When I was in middle school, my great-grandmother called me into her room and asked me to read aloud a psalm.

I was happy to do this for Grandmom, as I called her. But I stopped reading when I reached strikingly harsh words about enemies, thinking she had asked for the wrong chapter.

Surely, Grandmom wanted to hear something more comforting — something kinder. But she hadn’t made a mistake, so I continued reading.

For years, I wondered why that was the psalm my great-grandmother wanted to hear. That afternoon laid the foundation for my curiosity about imprecatory psalms and if, how, and when we should read, pray, or preach them.

J. Carl Laney defines imprecation as “an invocation of judgment, calamity, or curse uttered against one’s enemies, or the enemies of God.” Psalms 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137, and 139 are examples of imprecatory psalms.

Psalm 137:8–9 is one of the hardest imprecations to wrestle with:

Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,

happy is the one who repays you

according to what you have done to us.

Happy is the one who seizes your infants

and dashes them against the rocks.

Amen? This psalm is offensive to many. Yet it is Scripture. Should we omit it from our preaching?

Challenges

Imprecatory psalms present a few challenges. First, they are psalms. In some church traditions, psalms are for singing, not preaching. However, ministers who take seriously Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:16–17 believe all Scripture has value for ministry. Thus, psalms are not only preachable, but also useful.

Second, imprecatory psalms offend our filtered, censored, and sanitized faith — the type of faith today’s society finds most acceptable.

Third, such psalms seem incompatible with Christ’s command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Some ministers dismiss instances of imprecation in the Bible as leftovers from underdeveloped theology or immature faith.

Surely, though, imprecatory psalms have a greater function than just modeling what not to pray. They are not second-string Scriptures — passages that should sit on the bench.

Cursing is not just a Psalms issue. If we are taking a knife to violent texts — those that call for or describe destruction or punishment — we would also have to let Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah fall to the cutting room floor (at the very least).

A reverent and responsible reading of Scripture reveals consistency across both testaments. And as it turns out, both the Old and New Testaments contain imprecation. Jesus spoke curses (e.g., Matthew 11:21–24; 23:33; 26:24).

The rest of the New Testament is likewise peppered with imprecation. Consider 1 Corinthians 16:22; Galatians 1:8–9; James 5:1–6; and Revelation 6:10.

Imprecation is a biblical and theological issue that goes beyond the Book of Psalms. Thus, we cannot shelve the imprecatory psalms, declaring “the old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Suffering

What if by neglecting imprecatory psalms, we have been neglecting our congregations? Has ignoring violent texts from the pulpit made people less violent? Under the banner of Christian ethics, have we been ignoring the pain, trials and trauma of life?

Church is the right environment for processing difficult thoughts and feelings.

The loss of lament and imprecation is a loss indeed. Preaching texts of imprecation both reverently and responsibly would arm our churches not with weapons of destruction, but with tools for processing hurt and pain in the presence of God and a faithful community.

Ministers often preach “love your enemies” as “have no enemies,” but the Bible assumes we have enemies (Matthew 5:44). The imprecatory psalms are honest about the pain and suffering of life.

Referencing Psalm 137, theologian Patrick Miller wrote, “Rather than asking if we could ever justifiably pray such a prayer as this, assuming that the issue is simply a matter of choice, of rational decision, we might better ask whether such thoughts as expressed here have any other permissible context than conversation with God, from whom no secrets are hid, from whom no rage or anger can be concealed.”

Church is the right environment for processing difficult thoughts and feelings. How, then, should we preach imprecations?

Justice

Imprecations should remain within a proper theological context. Personal revenge is not the root of imprecation in the Bible — in either testament. The heart of biblical imprecation is God’s justice.

Dedy Wikarsa explains, “What the psalmists invoke in their prayers is not evil upon their enemies but justice. They pray the Lord will show his love upon the righteous and his justice upon the wicked.”

It is right and good to pray for justice. Biblical imprecation acknowledges the holiness and justice of God, surrendering power and vengeance to Him. We should preach imprecations as testimonies from a generation that looked to God for help. If they could trust God to enact justice, so can we.

Imprecations are not magic spells or binding curses. They are indirect prayers to a God who responds according to His justice, holiness, mercy and love.

Imprecatory psalms are rooted firmly in the belief that God acts. Perhaps they are cathartic, but that is not the main point. More than a release or venting session, psalms of imprecation are testimonies of a robust faith that audaciously claims Yahweh hears, sees, and acts even when circumstances may indicate otherwise. Imprecation puts things in God’s hands — the safest place for our concerns.

The expectation for God to act highlights what imprecation is not. It is not human action. Walter Brueggemann says of imprecatory psalms, “It is important to recognize that these verbal assaults of imagination and hyperbole are verbal. They speak wishes and prayers. But the speaker does not do anything beyond speak. The speech of vengeance is not to be equated with acts of vengeance.”

Imprecatory psalms paint violent word images, but they leave vengeance in the hands of God. The justice and holiness of God serve as both motivators and boundaries for the reactions of His people. With imprecatory psalms, victims lift their hands to God and not against their enemies.

In response to horror, trauma, and overwhelming grief, imprecatory psalms voice the injustice, sorrow, and angst of life honestly and appropriately to God.

Christians may still pray for justice on behalf of the suffering, oppressed and persecuted.

Believers can cry out for God to intervene in the unjust circumstances they face, even as they seek Him for personal healing, forgiveness and peace.

Today’s Christians may join the desperate pleas of suffering believers throughout history. We must also recognize the work of Christ on the cross. God’s love has already satisfied justice for those who confess and believe. If our enemies experience the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, let our imprecations become songs of praise.

Preach imprecatory psalms. Encourage people to surrender their pain to a loving and attentive God, expecting Him to act justly and work in hearts and lives as only He can.

Grandmom took comfort in knowing God was mindful of the injustices and trials of her life. She trusted Him to settle her accounts.

The justice and holiness of God are a kindness to His people.

This article appears in the Fall 2023 issue of Influence magazine.