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Imprecatory Prayer
Contents
Imprecatory Prayer
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Contents
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Engaging the Covenant in our Prayer Life
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Imprecatory Prayer is Enforcing the Covenant of God
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The Covenantal Lawsuit
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Who Files the Lawsuit?
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Psalm 109: A Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked
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Summary
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their trust in thee from those that rise up against
them. 8Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me
under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked
that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who
compass me about. 10 They are inclosed in their
own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. 11
They have now compassed us in our steps: they
have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 12
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it
were a young lion lurking in secret places. 13 Arise,
O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver
my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: 14
From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from
men of the world, which have their portion in this
life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid
treasure: they are full of children, and leave the
rest of their substance to their babes. 15 As for me, I
will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be
satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Engaging the Covenant in our Prayer
Life
There are many different types of prayer that we
exercise and do: prayers of intercession, prayers of
thanksgiving, and prayers of request. All are our
communications with God, with different effects. As we
start looking into this study of imprecatory prayer, we
will see a new type of prayer that David prayed that was
very effective. Of the 150 Psalms contained in the
Bible's prayer book, i.e., the Psalms, 104 are
imprecations. Imprecatory psalms: Psalm 5, 7, 9, 10, 17,
25, 28, 31, 35, 40, 41, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70,
71, 74, 79, 83, 94, 104, 109, 137, 140. Also, the psalms
were to be sung and read unedited during the worship
service. So what is imprecatory prayer? Let's look at a
definition.
Impre•ca•tion \im-pri-kā-shən\ noun CURSE, the act
of imprecating, 1: a prayer or invocation for harm or
injury to come upon one: IMPRECATION, 2:
something that is cursed or accursed, 3: evil or
misfortune that comes as if in response to imprecation
or as retribution, 4: a cause of great harm or misfortune:
TORMENT
Psalm 59:1-5 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my
God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
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Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save
me from bloody men. 3 For, lo, they lie in wait for
my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not
for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. 4
They run and prepare themselves without my fault:
awake to help me, and behold. 5 Thou therefore, O
LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to
visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked
transgressors. Selah.
This is not the typical prayer. But out of all the
Psalms, David prayed these types of prayers many
times. Today God is taking intercession to a new level.
He desires us to pray prayers of the imprecation against
our enemies. This type of praying is not to be taken
lightly nor is it to be done in haste. But this type of
prayer is very effective bringing results because we
have partnered with God concerning our enemies. This
means that my enemies are God's enemies and Gods
enemies are my enemies. Imprecation is applying the
covenant of God into our prayer life in a new
dimension. Let’s look at a few of the Psalms David
prayed to start our study and give us some examples.
Psalm 64:1-10 Hear my voice, O God, in my
prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked;
from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their
bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 4
That they may shoot in secret at the perfect:
suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They
encourage themselves in an evil matter: they
commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who
shall see them? 6 They search out iniquities; they
accomplish a diligent search: both the inward
thought of every one of them, and the heart, is
deep. 7But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
suddenly shall they be wounded. 8 So they shall
make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all
that see them shall flee away. 9 And all men shall
fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they
shall wisely consider of his doing. 10 The righteous
shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him;
and all the upright in heart shall glory.
Psalm 17:1-15 Hear the right, O LORD, attend
unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth
not out of feigned lips. 2 Let my sentence come
forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the
things that are equal. 3 Thou hast proved mine
heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast
tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed
that my mouth shall not transgress. 4 Concerning
the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have
kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 5 Hold up
my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. 6
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O
God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my
speech. 7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O
thou that savest by thy right hand them which put
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became threatened. We must know these sanctions and
understand our role in the stewardship of them as well.
Imprecatory prayers occur when there is no way to
confront the evil, or it is out of your control and efforts.
It is calling on God to enforce His covenant as the only
one who can be a righteous judge and make the right
decisions of what that judgment will be. A form of
Imprecatory prayer is used every time we do
deliverance. We are taking the role of the judge
concerning the demonic activity. Jesus has given us this
vested authority to “cast out demons”. He gave us the
right to make a righteous judgment and then exercise its
implementation. Imprecatory praying is a covenantal
right God has given to the church as well. Joshua is the
account of the conquest of the land; Acts is the story of
the conquest of the world. Joshua and David took land
and defeated enemies because of covenantal right and
by the sword of steel. This was a God given authority
they exercised. Today we are to defeat our enemies as
well because of covenantal right and by the sword of
the spirit.
