Dr. John Frame tackles my question on Imprecatory Psalms

 

A few days ago, I was doing my annual reading plan, through my ESV Study Bible, when I happened across Psalm 109, an imprecatory Psalm, where a sufferer calls down curses upon his oppressor.

I was taken back by this.  These were not nice curses.  They were things like:  I hope you die, I hope your children become orphans, and your wife a widow.  I pray that God would blot out your name, and on, and on!

These were the sufferers prayers to God!

Feeling a little lost in my understanding of this Psalm, I reached out to a few theologians.  Dr. John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, at Reformed Theological Seminary was kind enough to respond.  Here is his response:

"I took my best shot at answering this question in http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/1993More.htm. Certainly this is a difficult question, and I don't think that I have given a fully adequate response to it."

I highly recommend you give his link a click, and read this thoughts on Imprecations.  Here are his closing thoughts from the article:

"It is possible to have a godly hatred and a godly love toward the same person, paradoxical as that seems. We today may be called to cry for divine justice: against abortionists and abortion advocates, against homosexual militants who try to destroy the church's freedom to proclaim God's word, against the remaining anti-Christian dictators of the world. We crave great historical signs of God's displeasure with injustice. That desire is quite legitimate. And if God pleases instead to rebuke these movements by sending revival and converting the hearts of His enemies, our desire for divine judgment will be completely fulfilled. But in our cry for divine justice, the imprecatory Psalms will rightly guide our prayers."

Thank you Dr. Frame!  You bring more clarity to a difficult, and clearly paradoxical question.