Impreccatory psalms come across so abrasive and shocking. Like this one:
“God, knock the teeth out of their mouths” (Ps 58:6) or worse–
“The righteous one will rejoice when he sees the retribution; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Ps 58:10).
That is not light reading.
But it’s important to understand that the psalms are poetic expressions of anger, frustration and hurt even in the midst of praise and worship. They often celebrate the justice of God against the enemies of God. Justice is not something many like today unless we ourselves need it.
As evil grows stronger every single day, I am understanding just a small bit of these psalms. Especially like the psalms that pray that the pit the evil digs for others will be a pit that they themselves fall into.
“They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it!” (Ps 57:6).
It’s not a statement of wanting harm done to someone so much as it is a statement of the overflow of the anger and frustration with evil. I think it’s something we all understand more and more.
What I like best is how this psalm ends. It says this,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! There is a God who judges on earth!” (Ps 58:11).
Implied in this is that the righteous did not bow. They did not compromise. They suffered terribly. They long-suffered. But in the end they saw their vindication.
Hold fast.
Remember the 7000.
