Wrestling with the Imprecatory Psalms - Summer in the Psalms

Many people turn to the Psalms for joy and encouragement, to sing praises to God, and to be reminded of His character and unfailing love. But every once in a while, we come across in the psalter what are known as the “imprecatory psalms,” which some people have not-so-affectionately come to call the “cursing psalms” or the “hate psalms.” That’s because the imprecatory psalms are those in which the author graphically calls down calamity, destruction, and God’s anger and judgment on his or her enemies. What are we supposed to do with these types of psalms, particularly since they sound so unchristian and foreign to the spirit of Jesus on the surface? How can they help us to minister and to pray, and how do we apply them? We’ll explore these issues in this week’s message.