Praying down wrath
Is 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?
Bill James
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?