Psalm 69:24-28 Pour out thine indignation upon
them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none
dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute him
whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief
of those whom thou hast wounded. 27 Add iniquity
unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy
righteousness. 28 Let them be blotted out of the
book of the living, and not be written with the
righteous.
Job 31:30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin
by wishing a curse to his soul.
Even though Imprecatory means to curse, we are not
cursing. We are asking God through prayer for Him to
decide if the curse is needed to bring Godly repentance.
The curse is not against the soul of man but against the
situation that is occurring to change the heart of man.
Psalm 18:48 He delivereth me from mine enemies:
yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up
against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent
man.
The Covenantal Lawsuit
All wars are fought over covenantal issues, namely
either a breach in covenant has occurred or a violation
of it has happened. It is the same way in the spirit
realm. Many are fighting with no understanding of
covenant, and what has been violated. The more we
understand our covenant, the more we will understand
our rights. We need to understand our rights and to
understand our authority as well. We cannot effectively
pray if we do not understand the rights of our covenant.
It is our right to bring testimony concerning the
violation of our covenant. Our testimony becomes a
covenantal lawsuit. As the Ekklesia, (the church, called
out ones to rule and reign) we have a legal right to bring
this lawsuit before God so that evil can be dealt with
once and for all. That is why this lawsuit must be
brought before the throne of God during a worship
service. Because the Biblical covenant commands
Christians to be lawful, we are not allowed to use
violence. This is a spiritual battle and has to be fought
in the spirit realm and the court of God. In a covenantal
lawsuit, the blessings and curses found in Deuteronomy
28 are turned into accusations against lawless covenantbreakers and enemies of the Church, calling down
God's sanctions on them. A covenant lawsuit asks God
to remove the wicked and give retribution for not
repenting. So God removes the wicked in one of two
ways: by conversion or destruction. A covenantal
lawsuit is not "unloving." It is a Biblical method for
taking dominion when opposition is met! A Christian's
greatest weapon in the face of opposition is not a
When do we employ prayers of imprecation? When
the following conditions are met.

Imprecatory prayer is conducted
situations are beyond your control

Enemies of Christ are also our enemies and, in
true covenant, our enemies become His as well.

It is praying in agreement with what God says
about his covenantal response to evil after
repeated refusals to repent.

The New Testament viewpoint is coming
against the demonic (evil) force behind the
actions of a person that they must go and as that
force goes, either the person breaks from it, or
they end up going with that force.

Imprecatory prayers are to be conducted within
the context of worship services as all the
Psalms, which contain these, were in this
context.

when
Praying out of right motive, right position, right
attitude, and right understanding.
Imprecatory Prayer
Covenant of God
is
Enforcing
the
Imprecatory prayers occurred when the covenantal
sanctions God had made with the earth and mankind
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"carnal" weapon but a spiritual one. The covenant itself
turned into a lawsuit before God.
Jesus also uses the same pattern to conduct church
discipline in Matt 18. This is showing how the Ekklesia
governs itself when covenant violations occur. Today
we are losing out on a powerful way of prayer because
we do not apply the pattern in our current church life.
Because of this, we do not have boldness outside the
walls to enforce covenant. Just like Matt 18 was
conducted in a church setting, so are covenantal
lawsuits. They can only be brought in the context of a
Church court, or worship service (also a Church court
before God's throne), since the imprecatory (judgment)
Psalms (Ps. 83, 94)came during worship services. This
means that these prayers are offered as worship when
people have entered the presence of God.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is
fulfilled.
War = to lead soldiers into a battle, the same that
Paul told Timothy he would do
We have the legal right and heritage to not allow
ourselves to be judged by those who are unrighteous!
We do not do what our flesh desires to do but what
the Spirit knows to do. For the weapon of our
expedition or campaign has the power, might, authority,
and divine nature of God residing within it, to destroy,
demolition, castles, fortress, reasoning’s, opinions, a
position of the mind holding ones self to external
things, friendships, duties and the laying hold of things.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This
is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and
their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Weapon = From a Root word meaning: to consume,
accomplish, determine, plotted
Who Files the Lawsuit?
