Psalm 35 — Psalms of Cursing

A Psalm of David
1 Strive thou, O LORD, with them that strive with me:
Fight thou against them that fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for mine help.
3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that pursue me:
Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
4 Let them be ashamed and brought to dishonour that seek after my soul:
Let them be turned back and confounded that devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind,
And the angel of the LORD driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
And the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit,
Without cause have they digged a pit for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares;
And let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
With destruction let him fall therein.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD:
It shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee,
Which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him,
Yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I know not.
12 They reward me evil for good,
To the bereaving of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:
I afflicted my soul with fasting;
And my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother:
I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother.
15 But when I halted they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together:
The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not;
They did tear me, and ceased not:
16 Like the profane mockers in feasts,
They gnashed upon me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on?
Rescue my soul from their destructions,
My darling from the lions.
18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation:
I will praise thee among much people.
19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me:
Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
20 For they speak not peace:
But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
22 Thou hast seen it, O LORD; keep not silence:
O Lord, be not far from me.
23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgement,
Even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their heart, Aha, so would we have it:
Let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that rejoice at mine hurt:
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause:
Yea, let them say continually, The LORD be magnified,
Which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
28 And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness,
And of thy praise all the day long.

There are many psalms of cursing throughout the psalter. On the average day they feel extreme and against much of what God teaches - particularly Jesus' own words in the gospels. Yet, these psalms are a part of God's word preserved for us today. How should we react to or read psalms like these?

As I said earlier, on the average day they feel extreme. I speak about average days deliberately. On days of difficulty these psalms touch different hearts. We suffer at the hand of trouble makers. People pursue us andrise up to ask what we cannot answer or give. They answer our own meekness & prayers on their behalf with mockery and unwarranted hate. They do these things against quiet people against cause. Yet, even acknowledging and suffering these ills, ought we to wish them harm?

Jesus teaches many things that can feel in conflict with each other. One such complicated idea are his teachings to "turn the other cheek", found in Matthew 5, and his judgment that those who hurt little ones would be better off drowned in the sea with a millstone tied to their throats, as we read in Matthew 18. Jesus, the very word of God, says both of these things. How should a Christian respond to all of these ideas?

Here is my personal approach to the psalms with curses, known as imprecatory psalms: I thank God that in the days of my sorrow and outrage, I have words written for me to speak. Given the opportunity to speak my own mind, I would go too far and say too much. It is for God to judge, and he has given me prayers for his judgment.

That is what these psalms are: prayers for God and his judgment. We read them praying that God will judge, and be righteous, and holy, and good. They are not prayers for harm, but for God's righteousness. Let me speak the words given by God - not my own.

Then, in my recovery from sorrow & outrage, I work turn my heart back to the place of vulnerability. I pray for those who hurt me, again, using the very words of God, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."