What Are the Imprecatory Psalms?
Imprecatory Psalms are psalms that call on God to judge the wicked. They ask Yahweh to expose evil, overthrow violent men, vindicate His name, and bring justice against His enemies.
Christians often find these psalms difficult because their language is severe. David can pray, “Oh that You would slay the wicked, O God!” He can say of those who hate Yahweh, “I hate them with the utmost hatred.” Psalm 69 calls for judgment on those who persecute the righteous. Psalm 109 asks God to bring guilt and ruin upon a wicked accuser.
Can Christians pray prayers like these?
Yes.
Christians can ask God to judge His enemies, overthrow wickedness, restrain violent men, vindicate His name, and bring rebellious men to justice. The New Testament does not teach us to become indifferent toward evil. It teaches us to leave judgment with God.
The clearest example is the Devil. Christians should desire his destruction. God has promised it:
“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone.”
Revelation 20:10
There would be nothing wrong with praying for God to destroy the Devil and bring that promised judgment to pass. Indeed, when Christians pray for Christ to return and His kingdom to come, they are praying for a kingdom in which Satan is finally defeated, every enemy is subjected to Christ, and wickedness is removed.
The question, then, is not whether Christians may pray for God to judge His enemies. We may. The question is how we pray for that judgment without turning the imprecatory Psalms into expressions of personal vengeance.
They Are Prayers to Yahweh
The imprecatory Psalms are prayers.
David does not take vengeance into his own hands. He brings wickedness before Yahweh and asks the Judge of all the earth to do what is right.
Romans 12 says:
“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God.”
Paul does not tell Christians that the desire for justice is wrong. He tells them who has the right to execute vengeance. It belongs to God.
The imprecatory Psalms do exactly this. The psalmist sees wickedness and asks Yahweh to act. He does not appoint himself judge and executioner.
Christians can do the same. When men murder, persecute, abuse, oppress, or blaspheme, we can ask Yahweh to stop them. We can ask Him to expose what they are doing, frustrate their plans, defend those they are harming, and judge them according to His righteousness.
We leave the judgment with Him.
They Are About Yahweh’s Enemies
Psalm 139 gives one of the clearest examples:
“Do I not hate those who hate You, O Yahweh?
And do I not revile those who rise up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.”
David does not begin with men who have wronged him and ask Yahweh to take his side. They hate Yahweh. They rise against Yahweh. Therefore, they have become David’s enemies.
David takes Yahweh’s side.
He speaks as Yahweh’s covenant servant. He belongs to the God who has bound Himself to His people. Those who set themselves against Yahweh have therefore set themselves against David.
The imprecatory Psalms are not permission to turn personal anger into a prayer for judgment. They are prayers of allegiance. The worshipper stands with Yahweh against those who rebel against Him and against the wickedness He hates.
Love for Yahweh Hates Evil
The Psalms join love for Yahweh to hatred of evil:
“Hate evil, you who love Yahweh.”
Psalm 97:10
Love for Yahweh cannot be indifferent toward evil. Those who love Yahweh must love righteousness and hate wickedness because He loves righteousness and hates wickedness.
That hatred must be governed by Yahweh’s righteousness. It is not personal spite or pleasure at another person’s suffering. It is agreement with God that evil is evil, that sin deserves judgment, and that Yahweh is right to judge it.
Psalm 139 says more than that David hates evil in the abstract:
“Do I not hate those who hate You, O Yahweh?”
There are men who deliberately set themselves against Yahweh. Scripture does not require His people to regard their rebellion with neutrality.
David belongs to Yahweh. Yahweh’s thoughts become precious to him. Yahweh’s ways govern his judgment. What Yahweh loves, David learns to love. What Yahweh hates, David learns to hate.
Loving Our Enemies Does Not Mean Opposing Their Judgment
Jesus says:
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:44
Christians must obey Him. We should desire the repentance and salvation of our enemies. We should do good to them rather than returning evil for evil.
But Jesus’ command does not mean that we must desire that wickedness continue or that the wicked escape justice.
The Devil again makes the distinction obvious. Christians do not pray for Satan’s repentance because Scripture reveals that judgment has been appointed for him. We pray for his defeat.
