Imprecatory Prayer and the Justice of God

 

There are passages in the Bible that many Christians find difficult, and Psalm 109 is certainly one of them. It contains some of the strongest imprecatory language in all of Scripture. David prays concerning his enemy, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” He continues by praying that the man’s children become vagabonds, that his possessions be taken, that his posterity be cut off, and that his name ultimately disappear.

Those are severe words, and we should not pretend otherwise. Yet they are in the Bible. If we believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, then we must deal honestly with passages such as this rather than ignoring them simply because they trouble us.

The first thing I want to emphasize is that imprecatory prayer is not personal vengeance. When David prayed against his enemies, he left the result entirely in the hands of God. God could convert the enemy, restrain him, remove him, or judge him in whatever manner He chose. David was not claiming the right to take private vengeance. He was appealing to the sovereign Judge of heaven and earth.

That distinction is essential.

The Bible says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Biblical justice belongs to God. When Scripture speaks of an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, those laws were given to judges and magistrates. They were standards of justice. They did not give individuals permission to retaliate however they pleased.

The Pharisees corrupted that principle. They turned a judicial law into justification for personal revenge. Our Lord corrected that abuse. The law of retribution was never intended to mean, “If someone hurts you, hurt him back.” Rather, it teaches that punishment must fit the offense and that God is just in rendering to men according to their deeds.

In the New Testament we see the same principle expressed as sowing and reaping: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

That principle helps us understand Psalm 109.

David is not simply angry and asking God to inflict random suffering upon somebody he dislikes. He is asking God to cause the wicked man to reap what he has sown. That becomes especially clear later in the Psalm. David explains that this man “remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.”

Then David says, “As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.”

There is the principle.

As he did unto others, let it be done unto him.

As he sowed, let him reap.

As he withheld mercy, let mercy be withheld from him.

As he clothed others with suffering, let the consequences of his own wickedness come upon him.

Can there be anything more just than that?

One of the difficult questions raised by Psalm 109 concerns the family of the wicked man. David prays not only against the man himself but also speaks of his wife, his children, and his posterity. At first glance, someone might ask whether this contradicts the biblical principle that every man is responsible for his own sin.

The Bible plainly teaches that “the fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers.” Every person is accountable for his own sin.

Yet the Bible also teaches that sin has consequences that extend through households and generations. Proverbs says, “The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked.” It also says that the greedy man “troubleth his own house.”

That does not mean innocent children are simply condemned for a father’s guilt. The point is that families often participate together in the same patterns of wickedness. Children are taught the sins of their fathers. They grow up benefiting from ill-gotten gain. They may defend the wrongdoing, continue it, or build upon it. The evil that begins with one generation is often handed down to the next.

We see examples of this throughout Scripture.

Achan stole what God had forbidden at Jericho and hid it in the midst of his tent. His household was caught up in the judgment that followed. In the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, their households stood with them and shared the consequences of that rebellion. Haman’s family likewise became entangled in his wicked scheme against the Jews.

The principle is sobering: a man does not necessarily sin alone.

A father’s wickedness can impoverish his children. His greed can destroy a household. His abuse of power can bring shame upon an entire family. His dishonesty may provide wealth for a season, but if that wealth was obtained through corruption, his children may eventually inherit not only his riches but the consequences attached to them.

That is part of what we see unfolding in Psalm 109.

David first prays, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” If the man dies, another must occupy his position.

Then comes the next consequence: “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”

If the provider is gone, the household loses its support. Therefore David continues, “Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg.”

Then the creditor arrives: “Let the extortioner catch all that he hath, and let the strangers spoil his labour.”

One judgment leads naturally into another. The office is lost. The man dies. The family loses its support. Their wealth disappears. Creditors seize what remains. Those who once may have lived in comfort are reduced to poverty.

These are severe judgments, but the Psalm presents them as consequences flowing from the wickedness of the man himself.

We should also remember that Psalm 109 has a prophetic application to Judas Iscariot. Peter quotes from this Psalm in the book of Acts when he says concerning Judas, “His bishoprick let another take.” Judas had walked with Christ, heard His teaching, witnessed His miracles, shared in the ministry, and yet betrayed the Son of God for thirty pieces of silver.

There is something especially terrible about receiving great light and deliberately turning against it.

The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility.

The severity of Psalm 109 should therefore teach us something about the severity of sin. We live in a generation that wants to make sin small. God does not make it small. We excuse what God condemns. We tolerate what God calls wicked. We sometimes think rebellion has no lasting consequences.

Psalm 109 will not allow us to think that way.

David’s prayer is ultimately about justice.

He wants the wicked to reap what they have sown. He wants God’s righteous law vindicated. He wants those who persecute the poor, oppress the needy, curse others, and delight in evil to discover that God is not mocked.

But David wants something else as well.

He wants deliverance.

After praying against his enemy, he turns to God and says, “But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.”

There is nothing wrong with wanting deliverance from wicked men. I do not want evil men to succeed against me. I do not want those who hate God, hate His Word, and persecute His people to accomplish their purposes. I pray, as our Lord taught us, “Deliver us from evil.”

David also wanted his deliverance to happen in such a way that everybody would know God had done it. He prayed, “That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.”

That should be our desire as well.

I do not merely want victory so that I can boast about winning. I want God to act in such a way that His hand is recognized. I want His justice seen. I want His sovereignty acknowledged. I want men to understand that there is a God who rules in the earth.

And when God delivers, the response of His people should be praise.

David says, “I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.”

That is where imprecatory prayer should finally lead us. It should not lead us into personal hatred, bitterness, or cruelty. It should lead us into a deeper confidence in the justice of God, a greater desire for righteousness, and a greater fear of sin.

Psalm 109 teaches me that wickedness eventually comes home.

The pit a man digs for another may become the pit into which he falls. The curse he delights in may return upon his own head. The violence he inflicts may ultimately consume him. God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

That truth ought to make me thankful for the grace and mercy of God, but it should also make me very careful about how I live.

If I believe God judges wickedness, then I ought to stay as far away from wickedness as I possibly can.

If I pray for God to establish righteousness in the earth, then I should want righteousness established in my own heart.

If I pray, “Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,” I must also pray that God remove wickedness from me.

Imprecatory prayer is therefore not merely about what God should do to somebody else. It is also a warning to me.

God is just. God sees. God remembers. God rules. God rewards righteousness, and God judges wickedness.

So I pray that God will defend His people, restrain those who persecute them, bring evil plans to nothing, and establish justice in the earth. I pray that He will deliver His people in such a way that all men may know that His hand has done it.

And at the same time I pray, “Lord, give me grace and mercy to walk in holiness. Keep me from the sins I ask You to judge in others. Establish Thy righteousness in me, establish Thy righteousness in the earth, and let Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”