God, knock the teeth out of their mouths; LORD, tear out the young lion’s fangs. May they vanish like water that flows by; may they aim their blunted arrows. Like a slug that moves along in slime, like a woman’s miscarried child, may they not see the sun. 58:6-8
Sometimes when you read prayers like this you can be taken aback. Of course, we all lose our temper and we all say things we are not proud of, but how can David, “a man after God’s own heart,” ask God to do things like this? After all, are we not to turn the other cheek? Well, yes and no. True, David was a man just like any other man and he was no stranger to sin. He loved God with all of his heart, but he also failed from time to time just like the rest of us. Additionally, these people were trying to attack him unjustly. We don’t know the context of this Psalm, but the one before and the one after (57 & 58) refers to times when Saul was hunting David and his frustration is understandable. Even in the context of these verses, David compares the wicked to snakes who stop up their ears and won’t listen to reason.
This is a type of psalm called an imprecatory Psalm or an imprecatory prayer. Should we also pray imprecatory prayers against our enemies today? The answer is a bit complicated. First, David spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so I would be hesitant to take the same liberties that he did. The general rule of Scripture is to “Love those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you.” I think the most helpful answer I have seen is to distinguish between “cursing personal enemies and calling on God to bring judgment on His enemies.” There is a difference. The Bible declares that “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Ro. 12:18) I am to love others, even those who persecute me, but I should pray for God to bring justice into the world. Praying for Justice makes it about Him and His righteousness and not about me and my personal vendettas.
David prayed for God’s justice upon the wicked and we should pray for justice too. Yet, who among us wants real justice for ourselves. Justice for me means I would go to hell and be punished for my sin. I deserve that. I thank God for His grace that gives me eternal life; I thank God that justice was demonstrated when Jesus died in my place. The wrath of God was satisfied when Jesus showed love and mercy by bearing my sin on the cross, but I was not punished. Should we pray for God to punish our enemies? I think we should pray for God to be glorified, and for His justice to reign on the earth. In the meantime, we should be going to everyone as quickly as possible with the gospel so that they can experience mercy, just like we did even though we did not deserve it.
