Should Christians Pray the Imprecatory Prayer?

Should Christians Pray the Imprecatory Prayers?

By

Kathy L. McFarland

8 December, 2011

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Becker Bible Teacher Resources © 2014 Kathy L. McFarland. All rights reserved

Introduction

Throughout the Book of Psalms there are almost one hundred verses with

imprecations;1 however, Psalms 35, 55, 59, 69, 79, 109, and 137 are commonly known as the

“Imprecatory Psalms.” Imprecation means the “invocation of judgment, calamity, or curse

uttered against one’s enemies, or the enemies of God.2 Imprecatory Psalms contain words

that appear at face‐value to curse enemies, which become problematic with Christians

who strive to love rather than curse their enemies as taught by the Lord Jesus Christ that

is recorded in Matthew 5:39, 44; Luke 23:24; Romans 12:13; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1

Thessalonians 5:15.3 This paper intends to examine specific Imprecatory Psalms and the

teachings of Christ concerning His follower’s response toward their enemies to determine

whether Christians should pray the Imprecatory Psalms.

Psalm 35

Psalm 35 was written by David with intense emotion and urgency. While the

problem that provokes such a prayer is not fully identified, there is “sufficient ambiguity

to classify it as an individual lament.”4 Since the piety of David is notable, and his nature

is given to upholding the things of God, we must start our analysis of imprecatory Psalms

with the understanding that his emotional prayers calling for the vengeance of God

1 John N. Day, "The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics," Bibliotheca sacra 159, no. 634 (2002):

169.

2 J. Carl Laney, "A Fresh Look at the Imprecatory Psalms," Bibliotheca sacra 138, no. 549 (1981): 35.

3 David E. Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6‐16, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 52B (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 409.

4 Leslie C. Allen, Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101‐150 (Revised), Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 286.



should not be classified as sinful, especially since they come only after his enemies

repeated attacks.5 Thus, it is imperative that we examine the particulars of each

imprecatory Psalm to gain a full understanding of each circumstance and response.

There are two different type requests made by David to God: those calling God to

action, and those calling God to inaction. David asks God to take up the spear and stop

the forward progress of those that are persecuting him (3a). Then David asks God to

stand in their way, but do nothing more than allow his enemies be confounded (4a),

turned back (4b), be as chaff (5) and their way dark and slippery (6a). Then after the

enemies are given over to their natural ways, David asks the angel of the LORD to

persecute them (6b).

It is significant that David approaches this problem with his enemies in very

specific requests of God. While it seems natural for some to declare Psalm 35 as filled

with curses, a closer examination of David’s requests and intentions fail to show

justification for this categorization. When David’s reasons for this request are considered,

the nature of his prayer is understood even better. David tells God that his enemies are

persecuting him (3a), seeking his soul (4a), devising ways to hurt him (4b), setting him up

to trap him (7a), and digging deeply to find further avenues to hurt his soul (7b).

Up to this point, we do not have an extreme cursing situation unfolding. It would

seem reasonable to suggest that David’s access to God’s ear might well have given him

hope to speak serious curses like “strike them dead” or “wipe them out” with full

5 Day: 166.



expectation of God’s will to protect him. Instead, David prays for measured intervention

by God by requesting that He stop their persecution of him by letting them be fully

enveloped by the nature they possess, and as a result, fall into their own trap, with God’s

persecution replacing their persecution against him. It was a well‐thought out strategy in

the midst of serious spiritual and physical warfare; at this point in Psalm 35, there is just

no existence of serious curses being shouted to God by David. This approach of David to

let the nature of the enemies’ trip up their plans is fully revealed in verse 8 when David

asks God to let their net, the snare they laid for him, fall upon them instead.

Calvin describes the prayer in Psalm 34 as one that shows David calling curses

upon his enemy in vengeance.6 However, he acknowledges the often mistaken definition

of the Hebrew word שואה “shoah” as meaning sometimes “destruction and ruin,” and

other times “confusion.” He determines that the word “confusion” is more applicable in

verse 8 when it is taken in context with the words of David. Thus, to declare David’s

request to God to allow the enemies to be “confused” is a concept that is seemingly

innocuous compared to the curses that David might place upon His enemies.

It is a well‐established practice in ancient times to use curses in many different

social settings. They are provoked to force others to support causes, to protect property,

or to guarantee that transactions are carried through honestly.7 Curses are also used to

promote justice over injustice in legal proceedings;8 thus, David would have been familiar

6 John and James Anderson Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos

Research Systems, Inc., 2010), Ps. 35:8‐10.

