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 PrintableVersion Praying down wrathBill James on understanding the Imprecatory PsalmsIs there anything that gets you really angry, stirring righteous anger in your heart? Perhaps it is the North Korean prison camps, where Christian believers suffer unspeakable atrocities. Or the tyranny of a cruel regime which brings hardship and injustice. Or is it the abuse of God’s name, or contempt for his law, or mindless violence? If we are ever angry, would we ever consider praying the imprecatory psalms, calling down curses on the wicked? Think for example of Psalm 137, which blesses those who dash Babylonian babies against the rocks. Or Psalm 58, which speaks of the gladness of those who bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked. How are we to understand such extreme sentiments? And do such psalms have any place in Christian life and experience? Objections to the psalmsThere are those who would prefer that imprecations be blotted out from the pages of Scripture. C.S. Lewis, for example, struggled with such psalms, describing them as the expression of ‘evil emotions’. So he understands them as an accurate record of David’s prayer life, but not to be commended as an example for us. This argument is unconvincing because these prayers are part of the stream of OT theology. God announces covenant curses on those who curse Abraham and his seed (Genesis 12.3, Deuteronomy 32.43), and justice demands judgement on impenitent evildoers. So we should not be surprised to find such sentiments appearing in the inspired record of David’s prayers. Others suggest that the imprecatory psalms are a reflection of ‘Old Testament morality’. But there are curses and imprecations in the New Testament too. The Lord Jesus openly cursed his enemies (e.g. Matthew 23, esp. v.33; 11.20-24) and spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. The Book of Revelation is in places even more blood curdling than the most extreme of the psalms. And the NT specifically endorses some of the OT imprecations. Acts 1.20 quotes Psalm 109 approvingly, applying it to Judas. Clearly the Lord not only heard, but answered this prayer. Notice that Peter ascribes the imprecation not only to David but the Holy Spirit himself (Acts 1.16). Bonhoeffer, on the other hand, sees these psalms as prayers which can only be properly uttered by Christ, who alone is truly righteous and gracious. This argument is attractive; of course the Lord Jesus is the only one who can pray perfectly about anything. But if judgement is part of the revealed purposes of God, is it wrong for all of God’s people to pray that his will be done? So, if we cannot escape the imprecatory psalms, we must now ask how we should understand them, and use them, in the New Testament age? They are prayers for God’s gloryOur first principle is to understand that imprecations are not fuelled by selfish, sinful anger but by a passion for God’s glory. We see this for example in Psalm 58.11, or 139.19-22. It is right to pray that justice should be done, just as when we hear of an atrocity on the news we pray that the perpetrators be apprehended and brought to account. So we are offended when the Lord is opposed or demeaned; what extraordinary arrogance of mortal creatures to lift up their heels against the God of heaven (Psalm 2.2-6)! Very closely related to zeal for God’s glory is zeal for his people. You remember when Saul of Tarsus the fearful persecutor was at last arrested on the road to Damascus by the vision of divine glory, he heard the divine voice, ‘Saul, why do you persecute me?’ As far as the Lord is concerned, an attack on the church is an attack on his own person. So we are not surprised to see the martyrs in heaven praying for justice (Revelation 6.10), or the prayers of the saints answered by judgements coming on the earth (Revelation 8.4-5), or Paul’s expectation that the enemies of the church will be condemned (2 Thessalonians 1.6-7). Perhaps some of the most striking curses of the New Testament are against false teachers (e.g. Galatians 1.8). This is because there is no surer way to rob God of his glory than to dilute the message of saving grace in Christ alone. Paul also knows that the health of the church is at stake, and the eternal salvation of its members. So the apostle gets angry and prays for justice. These are all prayers for God’s glory. If we do not pray with such vigour, have we become indifferent to the offensiveness of sin and listless in our love for Christ? The expectation of Scripture is that when evil is crushed at last, then God’s people will rejoice (Revelation 19.1-2). Yet here we need a second principle to guide us in our use of imprecations: They are prayers which yet hope for grace There is a danger that, in calling down curses, we may become easy prey for the devil who would stir up our sinful passions. We might become bitter and unloving believers, which is far from the tenor of the New Testament. We have seen that the Lord did not shy away from imprecation, but he also taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5.43-45,48). The Pharisees of Jesus’s day had a very strong sense of justice and a desire for God’s kingdom, but their passion bore bitter fruit. They regarded the Gentiles as dogs; Judaism became a religion marked by hatred. Jesus, in contrast, calls for love. Holding it togetherThe great question is how we keep both principles, of love and imprecation together. Clearly the Lord Jesus taught love, but also cursed the wicked. How can this be? The answer is best expressed in Romans 12.14-21. Imagine that you are a persecuted believer, perhaps in some vile prison camp. Your enemies are all around you, determined to make your life miserable because of your faith in Christ. They pursue your brothers and sisters in the Lord. They burn Bibles and hinder the preaching of the gospel. What should your attitude be towards them? The answer is that a Christian must love them (Romans 12.14). Our desire is always for their conversion. We long for their salvation. Isn’t that what Paul testified when he was called before the court of King Agrippa (Acts 26.29)? But — and this is where the balance comes — if our persecutors remain determined and unrepentant, then they will face the judgement. And, indeed, all the kindness and love that we have shown in the face of their hatred will be like burning coals on their heads (Romans 12.19-20). So we love, but we also desire justice. This is not a confusion of mixed motives; it is the key to expressing God’s will for our enemies. Because we are confident that God will hear and answer our prayers for justice, we know that we need not (indeed we must not) show any violence or harm or abuse towards our enemies. We can take the battle axe out of our own hearts and give it to the Lord. He will deal with them. Perhaps they are not as evil as we think, or perhaps they are far more wicked than we imagine, but the Lord knows and he will do what is right. Then, as we pray for justice and anticipate the awful destiny of the wicked, any feelings of hatred or resentment against our persecutors turn to pity, even love. The Lord will avenge; now it is only for us to love. And we desire that just as we have been saved by pure grace and mercy, so too this might be the experience of our own persecutors, that they will come to Christ before it is too late. After all it was not so long ago that each one of us was unsaved. At that point we richly deserved the wrath of God, and imprecations could be called down on our heads. We are still by nature vile sinners; only by pure grace can the Lord receive us. So our prayers cannot be self-righteous. We pray for justice as saved sinners, and as we have first received mercy, so we are to long for love and mercy even for our most bitter enemies. It is this blend of love and justice which expresses the will of God. He does not desire the death of the wicked, yet he will not flinch from final judgement. If the Lord only loved, that would be immoral sentimentality. If the Lord only desired justice, where would be grace and mercy? But the Lord demonstrates both love and justice at the same time, and so should we. Such balance is expressed by the imprecatory Psalm 83.16. ‘Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O Lord.’ It is a call for judgement, always longing that yet there would be salvation. May the Lord help us, and give us godly passions. We need to be filled afresh with zeal for justice and God’s glory. And we need to be filled afresh with love and grace. Then we will be Christlike in our desires, and then we will be able to pray aright the imprecatory psalms. Bill James,
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