There are only two classifications of people:
covenant-keepers and covenant-breakers. Since the
covenant breakers are not concerned about enforcement
of the covenant, it is up to us as spiritual overseers to
file the suit before the throne of God. In the Old
Covenant, the prophet brought the covenant lawsuit on
behalf of the people. He would bring it before the king
and the king would make the final judgment. What was
required in this was the testimony of a minimum of two
witnesses . We see this example in 1 Kings 1.11-14 as
Bathsheba and Nathan come before David with
accusation of an overthrow. Jesus also sent the disciples
out two by two, so a legal status was in place in case
covenantal sanctions were violated.
Formed = fashion by human or divine activity
Now let us take a look at one of the greatest Psalms
in the Bible. This will be our main study text. That is
Ps. 109 It contains over 30 prayers towards the enemy
all in one Psalm.
Psalm 109: A Prayer for the Punishment
of the Wicked
David’s Indictment of His Enemies: His Innocence
and Their Iniquity
Psalm 109:1-5 Hold not thy peace, O God of my
praise; 2 For the mouth of the wicked and the
mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they
have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 3 They
compassed me about also with words of hatred;
and fought against me without a cause. 4 For my
love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto
prayer. 5 And they have rewarded me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them.
The reference to "two or three" was a requirement
used for legal testimony in the Old Testament.
Deut. 17:6 On the evidence of two or three
witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he
shall not be put to death on the evidence [literally
"mouth"] of one witness.
As we start this examination, we see the first thing
that is brought out is that David declares his innocence
and the iniquity of his enemies. We all must be innocent
of the charges brought against us. Without innocence,
we have no legal right to enforce the covenant because
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we are violators as well. This is why God sought David,
a man after His own heart. He was looking for a man
who would be perfect to enforce the covenant upon the
earth. David also made that statement concerning his
enemies. He states that they have an iniquity that has
not been dealt with. David knows the charges against
him is false. David has been good to his enemies while
they have repaid with evil. David is requesting of God
to have relief from his enemies and the actions that they
are doing towards him
associated with David. According to verse 5, they had
been the recipients of David’s love, which they spurned
and showed him hatred instead. This show the attempt
David made to justify the wrong and move to “love
your enemies”. David saw it was not just how they
treated him but was an attitude towards God as well. In
other psalms (Ps. 37:12; 139:19-20) it is shown how the
wicked treat the righteous is symptomatic of their
rebellion against God.
As we all know, the primary instrument of evil is the
tongue, in the mouth of the enemy, it is especially
wicked. David shows this in verse 2. He speaks of them
having “opened the wicked and deceitful mouth” and
spoken with “a lying tongue.” They have surrounded
the psalmist with “words” (v. 3). They have “accused”
him of wrongdoing (v. 4). The focus of this evil is “The
Character-Assassin.”. Yet David knows his character in
this moment is right before God. In this situation, the
type of imprecations that are effective are towards those
who are truly wicked, those who are not just our
enemies, but also God’s enemies. The most severe
judgment is called down (and rightly so) upon the sin of
character assassination of God’s appointed leaders. This
is why the Bible says “touch not mine anointed”(1
Chron. 16:22). Every person will have flaws, but do not
return evil but love when there is not unrighteousness in
the person’s life. This is coming not just against a
leader, but God who appointed the leader.
Requirements of the person for Imprecation
David knew innocence was required before God. He
opens by making this bold statement. How many of us
can say the same thing concerning our own attitudes
towards others. If we cannot keep the right attitudes
towards those who have done us no harm then how can
we maintain that posture when confronting our true
enemies? This type of prayer requires us to be in the
right place and maintain the correct attitude. Part of
keeping a good attitude was David was a worshipper of
God. Being a true worshiper means our heart is in
check. How can we approach God and not have our
heart and soul checked? How can we approach God and
not have a pure heart? David went before God seven
times a day in worship. This enabled him to maintain a
pure heart. It also allowed him to understand the depths
of God's covenant. He was in relationship with God first
and an enforcer of covenant second. Even when David
was appointed king, he was appointed king for God first
and the people second.
Imprecations are effective only when we see sin as
God does and when we ask Him to deal with sin as He
has promised to deal with it in His Word. Imprecations
are prayers for the punishment of the wicked. While the
psalmist is innocent, his enemies are not. This is the
basis for his petition for the punishment of the wicked.