7 Aune, 409‐410.



with all types and degrees of ancient curses that could have heaped misfortune upon his

enemies as practiced by his society during the time of his life. Yet, David employs no

powerful curse to bring his enemies to end through his prayer to God; at the most, he

asks God for their entrapment by their own actions and words, and to do to them what

they had intended to do to him.

The measured nature of David’s “curses” in Psalm 34, changes our inquiry. No

longer is the question, “Can Christians pray the Imprecatory Psalms” with the suggestion

that invoking those prayers rains curses upon the enemies of Christians against the

teachings of Christ; rather, we are led to the consideration of whether followers of Christ

are allowed to take defensive and offensive measures when violence or war is declared

against them and attack is imminent.

Psalm 55

Psalm 55 is also an individual lament prayer; David seems filled with despair

against friends turned to foes in a similar emotion often linked to the betrayal of Judas

against our Lord.9

Once again, we must look to David’s words and examine specifically what he is asking

God to do to those who have been unjust to him, to determine the nature of the

imprecatory prayer. A comparison of Psalm 55 to Psalm 33 shows a striking contrast in

both request and reason, which requires separate analysis.

8 Ibid. 9 Willem A. VanGemeren, Psalms, ed. Frnk E. Gaebelein, The Expositor's Bible Commentary,

Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 392.



David in Psalm 55 asks God to destroy and divide the tongues of (9) his friends

who becane his enemies. The curse is succinctly stated: “Let death seize upon them, and

let them go down quick into hell” (15). Many interpreters link this psalm to the conspiracy

of Absalom against David; however, Calvin connects it to the time when David was in

extreme danger through the persecution period of Saul.10 His deeply distressful, fervently

emotional pleas to solicit compassion from God to destroy his enemies qualify it as a first‐

rate curse, asking God to kill those who hate him.

Their offenses against him are presented to God to make a case that wickedness

and hatred is visted upon the Psalmist. David encourages God’s attention by noting that

not only is he affected, but the he had also seen “violence and strife” (9) and “mischief

and sorrow” (10) in the walled city, with “wickedness, deceit and guile” (11) within

Jerusalem’s streets.

There is no measured response as we saw in David’s plea in Psalm 33. It is a blunt

request for death and hell to be delivered by a perceived vengeful God who will be upset

with those whom have hurt the Psalmist. It is a curse request, an imprecatory prayer that

holds troubling spiritual dilemma that assumes God favors one over another, and that

curses can be implicated upon request of those favored by Him. There is no doubt the

Psalmist believes that God would answer his curse requests (18‐23); however, it seems far‐

removed from Christ’s teachings to turn the other cheek and do good to those that hate

10 Calvin, Psalm 55.



you (Matthew 5:39). Christians would be well‐advised to consider the disobedience to

Christ’s teachings if they hold this type of attitude in prayer that is displayed in Psalm 55.

However, that a Christian is able to pray this prayer to God with full expectations

of deliverance is part of a valuable intimate relationship with Him. Whether God

complies with the request and whether Christ understands the agony of the prayer and

forgives the lapse in obedience to His teachings, is really up to them.

A similar comparison might be made to the often spoken phrase by warriors to

citizens who abuse the essence of freedom of speech in attacks against military action: “I

fought the battle and gave my life, so your freedom of speech was ensured.” Christ died

upon the cross for sinners to be given the ability to have relationship with God; their right

to speak to Him about anything has been bought by His sacrificed blood. However,

mature Christian faith requires enduring obedience to the teachings of Christ. Psalm 55

should not be prayed by those seeking an obedient relationship with Him, especially if it

is spoken for the curse impact, rather than the emotional outburst of a hurting soul

coming to God for relief.

Psalm 59

Psalm 59 has a difficult structure that confuses analysis because of its vocabulary

and style, and shaky categorization because it can be either an individual or community

lament.11 Regardless, the request by David is certain; he seeks deliverance from Saul’s

11 VanGemeren, 409‐410.



guards, which were watching his house to seize and apprehend him which could result in

his death (1 Sam. 19:11).12 David declares his faith in God’s strength, defense, and mercy to

deliver him from his enemies (16, 17).

Psalm 59 has some similarity with Psalm 35 and asks God to leave the enemy at

their own devices that would eventually destroy them through the way intended for him.

It differs from Psalm 55 which David literally curses his enemies to die and go to hell.

