Imprecatory Love
Psalms of Vengeance as "Love of Enemy"
Note: I originally posted this on my Wordpress blog in 2022. I have made some minor edits to it here.
I've been wrestling with how the psalms of vengeance are to be read through the lens of the Christian call to “love our enemies.” Surely the imprecatory psalms demonstrate for us that: (1) we can go to God with our anger in prayer; (2) the vengeance we wish to enact upon those who have harmed us is best recommended to God’s action; and (3) we can be transformed as we pray—that we can begin in anger, accepting its reality, and end in the hope of God’s deliverance and presence.
But recently I’ve wondered if the imprecatory psalms could actually be understood as a form of “loving one’s enemies.” This is likely not the “original” or “intended” meaning of these psalms (if such a thing as “original” or “intended” meaning can be reconstructed thousands of years later), but can be, I think, a Christian reading.
I’m still new to this idea, so my logic and evidence haven’t caught up to my intuition yet. But one way to love our enemies is to seek their transformation toward greater love of God and neighbor. And sometimes pain is the catalyst for transformation. Thus, it can be possible to pray for the transformation of our enemies by praying they experience a pain—brought about by God and not by us—that leads them to greater trust in God, greater acceptance of the marginalized, and greater compassion toward others in pain.
(There are certainly some passages that may not lend themselves well to this idea (Psalm 137:9, for example), but I think even in those cases, we can wrestle with the text until a Spirit-baptized imagination can glean a blessing out of it.)
Anyway, this is part of the posture I bring now to imprecatory psalms, including Psalm 109. In response to an event involving institutionalized marginalization, I translated and arranged a portion of Psalm 109 to be read as a communal prayer. I encourage you, as you read it, to consider the posture of "loving your enemies through imprecation" as you encounter language that may seem exceptionally strong. (This is the word of the Lord; thanks be to God.)
Prayer Adapted from Psalm 109
(Leader reads plain text; group reads bold text together)
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
For the mouth of the wicked
and the mouth of the deceitful
are opened against me.
They speak to me with a tongue of lies.
With words of hatred they surround me
and they attack me for no reason.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
In place of my love they make accusations
so I turn to prayer.
They establish evil in place of good
and hatred in place of my love.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
Appoint a wicked person against them!
Let the Accuser stand at their right hand!
When they are judged, let them be found guilty!
And may their prayers become sin.
May the days be numbered until their position is taken by another.
May that be the Lord’s reward for my accusers,
for those who speak evil against my personhood,
because they did not remember to act with lovingkindness
but persecuted those already afflicted and in need,
harming further those with fear in their hearts.
In place of my love they make accusations
so I turn to prayer.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
But you, O Lord my Lord, act!
Act for my sake, and act for the sake of your name!
Because your lovingkindness is good,
deliver me.
For I am afflicted, I am in need;
they have wounded my heart within me.
And I—I have become a reproach to them:
they see me and shake their heads.
In place of my love they make accusations
so I turn to prayer.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
Act for my sake, and act for the sake of your name!
Help me, O Lord my God,
save me because of your lovingkindness!
And may they know this is your hand,
that you, O Lord, have done it.
They themselves curse—you will bless.
They stood firm, but they will be ashamed.
And your servants will rejoice.
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace,
and wrapped in the cloak of their shame.
In place of my love they make accusations
so I turn to prayer.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
Act for my sake, and act for the sake of your name!
[other prayers may be offered at this time]
I turn to prayer.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
Act for my sake, and act for the sake of your name!
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord,
and in the midst of the community I will give God praise.
For it is God who stands at the right hand of those in need,
ready to save them from those who judge their personhood.
I turn to prayer.
My God whom I praise—do not keep silent!
Act for my sake, and act for the sake of your name!
Amen.
Notes:
“Personhood” (used twice) is a translation of the Hebrew word nefesh, usually translated “soul,” but containing a multitude of meanings, including (but not limited to): being, existence, life, way of life, whole self (body, mind, heart).
The words “accuse,” “accuser,” “accusation” all come from the Hebrew root stn, from which the name Satan arises. In some translations (e.g., KJV and the Message), Satan is named in verse 6 (which is here translated: “Let the Accuser stand at their right hand.”)
“So I turn to prayer”: Hebrew = literally “I prayer” or “I am prayer” (some translations say, “I have become a person of prayer”). What would it mean to understand ourselves, our lives, as prayers—not just our words, but every action and thought and posture as well?