"Oh that you would slay the wicked"

“Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.”

- Psalm 139:19-22 (ESV)

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Old Testament scholars classify psalms that call for the destruction of the wicked, such as the one above, as imprecatory psalms. Some contend that these prayers reflect an Iron Age ethic in opposition to the New Testament love command [1]. Others have used these psalms as a license for hate. Neither response is biblical. So, how should Christians understand this genre within the psalter?  

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Let me put the question bluntly.

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Can a follower of Jesus pray the imprecatory psalms?

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Here are three considerations for approaching these perplexing prayers.

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Imprecatory Psalms are a Cry for Justice

First, it is crucial to understand the imprecatory psalms as a cry for justice, not an opportunity for personal revenge [2]. David’s prayers are pleas for God to act on his behalf as king, and on behalf of his people. To underscore the contrast between justice and revenge, consider the instance when Saul gathers three thousand soldiers to pursue and kill David. When David has the chance to kill Saul in the cave at En Gedi, he says, “I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Sam 24:10). David has the opportunity to squash Saul’s vendetta, to vanquish the vindictive king. But to slay Saul in the privacy of the cave would be an act of revenge, not the pursuit of justice. When David entreats the Lord to “slay the wicked” in Psalm 139, he is asking for God to put things right. He does not spew these words out of retaliation.

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Paul reminds us in Romans 12:14-21 that a Christian is to do good to an enemy, leaving vengeance to God. When I come across texts like Psalm 139:19-22, I see them as an opportunity for God to examine my heart. These verses reveal either a vindictive heart or one that longs for God’s justice. For instance, I could pray Psalm 139:19-22 from a seat of revenge or from my knees in humility. The former posture rebels against the biblical truth that vengeance is God’s prerogative alone. The second approach longs for God’s justice but leaves room for loving and doing good to one’s enemies, as Paul implores.  

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Imprecatory Psalms Highlight the Gospel’s Beauty

Second, the imprecatory psalms accent the beauty of the gospel. When David asks God to judge his enemies, he does so because they are opposed to God and his ways. God answers David’s prayers, but not in the way he expected. God’s perfect justice and wrath are poured out on Jesus, the only one who is truly righteous. When Jesus dies on the cross, he not only bears the judgment of God on behalf of his enemies, he dies the death of an enemy of God. As Paul says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Gal 3:13 ESV). The one “who knew no sin” bore the full vengeance of God in place of sinners (2 Cor 5:21).  

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The gospel reframes the way we see ourselves and others because it reforms our hearts. We see ourselves as those who desperately need God’s grace. And not only that, we see our “enemies” as those who need God’s grace. When we consider that Jesus took the full weight of God’s judgment—the substance of the imprecatory prayers—we can truly love our enemies even as we pray that God would bring justice.

Imprecatory Psalms Give Us Hope

Finally, the imprecatory psalms give us hope that our holy and righteous God will one day make all things right. John’s Revelation contains several imprecatory prayers. For example, in Revelation 6:10, the saints who are slain because of their “witness” pray, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge (ekdikeo can also mean to grant justice) our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10 ESV). It is a cry, not of revenge, but for justice. God answers this prayer when he pours out his judgments on the earth against his enemies in Revelation 16 and 19 [3]. John’s Apocalypse assures us that the worldly system under the grip of the serpent will not prevail. The Lord will judge those who live in rebellion against him, and God will fully establish his kingdom and put all things right for his people.

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So, can Christians pray the imprecatory psalms?

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Yes, if we understand that these psalms are a prayer for God’s justice, not our vendetta against those who have harmed or wronged us.

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Yes, if we do so with a heart posture that we need God’s grace just as much as our “enemies” need God’s grace. Because of Jesus' work on the cross, our prayer should be both that our enemies come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and for God’s justice.

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Yes, because the imprecatory prayers remind us that we can have hope that one day our holy God will put all things right. The god of this world doesn’t have the last say; the God who can change a rebellious heart does.

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Works Cited

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[1] Samuel J., Schultz and Gary V. Smith, Exploring the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 122.

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[2] Schultz and Smith, 122-123.

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[3] Moo, Douglas J. Moo “The Letters and Revelation” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2289.