Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 04:2 (May 1942)
Article: The Ethical Problem Of The Imprecatory Psalms
Author: Johannes G. Vos

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WTJ 4:2 (May 1942) p. 123

The Ethical Problem Of The Imprecatory Psalms

Johannes G. Vos

OF THE hundred and fifty Psalms in the Psalter, six are commonly classified as “imprecatory” Psalms. These are the 55th, 59th, 69th, 79th, 109th and 137th. The 137th is not ascribed to a particular author; the scene pictured in it is “by the rivers of Babylon”. The 79th is ascribed to Asaph, and the remaining four to David.

It must be admitted that the designation “imprecatory” is open to objection on the ground that as applied to these Psalms it is not merely descriptive of the content of the Psalms but also commonly conveys a certain impression of reproach, a certain element of disapproval on the part of the person using the term. These Psalms are indeed imprecatory, if this term be understood in its proper sense of invoking a judgment, calamity or curse, and the objection is not to the term itself so much as to the manner of its use by many persons, as if to designate a Psalm as “imprecatory” were almost the same as calling it “wicked” or “immoral”. Though various other designations, such as “Psalms of Justice”, have been suggested, these are not satisfactory because they fail to designate that which differentiates these Psalms from the other parts of the Psalter. Consequently in the present article we shall avail ourselves of the common designation of “Imprecatory Psalms”.

Certain expressions in these Psalms have caused a great deal of abuse to be heaped upon them, some persons even going so far as to say that they breathe a savage spirit and are totally unfit for Christian devotional use. The Imprecatory Psalms contain prayers for the destruction of certain persons. A prayer implies a sincere desire for the thing prayed for. Objectors to the Imprecatory Psalms assert that a

WTJ 4:2 (May 1942) p. 124

desire for the destruction of another is immoral, and therefore that the Psalms which express such a desire are immoral and their use in worship improper and sinful.

The ethical problem of the Imprecatory Psalms may be formulated with respect to these Psalms regarded as compositions or prayers of the Psalmists, or it may be formulated with respect to these Psalms regarded in relation to the Christian of the new dispensation. In the former case we shall ask the question: How can it be right to wish or pray for the destruction or doom of others as is done in the Imprecatory Psalms? In the latter case the question will be: Is it right for a Christian to use the Imprecatory Psalms in the worship of God, and if so, in what sense can he make the language of these Psalms his own? It will be perceived that these two formulations do not represent two distinct problems but rather two aspects of what is basically one ...

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