Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. (Psalm 3:7)

Imprecatory Language

The Bible is a book of books that challenges the nature of man on every level. There is the nature of love and hope sprinkled throughout the word of God, including some very harsh and judgmental language. Critics of the Bible point out the severe language of many stories and passages as against the character of God. The idea that God can have a severe side concerns those who think of the Creator as only compassionate and loving. If the Bible points to one characteristic of God’s divine nature, it is the idea of the goodness and severity of God. This can be found in clear terms in the imprecatory language of the Psalms.

Imprecatory language is where elements of vindictive and vengeful language are found. It is the vocabulary of cursing one’s enemies. Imprecatory language is found in many of the psalms. These psalms express deep pain and sadness at the state of the world, often asking God why he allows suffering and evil to exist. They also contain expressions of anger and curses towards the Psalmist’s enemies. In David’s psalm, when he fled from his son, Absalom, the Psalmist seeks the wrath of God against his enemies and that the Lord would strike them on the cheekbone and break the teeth of the ungodly. This is a rather harsh language. Another psalm asks the Lord to break the arm of the wicked and the evil man.

David seeks the Lord’s vengeance on his enemies in the form of fire, brimstone, and a burning wind. He will also desire to have the necks of his enemies under his foot so that he can beat them as the dust before the wind to be cast in the streets like dirt. He wants the offspring of his enemies to be destroyed by fire. Many other psalms have imprecatory language seeking the vengeance of the Lord against those who stand against Him, including the prayer against Babylon to have their little ones taken and dashed against the rock. This kind of language is unsettling to the nature of man.

The covenant of Jesus Christ is established in imprecatory language but admonishes the followers of Christ to be forgiving, kind, and compassionate. Jesus preached that enemies should be loved, blessed, treated fairly, and prayed for. The early church learned to accept others who were once treated harshly into the fold of God. Jews and Greeks worshipped in the same place and shared fellowship with God in the church. Slaves and free were members of the same body and treated one another with the grace of God. A Christian’s life is to seek others’ welfare and good, which leads to salvation. While the life of the Christian is modeled after the spirit of love, the imprecatory language of the Lord has not changed.

Jesus used imprecatory language when He taught that those who did not do the will of the Father would be rejected at judgment. The Lord said few would be saved, suggesting that most people would be lost. Jesus taught more about eternal punishment than anyone and used language like everlasting fire, everlasting punishment, fire and brimstone, burned in the fire, furnace of fire, wailing and gnashing of teeth; the fire is not quenched, and hell fire. In one of the stories told by Jesus, He described a man tormented in the flames of eternal punishment.

Paul said the Lord is coming back in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle writes these will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. John describes in the Revelation that the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Imprecatory language may not be popular, but it is part of God’s word. It should serve as a warning of the impending judgment of God against all unrighteousness. There will be consequences for those who reject the will of the Father. We are thankful for His grace and mercy and eternal love. Through Christ, we have been saved from the imprecatory language of judgment. Only those in Christ will enjoy God’s grace. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.