Rather, Psalm 59 seeks deliverance; David tells God about the predicament he is in, and

then asks God to not slay his enemies, but to scatter them (11). David asks God to allow

their pride to develop to the point they begin cursing and lying and then to consume

them in His wrath. Once again, David relies upon the enemies’ nature to create a

situation that brings the wrath of God upon them to bear. The curse is not a specific and

definitive action of David to cause his enemies harm; rather, it takes on the similar nature

of Psalm 35, allowing his enemies to hang themselves upon their lying words. The

measured request asks that when they are scattered, and become overcome with their

self‐importance, that God treats them like dogs, forcing them to seek out their next meal

and hold a grudge deep inside them that cannot be satisfied. (14‐15)

Psalm 59 is once again a measure of action that is weighed according to the

enemies’ attacks and their reliance upon their fallen nature. While all mature Christians

strive to follow Christ’s teachings and love their enemies, David seems to do a bit of

“loving enemies” also; he loves his enemies so much that he encourages God to let them




love themselves, to their disadvantage when God’s wrath removes their pride forcefully

without David’s direct involvement. It is a brilliant, cunning prayer that does not seem to

cross the line of hating enemies that is discouraged later on by Christ’s teachings.

Psalm 69

Psalm 69 is an individual lament by David to reflect his suffering and confirm his

hope in God’s redemption which has tones of the Messiah that allows messianic

interpretation in his confidence for deliverance.13 This is a poem of waiting on the Lord;

David has full confidence that one day God will revenge those who have caused him to

suffer in his life. Once again, in fashion of Psalms 35 and 59, the key request and

commonality within the prayer of David against his enemies is for God to “let” the

troubles ensnare them (22‐28). It is significant in the evaluation of imprecatory Psalms to

note when a Psalmist asks God to “let” the enemies slide down to their natural ways,

thereby evoking the wrath of the Lord, while others call direct curses upon the enemies’

lives.

A significant theological point can be argued that Christ did not command us to

protect our enemies from themselves or from God. Many of the imprecatory prayers by

David have this character, which seeks a natural order that allows wickedness to fall on

their own merits because David knows eventually they will be judged by a wrathful Lord.

David is floundering and needs God’s salvation for the mistakes he makes; however, his

13 VanGemeren, 454.



attitude against his enemies is to let God know how they have hurt him, and wait for

God’s righteous judgment and punishment against his enemies to begin.14

Messianic interpretation adds another layer, allowing for deeper meaning of

David’s “curses.” When verses 21‐28 are read, an understanding of what happens to those

that reject Christ are expressed and confirmed by other Scriptures throughout the Bible.

For instance, “Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not (22) supports the blind

condition of the haters of Christ who do not hold faith graced by God (Rom. 11:7‐8). Thus,

Messianic interpretation that is so keenly associated with the Lord Jesus Christ uses curse

metaphors that are literally represented later on. It is difficult to argue the impropriety of

praying imprecatory Psalms, when the Lord Jesus Christ is connected by this example.

Psalm 79

Psalm 79 is the corporate lamentations of the Church suffering deep persecution;

it is a Psalm of Asaph, written a long time after David’s death.15 It is written after

Jerusalem’s fall and their exile to Judah in 586 B.C.16 There are two specific cures, both

directed upon those who hate God; one asks for God’s wrath to come upon the heathen

that do not know Him (6) and the other asks for seven times the reproach they first gave

Him (12).

Most of the focus of Psalm 79 is crying to the Lord to remember His sheep, with

scant words spoken against the enemy. It does not seem to express the nature of hatred


15 Ibid., Psalm 79.

16 Ibid., 519.



that Christ’s teachings would prohibit; instead, it expresses the same convictive hope that

one day God’s justice will come to bear against all those who hate Him and His people.

Psalm 109

Psalm 109 is an individual lament that expresses the confidence of God’s covenant

with the “unrestrained speech of rage seeking vengeance.”17 There are numerous

imprecations in between the complaint and the expression of gratitude to God that are

spoken in words that can be applied to Christ as the head of the church as well as faithful

Christians today.18 Verses 7‐19 have the usual “let” requests to God, most of which seem

like the typical requests that the previous Psalms have been written. However, a careful

examination of the words shows that the Psalmist, while using the less convicting word of

“let” has deep curses interlaced: “Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow” (9),

“Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg” (10), “Let his posterity be cut off and

in the generation following let their name be blotted out” (13), are some examples that

seemingly ask God to allow these developments to happen, but are actually asking for

God to kill the male enemies and allow their families to suffer that pain and loss through

two generations. This qualifies with Psalm 55 as a very strong imprecatory Psalm that is

cursing the enemies to death through the Psalmist’s vengeance stemming from prior

persecution. The teachings of Christ do not allow for vengeance. Vengeance requires the

heart to hate and purposely plan persecution against their enemies; Christians would be

wise to consider the nature of this Psalm fully.