With living men the situation is different. A persecutor of the church may become a brother in Christ. Saul of Tarsus did. We can therefore pray that a wicked man repent while also praying that God stop his wickedness.
Those prayers can be answered together. God may stop a persecutor by converting him. Saul went out intending to arrest Christians and returned proclaiming Christ.
God may instead restrain a wicked man, remove his power, expose his deeds, or bring judgment upon him.
We do not know which God will do. We can therefore pray both for mercy and for justice: “Lord, bring this man to repentance. Stop the evil he is doing. If he refuses to repent, judge him according to Your righteousness.”
There is no contradiction in that prayer.
Jesus Himself Will Judge His Enemies
The New Testament does not replace the judgment found in the Psalms with a Christ who never judges.
Jesus warns repeatedly about hell. He pronounces woes upon hypocritical religious leaders. He speaks of people being cast into outer darkness. He says that the Son of Man will separate the righteous from the wicked.
Revelation presents Christ returning as Judge:
“And in righteousness He judges and wages war.”
Revelation 19:11
The same Jesus who commanded His disciples to love their enemies will judge His enemies.
The cross does not make judgment disappear. At the cross, Christ bore the judgment deserved by everyone who belongs to Him. Those who repent and believe are forgiven because Christ has borne their condemnation. Those who remain in rebellion will face the judgment of God themselves.
Christians therefore desire two things for the wicked: repentance while mercy is offered, and righteous judgment upon rebellion that persists.
They Belong to Christ
David was Yahweh’s anointed king, but he was not the final King.
Psalm 2 says:
“The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against Yahweh and against His Anointed.”
Yahweh responds:
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
The rulers are then warned:
“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way.”
The New Testament applies Psalm 2 to Christ. The nations that rebel against Yahweh rebel against His Son.
Jesus says:
“He who is not with Me is against Me.”
There is no neutral position. A person is with Christ or against Him.
Christians therefore read the imprecatory Psalms under the reign of Christ. He is the righteous King. He is the Judge. His enemies will not triumph forever.
When we pray:
“Your kingdom come.”
we are asking for Christ to reign and every enemy of His kingdom to be defeated.
When we pray:
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
we are asking for the return of the Judge as well as the Saviour.
The final answer to the imprecatory Psalms is not that Christians have moved beyond judgment. It is that judgment has been entrusted to Christ.
They Require Self-Examination
Psalm 139 does not end with David looking only at the wicked:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.”
David has declared himself against those who rebel against Yahweh, but he also asks Yahweh to expose anything within his own heart that stands against Him.
The man who prays against evil must ask Yahweh to expose the evil in him too. He cannot pray as though wickedness exists only in other people.
Christians must pray in the same way. We ask God to judge evil in the world, and we ask Him to expose the remaining evil in us. We ask Him to bring down proud rebellion, and we ask Him to expose our own pride. We ask Him to vindicate His name, and we ask Him to remove everything in us that dishonours His name.
The same God who judges the wicked searches His people.
Christians Can Pray the Imprecatory Psalms
Christians can pray for God to judge evil.
We can pray for Satan to be crushed and his works destroyed. We can pray for persecutors to be stopped. We can pray for violent men to lose their power. We can pray for hidden wickedness to be exposed. We can pray for justice for those who have been wronged. We can pray for Christ to return and finally destroy every enemy.
We can also pray for wicked men to repent and be saved.
These prayers belong together because both ask God to end rebellion against Him. We desire the salvation of sinners, but we do not desire the preservation of their sin. We desire mercy, but we also agree with God that His judgment is righteous.
What we cannot do is use the imprecatory Psalms to justify personal vengeance. Judgment belongs to Yahweh. We bring the matter to Him and ask Him to act according to His perfect knowledge and righteousness.
The imprecatory Psalms teach us to pray for the defeat of evil without taking vengeance into our own hands. They teach us to stand with Yahweh against rebellion while asking Him to search our own hearts. They teach us to desire mercy for sinners while longing for the day when Christ will remove every enemy from His kingdom.
To pray for Christ’s kingdom to come is ultimately to pray for both salvation and judgment. Christ will save His people, destroy the works of the Devil, judge those who remain His enemies, and reign until every enemy has been put under His feet.