3. The Imprecatory Psalms
Certain psalms are commonly called “imprecatory
psalms” because they invoke the judgments of God against His enemies. The
psalms most generally placed in this category are 7, 35, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109,
137, and 139. A number of other psalms, as well as other parts of Scripture,
contain brief imprecations; but these nine have imprecation as their chief
element.
The basic question with these psalms, as many interpreters see
it, is an ethical question: How can it be right to wish or pray for the
destruction of others when the Bible teaches elsewhere and often that one should
love his enemies, and pray for those who persecute him (Matt.
5:44)?
To this question, generally stated, there have been numerous
answers:
- The imprecations were by David’s enemies: It has been
suggested (H.A. Whittaker, Enjoying the Bible, pp. 205,206) that the
imprecation in Psalm 109:6-20, as one example, is not the utterance of David
against his enemies, but is the cursing of those enemies against David himself
(cp. 2 Sam. 16:5-13). This solution requires the insertion of the word
“saying” at the end of verse 5. Some might consider the suggestion
of an insertion as “adding unto the word” (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6;
Rev. 22:13). However, justification for this sort of approach may be found in
the italicized word “saying” in Psalm 2:2 (AV) to explain the
quotation in 2:3 which must obviously be attributed to David’s enemies.
This proposal has merit in the single case, and could perhaps apply to some
others; but a similar approach to all eight imprecatory psalms would probably be
stretching the point.
- The imprecations expressed David’s own
sentiments only: This suggestion is that David is, in such psalms,
speaking the sentiments of his own heart and not those of the Holy Spirit.
According to this view, the inspiration of David’s curses does not mean
that God approved of the anger in David’s heart when he wrote those curses
(Alan Hayward, God’s Truth, p. 195). This view, however, overlooks
or perhaps does not give sufficient weight to the scriptural record of David as
a man who did not indulge in a spirit of personal revenge (1 Sam. 24:1-7;
26:5). And furthermore, this view could lead down the treacherous path by which
we are faced continually with the dilemma: ‘Is this verse, or that,
inspired and meaningful as an example to me? Or is it merely David (or Isaiah,
or Moses, or Paul) expressing his own personal sentiment rather than
God’s?’
- The imprecations demonstrate the inferior
principle of spiritual life in the Old Testament: This view is the
favorite of many “orthodox” scholars, being founded on the doctrine
of “progressive revelation”. By this is meant that the Old Testament
worthies could not have been expected to show any of the kinder and gentler and
more “Christian” virtues of character, since they had not the
slightest inkling in their day that such qualities were even desirable! This
approach is, as it should be, totally unacceptable to Christadelphians, who
rightly take Old and New Testaments to be equally inspired and infallible. Also,
such passages as Leviticus 19:17,18; Proverbs 20:22; 24:17,18; 25:21,22; and Job
31:29,30 show that, in the matter of personal vengeance, the Old Testament is
every bit up to the standard of the New.
- The imprecations are
prophetic: According to this view, David was not only a poet, but also a
prophet declaring what would happen to the ungodly. His statements, then, were
not private and personal at all, but instead the judgments of God. It is pointed
out, in defense of this view, that some of the imprecatory psalms are quoted in
the New Testament as being fulfilled then (Psa. 69:25 and 109:8 in Acts 1:20;
Psa. 69:22,23 in Rom. 11:9,10). But, linguistically speaking, in both English
and Hebrew, the “imprecations” are not simple declarations of what
will happen, but rather wishes or prayers for what may happen.
Thus, what appears at first sight to be a very satisfactory solution may be seen
as going only half the way to answering the question: “How could David
pray as he did?”
- Finally, the imprecations are calls to
God to remember His covenant: The fundamental ground of
justification for the presence of the imprecatory psalms is the Abrahamic
covenant, specifically Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram,
‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’
”
On the basis of this covenant, David, the seed of Abraham, the
divinely-selected representative of the nation, had every right to pray
that God would do what He had promised — that is, curse those who
cursed Abraham’s seed!
What is crucial to appreciating the imprecatory psalms is
this: David never prayed that he might be permitted to avenge himself, but
always that God would rise up to avenge His Anointed (Psa. 7:6; 35:1; 58:6;
59:5). Like Jesus later, David was capable of generosity and “turning the
other cheek” when under personal attack (2 Sam. 16:11; 19:16-23). Yet,
like Jesus again, he loved righteousness and hated the iniquity which flaunted
itself against the honor of God, and he could be utterly ruthless in suppressing
such iniquity when he knew the time was right!
Finally, God’s judgments are essential if the righteous
are ever to be established and glorified on the earth. To pray “Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth” is therefore no different than to
pray “Let them (thine enemies) be confounded....troubled....put to
shame....perish....” — once it is understood that there is no
personal vindictiveness involved.
Therefore, the imprecations of the Bible are not mere human
cries for vengeance, nor the expression of some inferior Old Testament
“righteousness”, nor merely prophecies. They are righteous,
heartfelt calls upon God to remember His covenant, and to perform it, come what
may. For David and the other “imprecators” recognized that only
then, when God’s enemies are finally and completely cursed, will He be
able to get on with the business of glorifying His Name in the earth:
“So let all Thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love Thee
be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might” (Judg.
5:31).