We can stand assured in a leadership role that a curse
without basis has no effect:
We also see that David is suffering not for his sin
but for righteousness sake. David is seeing he as a
leader being attacked for what he stands for. He is
standing for righteousness. He is standing for what is
true. He has endured suffering, hardships and
disappointments. He looked at all of these things
because they've come from the enemy. But David has
kept his heart and motive right before God. He is
dependent upon Him for his righteousness. ( Ps. 130:38; 143:2) He realizes that he is nothing without God and
his love. He realizes that change will not occur unless
God sovereignly steps into the situation and brings
righteous judgment. Righteous judgment needs a
righteous person to bring the lawsuit. This attitude
makes his prayer have power. It is not bringing a list
before God, but bringing covenant before Him. The
imprecations, which God hears, are those, which are
made by those who have clean hands and a pure heart.
Proverbs 26:2 As the bird by wandering, as the
swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not
come.
David’s Imprecation Against His Enemies
Psalm 109:6-20 Set thou a wicked man over him:
and let Satan stand at his right hand. 7 When he
shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his
prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be few; and let
another take his office. 9 Let his children be
fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10 Let his children
be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek
their bread also out of their desolate places. 11 Let
the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the
strangers spoil his labour. 12 Let there be none to
Requirements of the situation dictating Imprecation
The sin of David’s enemies is expressed almost
entirely in terms of the wrongs they have committed
against him. These enemies were at one time closely
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extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to
favour his fatherless children. 13 Let his posterity
be cut off; and in the generation following let their
name be blotted out. 14 Let the iniquity of his
fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not
the sin of his mother be blotted out. 15 Let them be
before the LORD continually, that he may cut off
the memory of them from the earth. 16 Because that
he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted
the poor and needy man, that he might even slay
the broken in heart. 17 As he loved cursing, so let it
come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so
let it be far from him. 18 As he clothed himself with
cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into
his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. 19
Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth
him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded
continually. 20 Let this be the reward of mine
adversaries from the LORD, and of them that
speak evil against my soul.
Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the
house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation
of the just.
Proverbs 17:13 He who returns evil for good, evil
will not depart from his house.
A man’s sins not only have dire consequences for
him personally; they also adversely affect his family. It
is what I call “guilty by association”. This is why we
need to watch closely those we are in relationship with
as we will be judged according to their actions.
David also prayed for the financial ruin (vv. 10-11)
to stop future empowerment. We have done this and
seen a new age cult lose over 50 million dollars a year
of support dwindle to almost nothing. By the world’s,
system, money empowers and brings ungodly
influences. David was desiring to take away the
empowerment of the enemy. In praying for the financial
ruin of his enemies and their family extinction, David
was requesting God to act in accordance with the
Mosaic covenant. (Deut. 28:15-68). David expanded
this in V. 12-13 for the family extinction (vv. 12-13) of
his enemy to stop future battles. David is covering all
angles and allowing God to make the choice concerning
which he will execute.
How did they would approach this subject of his
enemies? In this section of scripture, David moves from
the general to the specific. David starts to make exact
statements concerning his enemies. In the first verse, he
describes his enemies as a group. But in verse six and
following, the punishment is viewed towards an
individual. David never attacked the individual's life but
the situations around his life.
In verses 14-20, David continued to seek the
punishment of his foes, but his petition was based upon
a slightly different argument. David requested
retribution for his enemies. Retribution is simply getting
what you give. It is demanding a payment be made to
you for the suffering you have had to endure. This is
showing to everyone the consequences for actions to
stop others from desiring to go down this same path.
In verse eight, David prayed to God to shorten the
life of his enemy. He was not praying for his enemy to
die but that the life be shortened so the people’s
suffering would be shortened. In verse nine, David
prayed and asked for the enemies’ children to be
fatherless. He did not want the fathers’ influence passed
on to the children. David looked into the future and
prayed accordingly. Many of us today only looking at
the moment and not to what the future holds. Even
Esther went before the King and asked that the ten sons
of Hamon would be killed as well. She was looking past
the moment and into the future. She did not want to
fight the same evil that was currently present. We need
to learn to not only take care of the current situation but
to look beyond and cut off evil’s inheritance as well.