17 VanGemeren, 689.




Psalm 137

There is one tiny curse in the Imprecatory Psalm 137; but it is a very notable and

powerful one against Babylon: “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones

against the stones” (9). It is a communal lament that prays for God’s vengeance “between

the return of the exiles from Babylon and the rebuilding of the second Temple.”19 The

Psalmist prays as representative of the Church, reminding God of his enemies’ taunts and

actions.20

Christ’s Teachings

The Lord Jesus Christ teaches His followers to not fight evil; but rather to turn the

other cheek when struck and to love, bless, do good, and pray for the enemies that use

and persecute them. Christians are taught to bless them which persecute, and are

prohibited from cursing them (Rom. 12:13). Christians are to endure persecution (1 Cor.

4:12), and see that evil is not rendered against evil to any man (1 Thess. 5:15). The “love

your enemies” exhortative teaching by Christ is not found in the Old Testament, and it is

unparalleled in it emphatic tone.21 It is a new way of dealing with enemies that the

Psalmists had not known.

It is very evident from Christ’s teachings that curses against evil, or doing evil

against evil, is prohibited. However, through our exegesis of the imprecatory Psalms, it

becomes quite apparent that some curses may not be classified in the prohibition to

19 VanGemeren, 826.


21 Darrell L. Bock, Luke Volume 1:1:1‐9:50, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

(Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1994), 588.



cursing enemies. Certainly, Psalms 55 and 109 are imprecatory Psalms that fall within

these teachings of Christ, and seem very inappropriate to be prayed by Christians.

However, the other Imprecatory Psalms (55, 69, 79, and 137) do not pray curses

upon the enemies God and His followers. Rather, they ask God to let the nature of their

enemies alone and allow them to develop their wickedness to the point that God’s wrath

falls upon them. A strong argument can be made that this natural development of their

enemies that is requested by Christians is not a curse, but an acknowledged reality of the

nature of wickedness. The heart of Christ has no room for hatred; however, it does not

expect wickedness to prosper by handing Christ’s kingdom’s keys to them and watch as

they destroy the faithful. Christians can watch as their enemies destroy themselves, and

they are not obligated to save them. Just because an enemy is loved by a Christian does

not discount that it is still an enemy.22 Christians can love their enemies and tell them of

Christ while at the same time praying to their Lord about the distress and pain they cause

in their lives.

Conclusion

The imprecatory Psalms stand upon the highest ethical grounds, upholds God’s

justness and honor, and calls upon His divine retribution for wickedness that has

rampantly oppressed the Psalmist without ceasing.23 Both God’s divine cursing and

blessing are contained in the Abrahamic Covenant, which is carried through to the end of

the New Testament virtually unchanged. Imprecatory prayers’ purposes reflect judgments

22 Day: 181.

23 Ibid., 167.



against evildoers by God, praises to God in anticipated deliverance, gives the ability to

men to recognize God judges the earth, demonstrates the sovereignty of God, prevents

the wicked from receiving the blessings of the righteous, and causes the wicked to

acknowledge God in these human cries for divine justice.24

Christ’s teachings do not always give black‐or‐white options to every situation,

especially to mature Christians who have successfully developed their relationship toward

Him with their separation from the world, whose faith has been proved through the

Anfechtung testing25 monitored by God, and received reward of increased spiritual

knowledge for successful stance upon solid faith. The Lord places great responsibility and

trust in mature Christians’ understandings’ in both His teaching, and the knowledge of

the placement of lines that divide the righteous from the profane to determine and weigh

judgment and action. Cursing enemies of the Old Testament and loving enemies in the

New Testament complement each other when both Testaments are harmonized together

in the ever‐increasing dispensational teachings of God.26

The imprecatory Psalms must be analyzed on an individual basis, with the curses

sorted through with focus upon intentions and reasons for the prayer to be spoken in the

first place. However, a case might be made that if Christians are skilled enough to do

proper exegesis on these Psalms, then they should be able to form specific, dedicated

24 Laney: 41.

25 Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 51: Sermons I, ed. Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann

Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Luther's Works (Philadelphia: Fortress PRess, 1999), 181. 26 Day: 186.



