Psalms 109:16-20
For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
of those who speak evil against my life!
Tag: The Imprecatory Prayer
In Psalm 109 David is coming to God with a very difficult prayer. Someone, or more than one, has done David wrong. David is hurting about this and brings his complaint to God. This was someone David, at one time, loved. But, they did not return the favor he showed to them. They, instead, showed him evil for his good.
Psalms 109:4-5
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.
So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
Jesus will make reference to part of this Psalm in regard to Judas betraying him, sending him to the cross. Having a Judas in our lives is no fun. Especially when they take the good we do for them and turn it to evil against us. It might be the most emotional of all conflict we face.
As David prays to God for relief from this type of suffering he flows into what is known as an “imprecatory” prayer. The word “imprecatory” comes from the Latin for “called down curse.” The prayer David is offering is to ask God to “curse” his enemies. But, is that type of prayer valid? Does God want us to call down a curse on our enemies? In Romans 12 we told by Paul to “love our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us.”
There is nothing in Scripture that commands us to pray an imprecatory prayer or that hinders us from praying an imprecatory prayer. There are plenty of passage that do teach us to love and forgive our enemies. Jesus ultimately did that. He did not call down hell fire and brimstone when He was hanging on the cross. But, He will bring hell fire and brimstone, some day. Perhaps the best way to approach in imprecatory prayer is with extreme caution. David does so here. We, however, are not King David. We ought to be careful when we pray and seek to forgive, love and admonish. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:43-46
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
We might want to pray an imprecatory prayer over someone and that might be a last case scenario to happen. There are evil men and evilness in this world that can only be stopped by prayers of faith. But, that is God’s World and not ours. David did pray an imprecatory prayer over someone. We would be wise to pray for repentance and God’s intervention in evil situations. But, when the time is at hand and all love, forgiveness and admonishment is fulfilled, an imprecatory prayer may be all that is left to pray. I would think this is what we read in Psalm 109.
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