The subtitle for, War Psalms of the Prince of Peace, is Lessons from the Imprecatory Psalms. I found this a very helpful book as it looks at the book of Psalms in a new light. In fact, James Adams’ thoughts were so new to me, that I actually read the book a couple of times so I could fully understand what he was saying. This wasn’t because it was hard to understand, or poorly written, because it was neither. Rather the message of the book made me re-assess my previous understanding about the psalms and David, its main author.
While the book focusses on the imprecatory psalms (those ones which are praying a curse on an enemy), the material covers a broader range of material, including imprecatory prayers in the New Testament. Even though I gained a lot of insights from the book I cannot say I completely agree with all his arguments.
The most helpful thought that Adams presents is that Christians ought to feel so strongly about the importance of God’s kingdom that we pray that God will do whatever it takes to bring people to faith. Often, we become complacent in our prayers for our lost friends and relatives, hoping they will have an easy life and forget about their eternal future. Whereas if we consider what is at stake we will pray with greater fervour.
A worthwhile read.