prayers to the Lord that does not rely upon rote repetition of the imprecatory Psalms; it is

to the mature Christians’ best interests to form their own prayers

Christian leadership should discourage the praying of imprecatory Psalms by

Christians of immature faith, especially Psalms 55 and 109. The young have neither

exegesis skills nor enough knowledge of Christ’s teachings to make discernment in this

matter. A wrong focus can damage their faith by relying upon the imprecatory Psalms; it

can make them feel empowered with magical thinking, corrupt their ability to love, and

possibly think that God loves some more than others. However, the imprecatory Psalms

are excellent discussion opportunities that allow Christ’s teachings to be fully expressed

as guided exegesis is conducted. The imprecatory Psalms should not be excluded from

liturgical and didactic services of the church; rather, the congregation should be taught

that denying the conscience that feels the judicial injustice and not calling for God’s

retribution brings dishonor to God.27 Christians must know that Christ’s love

requirements do not remove the justice of God. There are also therapeutic implications to

the use of imprecatory Psalms in the Christian counseling session, that helps guided

Christians to voice negative emotions in the midst of justified anger.28

Mature Christians should have little need to pray the imprecatory Psalms

specifically. They should be well‐versed in their exegesis, marvel at some and reject

others, and possibly copy their patterns in their own prayers; but, they should always

27 William Greenough, Thayer Shedd and Alan W. Gomes, Dogmatic Theology, 3rd ed. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2003), 937.

28 Dominick D. Hankle, "The Therapeutic Implications of the Imprecatory Psalms in the Christian

Counseling Setting," Journal of Psychology & Theology 38, no. 4 (2010): 275.



depend upon their own words to address the crisis of persecution that is at hand. They

should express the greatest of faiths in the example of the Psalmists when they navigate

their requests for God’s help with their enemies to be strengthened and equipped through

their prayers of distress as they cry out to God in their need for divine justice.

Even Christians have recourse in their prayers to receive power to endure the

persecutions of wickedness through the hope of God’s divine justice one day realized

against their enemies. Though some may argue that imprecatory Psalms should not be

prayed, citing the higher authority of Christ over the Psalmists,29 the “sword of the Spirit,

which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17) can be wielded as a weapon that includes “the

kindness and the severity of God” (Rom. 11:22).30 Imprecatory pleadings not only

strengthen the believers but bring honor to God in expressing their convictive hope and

faith in His divine justice and sovereign judgment.

Bibliography

Allen, Leslie C. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101‐150 (Revised) Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.

Aune, David E. Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6‐16. Vol. 52B Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.

29 William Walker Rockwell, William Adams Brown and Thomas Cumin Hall, "Three Addresses Delivered by Professors in Union Theological Seminary at a Service in Commemoration of the Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin: In the Adams Chapel on Monday Evening, the Third of May, Nineteen Hundred and Nine," (Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 34.

30 Reed Lessing, "Broken Teeth, Bloody Baths, and Baby Bashing: Is There Any Place in the Church for Imprecatory Psalms?," Concordia Journal 32, no. 4 (2006): 370.



Bock, Darrell L. Luke Volume 1:1:1‐9:50 Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1994.

Calvin, John and James Anderson. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2010.

Day, John N. "The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics." Bibliotheca sacra 159, no. 634 (2002): 166‐186.

Greenough, William, Thayer Shedd and Alan W. Gomes. Dogmatic Theology. 3rd ed. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2003.

Hankle, Dominick D. "The Therapeutic Implications of the Imprecatory Psalms in the Christian Counseling Setting." Journal of Psychology & Theology 38, no. 4 (2010): 275‐280.

Laney, J. Carl. "A Fresh Look at the Imprecatory Psalms." Bibliotheca sacra 138, no. 549 (1981): 35‐45.

Lessing, Reed. "Broken Teeth, Bloody Baths, and Baby Bashing: Is There Any Place in the Church for Imprecatory Psalms?" Concordia Journal 32, no. 4 (2006): 368‐370.

Luther, Martin. Luther's Works, Vol. 51: Sermons I Luther's Works, Edited by Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann Jaroslav Jan Pelikan. Philadelphia: Fortress PRess, 1999.

Rockwell, William Walker, William Adams Brown and Thomas Cumin Hall. "Three Addresses Delivered by Professors in Union Theological Seminary at a Service in Commemoration of the Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin: In the Adams Chapel on Monday Evening, the Third of May, Nineteen Hundred and Nine." Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009.

VanGemeren, Willem A. Psalms. Vol. 5 The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Edited by Frnk E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.

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About the Author: Kathy L. McFarland is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and Author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Religious Studies from Liberty University, and is currently seeking her Master of Divinity (Professional Ministries Track) degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary & Graduate School. Kathy's favorite studies include the connections between Old Testament exegesis, Christian Apologetics, and Bible typology and mysteries.

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Should Christians Pray the Imprecatory Prayer?