As we look at this, we see the imprecation was
towards the circumstances of the person more than the
soul of the person. Jesus reminded His hearers that this
principle was never intended to encourage revenge, but
was a principle governing judgment to be applied by the
judges of Israel
Matthew 5:38-42 Ye have heard that it hath been
said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn
to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue
thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him
have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him
that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow
of thee turn not thou away.
David did the same in this prayer in verse thirteen.
David was not upset at the children or offspring but
wanted the evil cut off for the generations following.
David desired the very memory of the evil to be
removed from the face of the earth for the sake of those
yet to come. David’s petition was based upon the
principles and practices of the Old Testament.
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We are to let God deal with them in the light of their
own sins, we are not passing judgment. David wanted to
see punished those who have shown no mercy to others,
but have instead persecuted the afflicted and needy
man, even putting him to death (v. 16). This is really the
application of reaping and sowing. Since the wicked
love to curse, let cursing come to them (v. 17a). They
withheld blessing, so blessings should be withheld from
them (v. 17b). Cursing was like a garment to the wicked
(v. 18a), so let it become his only clothing (vv. 18b-19).
Let all who would accuse David stand accused before
God (v. 20). David asked no more than for God to do as
He has promised and as the wicked deserve.
they would be put to shame if God blessed him (v. 28).
God’s blessing in David’s life would give him honor
and make him glad, and release worship in his life, but
it would also reveal that the wicked have covered
themselves with shame for their treatment of him (v.
29). It would show that righteousness always prevails.
Many of us today have become too passive and keep
taking the abuse of the enemy. I have had several
people coming out of new age practices actually tell me
we are to love satan as well! Imagine that! The enemy
knows the church is too passive to do anything else so
he will beat on leaders until they quit their actions, or
leave ministry in discouragement wondering why God
did not step in. All along God was waiting for someone
to bring covenantal lawsuit so he could bring justice and
release from the suffering.
David’s Request for Relief
Psalm 109:21-29 But do thou for me, O GOD the
Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is
good, deliver thou me. 22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am gone
like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up
and down as the locust. 24 My knees are weak
through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. 25 I
became also a reproach unto them: when they
looked upon me they shaked their heads. 26 Help
me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy
mercy: 27 That they may know that this is thy hand;
that thou, LORD, hast done it. 28 Let them curse,
but bless thou: when they arise, let them be
ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. 29 Let mine
adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them
cover themselves with their own confusion, as with
a mantle.
David’s Promise of Praise
Psalm 109:30-31 I will greatly praise the LORD
with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the
multitude. 31 For he shall stand at the right hand
of the poor, to save him from those that condemn
his soul.
A final reason is given for God’s intervention on
David’s behalf. Since God is the “God of David’s
praise”, (v. 1), David responded with a promise of
worship when deliverance came. This worship was not
just a few songs but would come a from heart released
from the struggles of evil. How much do you think God
wants a heart fully engaged in worship and not divided
with the struggle against enemies? David’s situation
was affecting his heart to engaged in worship and he
was stating he needed God to come in so he could
worship him fully. David was appealing to God’s
knowledge that the punishment of David’s enemies and
the rescue of the psalmist would result in praise being
demonstrated.
David had come to the end of what he could endure
concerning the evil he was fighting and the inability to
get relief. David had seen and knew what God had
promised. The imprecation was based upon the
promises of God and upon the evil practices of those
who opposed David. Not only did David ask justice for
his foes, he now asked mercy for himself. David’s
petition was for God’s grace. Not just to know it, but to
see it manifest. David’s enemies had chosen to interpret
David’s suffering as the evidence of his sin, so he
prayed for a release from suffering to vindicate himself,
because he was a reflection of the King. Verses 26-29
appeal to God for help on the basis of God’s loving
kindness (v. 26) The deliverance of David would prove
that God’s hand was on him to bless him, not to punish
him (vv. 27-29).
Verses 30 and 31 are David’s vow of praise. He
would praise God for His deliverance in the midst of the
congregation (v. 30). The basis for this praise is the
psalmist’s experience of seeing God stand at his side to
defend him. The accusers would finally be silenced
when God revealed Himself as David’s defender. This
is the manifestation of the covenant for all to see
Extravagant Worship. When the enemy is silenced then
the only “sound” remaining would be David’s worship
filling the spirit realm. How many times are we so
overcome that we cannot even worship? I was years ago
when I did not understand what to do. Today with
understanding I can continually praise the Lord like
David learned. If we would just refuse the enemies
If the enemies of David had pointed to his suffering
as the proof of his guilt, then let God come to his rescue
and lift him up. This would show them that God had
acted on his behalf. Because they have cursed David,
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accusations and bring them before the Lord, we could
always offer praise.
