A Cry for Justice: Reformed Perspectives on Psalm's Imprecatory (Warfare) Prayers

Abstract

Imprecation prayers mainly found in the Psalms are appeals to God for justice. There are controversies on the appropriateness of imprecatory prayers in the Christendom. The paper was an attempt to study the prayers of imprecation from the reformed perspectives. Hence, the work investigated the concept of justice in the book of Psalms; examined the supplicants' imprecation within the context of reformed teachings, and evaluated the use of imprecatory prayiers in contemporary Christianity. Qualitative methodology using the tools of form critical exegesis was adopted. The study revealed that a holistic biblical view on the supplicants' appeal for justice on the enemy does not seem to negate prayers of imprecation as problematic. The study maintained that invoking divine vengeance on the enemies of God and His people is praying according to the revealed will of God. Therefore, there is need for a continuous holistic emphasis on sound biblical teaching of imprecatory Psalms in the prayer life of the church.