The Psalms have brought comfort and hope to God's people for centuries. In them we can find passages which address every part of life. While many of the verses call for men to praise God for His care, deliverance, mercy and longsuffering, there are a few passages in which the writer calls upon God to curse, punish, or utterly destroy wicked men. These psalms are called "Imprecatory Psalms;" the word "imprecate" meaning to invoke evil upon or to curse.
Although scholars cannot agree upon the exact number of psalms that fall into this category, it is observed that at least eighteen psalms contain significant examples of imprecatory language. Among them are Psalms 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, 137 and 140.
A brief sampling of the language of these psalms will indicate the problem that some have in understanding how such messages fit into God's revelation to mankind.
"Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord... Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun" (Ps. 58:6, 8).
"Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling place be desolate; let no one live in their tents... Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous" (Ps. 69:24-25, 28).
"O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock!" (Ps. 137:8-9).
It is difficult to picture a faithful Christian using such language in his prayers to God. How can we reconcile these requests with the Lord's command to "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44)? The following points can help us appreciate the appearance of such language in the Psalms.
1. These psalms are not pleas for personal vengeance. In fact, the writers never act upon their plea. They are a voice of moral outrage rooted in a proper knowledge of God's standards of righteousness and condemnation of sin.
2. In these psalms, the writer is simply appealing to God to do what He has said He would do elsewhere in the Scriptures (compare Psalm 137:8-9 with God's prophetic judgment upon Babylon in Isaiah 13:16). We must "consider the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). There are times when it is appropriate for God's wrath to be poured out upon sinful men.
3. Some of these Imprecatory Psalms are also Messianic Psalms. While calling for immediate judgment against the writer's present enemies, the language of the psalm accurately reflects the punishment that is fitting for those who would betray and kill God's Son (consider Psalms 55, 69, and 109).
4. Some of these psalms reflect the principle of lex talionis: the law of retaliation; punishment is in kind or degree to the offense. This is seen especially in Psalm 109:17-19.
5. There are Imprecatory statements found in the New Testament (Acts 13:6-11; Gal. 1:8-9; 5:12; 2 Tim. 4:14; Rev. 6:10).
The Psalms are loved and longed for by God's people because they address every possible emotional need we can have, even the need to properly express our anger.