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?
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 psalms
There 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.
