wicked\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":4},"title":"God Overthrows the Wicked","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Do not trust in men - Psalm 146 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even a high ranking man is not trustworthy \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Men die. Even with good intentions, they cannot always accomplish what they desire. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God, however, can do all things. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is important to remember that men are very limited in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36720,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-the-midst-of-evil\/","url_meta":{"origin":55698,"position":5},"title":"In the Midst of Evil","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:3-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Abraham was told that his descendants would be strangers and slaves in a land before being brought back out 400 years later - Genesis 15:13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That nation, Egypt, was one of the more wicked places on earth, totally given over to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55698\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}