The Imprecatory Psalms
The Imprecatory Psalms are those psalms, or parts of a psalm, where the inspired writer calls upon God to take action on an enemy. Sometimes the action the writer asks for is very graphic and is a reflection of intense anger and hurt the writer has experienced.
Are these “out of character” statements for godly people to express? Some think so and seek to distinguish the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Covenant. It is my belief that God is the same, Old and New Testament alike. The psalmist is not seeking personal vengeance, but calling on God to take action.
Samples of imprecatory language toward the ungodly in the Psalms include:
”Strike them, break their teeth” – Psalm 3:7
“Break their teeth in their mouth” Psalm 58:6
“Break the arm of the wicked and evil man” – Psalm 10:15
“The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance, he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” – Psalm 58:10
How do we reconcile this language with the command to “love our neighbor”? I believe the explanation lies in our understanding of the principles explained by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12 and 13. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:18-21).
Our dependence on lawfully constituted civil government allows us to do good to our enemies, while supporting and submitting to civil government. This principle is explained in Romans 13:1-5 – “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.”
This same principle applied to the period in which the writers of the Psalms lived. While the writers wished for the defeat of evil, they asked God to be the one who did the punishment. This allowed them the privilege of doing good toward an enemy, while at the same time asking God to be the one to take vengeance.
The Psalms express the innermost thoughts of the various inspired authors, thoughts we might hesitate to openly express. It seems to me that the Imprecatory Psalms are very useful when we or someone we love has been terribly hurt by another and the desire to return the hurt or “take vengeance” upon our enemy is strong in our thoughts. As we work through very painful periods in our lives until we can “love our enemy” and leave vengeance and judgment in the hands of God, these psalms remind us that we are not alone.
One will be helped to understand imprecatory language by seeing that Christ, the apostles and other New Testament writers used imprecatory expressions. Some samples of those uses include: “And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!” (Galatians 5:11,12). “having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Timothy 1:19, 20). “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words” (2 Timothy 4:14,15). “since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).
It is my belief that the Psalms capture the whole range of mankind’s innermost thoughts, and that we are in good company when we read and meditate on the thoughts of the godly as they faced the challenge of daily living with God as they went toward eternity.