Realize every petition for justice and divine
retribution is based upon biblical principles, precepts
and practices. The psalmist pleaded with God to act on
the basis of His character (just and righteous), and His
covenant promises (Deut. 28)
Summary
Let me start by saying that prayers in imprecation
are not for everyone and absolute innocence and right
motive must be in place. It is not done when we have
personality conflicts, doctrinal disagreements, or
interpretation conflicts. Prayers of imprecation are when
all other avenues are exhausted and the evil is affecting
multitudes of people. Let us not be quick to criticize
those who have tasted the kind of opposition and
oppression that David did. Let us learn from the
severity of the David’s imprecations the intensity and
the cruelty of his adversaries.
When we pray an imprecation, the matter is left
entirely with God. Godly men and women prayed to
God about their enemies, and they specified (on the
basis of God’s word) what they felt should happen to
them. Yet they committed the wicked to God to deal
with according to His word, in His time and in His own
way. While the prayers of David were severe, his
personal actions toward his enemies were gracious and
kind. David absolutely refused to take personal revenge,
even when he had the opportunity. When he had the
chance to kill Saul, he cut off a piece of his robe instead
(1 Sam. 24:1-8)—later he was conscience-stricken for
the spirit that had prompted this act (v. 5). David may
have prayed fiercely, but his actions were absolutely
gracious and kind.
Jesus is returning as Bridegroom, King and Judge. In
the current season, we are seeing and engaging in two
of the three of these. Before he returns, we will see all
three manifesting in our lives. Bridegroom (intimacy),
king (authority), and judge (justice) making a complete
redemption. We have seen Jesus as a babe (King) and a
young man at the cross (Bridegroom) but have yet to
see him as a mature man (Judge). Only the mature can
bring this type of prayer. If you have had problems with
the imprecations of the Old Testament, the tension
between justice and mercy, love and hate, realize it is
not a matter of law versus grace or Old Testament
versus New Testament.
Why are we so uneasy about imprecatory prayer?
 We have a distorted view of God, perverted by
our own sin.
 We want to think of God only in terms of love
and mercy, but not in terms of justice and
judgment.
 We are soft on sin. Therefore we respond by
going easy on others, hoping our laxity will make
things easier on us.
The New Testament has prayers of imprecation
scattered throughout it as well. Just look at the things
Jesus said to the religious leaders of the day. Paul spoke
to those who did him evil and released imprecation
against them and put them into Gods hands to deal with.
Here are some examples. Paul cursed Elymas for
resisting the Gospel (Acts 13:6-11) and damned any
who would pervert it (Gal. 1:8-9). Peter pronounced
sentence on Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). Paul
delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan (1
Tim. 1:20) as he did the man living with his father’s
wife (1 Cor. 5:5). I personally believe that the final step
of church discipline involves turning the sinner over to
Satan (under God’s sovereign control, cf. Matt. 18:1720) so that he may be severely chastened, with the goal
of his repentance and restoration (cf. 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor.
2:5-11). This should not be done or taken lightly. In my
28+ years of walking with God, I have only done this
one time and the outcome was the person ended in a
mental hospital because of refusal to repent. This is the
last thing you can do when all other avenues have
failed. The removal of authority from a person’s life
releases them to be placed fully under the authority of
the devil and demonic influences unless the person
comes back under the church’s authority structure.
 Our greatest problem with imprecatory psalms is
that the psalmist takes sin much more seriously
than we do.
 We need freedom form personal vengeance,
enabling him to “love his enemies”
 We have not separated the sin from our attitudes
and actions toward the sinner.
 Our problem is that we look at sin and sinners
more from a human viewpoint than from the
divine.
 By giving up vengeance we free ourselves to love
and to forgive in a way that we cannot produce in
and of ourselves.
Remember, the psalm was written for public
worship. To sing its words was to remind the saints how
the Godly should respond to sin. In so doing each
individual was reminded of the seriousness of sin and
the dire consequences that accompany it
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