Dealing with Inappropriate Bible Passages: The Psalms of Cursing

Anyone who tries to defend the Holy Bible as being the very Word of God, inspired by the Spirit of God and written by human beings while under that inspiration, has to face some difficult challenges from not only non-believers, but also believers. Among the obstacles to belief for many people are such things as (1) apparent contradictions in the Bible, (2) apparent errors in the Bible, (3) apparent duplications [some allege, for example, that there are two creation stories in Genesis-evidence of a forgetful God who forgot that there was already one story written down!], (4) events that seem to go against natural law or human experience, and, for the purpose of this article, (5) ungodly sounding sentiments.

Certain of the Psalms are notable for containing thoughts or ideas that seem unfitting for a God of love. Here are some examples from these so-called "Cursing Psalms."

In Psalm 69, the writer, speaking of his enemies, writes, "May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them." (Verses 23 and 24)

Psalm 109 contains a large section dealing with the writer's "hopes" for his enemy. For example, "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes." (Verses 9 and 10) It only gets worse as you continue reading.

Psalm 137 contains one of the most graphic portrayals of revenge on a human level when it says, "O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us-he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks." (Verse 8 and 9)

Psalm 139 adds these words: "If only you would slay the wicked, O God!" (Verse 19)

So how are we to deal with these harsh words and wishes? Here are a few suggestions.

First, see them as the natural human response to evil. Whatever else a person may be-whether a believer or not-he or she is first of all a human being. When we are attacked, we respond. When something painful is done to us, our first inclination is to strike back. That doesn't mean that the correct Christian response is to retaliate; it is to say that one of the temptations we all face is to respond in kind to the evil done to us. When I was in the Army, I was a Chaplain's Assistant who worked with the youth group on the post. One day, a boy was telling the group about being teased for being a Christian. His response was to remind himself to "turn the other cheek." (Matthew 5:39) Good for him, but not everybody has the faith and the strength to do that.

Second, see them as verbal pleas to God to handle the revenge on my behalf. Romans 12:19, quoting Deuteronomy 32:25, says, "'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. " While we may feel the pain and the anger, it is the Lord's responsibility to take care of the vengeance on our behalf and, in the process, to vindicate our trust in the Lord. And anyway, as someone has said, the Lord can do a much better job of vengeance than we ever could!

Third, a helpful way to understand the "Cursing Psalms" is to see them as attempts to express the believer's anger at people who do not respect the standards and commandments of a holy God. While some of the statements might seem extreme (such as dashing a baby against the rocks!), they can be seen as affirming the principle that there are consequences for rebelling against God on either the personal level or national level. While the offending nation or individuals may not consciously see themselves in opposition to God, the people with a "big picture" view of the world are aware that something is distorting the order that God desires in the universe and those people respond accordingly. In the words of Psalm 139, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you?" (Verse 21)

There are many things in the Bible that are difficult for us to understand. When it comes to understanding the "Cursing Psalms," I hope my comments will be helpful.

Source: The Bible quotations come from the Holy Bible, New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978).