“Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” Psalm 137:9).
Old Testament scholars have identified as many as 20 imprecatory Psalms, or Psalms of cursing. They express desires for vengeance, infanticide, and other cruelties. We cannot deny the malice of these curses, nor can we justify or agree with them because they are in the Bible. They are descriptive, not prescriptive.
They reflect the hurt and anger of a people who have suffered atrocities at the hands of their captors. The psalmist prays angry prayers against his enemies and those he perceives to be God’s enemies. The psalmist curses his enemy by appealing to a God of justice, who is intolerant of evil.
There is value of the Psalms of cursing. We can learn from them about our own inclinations towards hatred and vengeance.
About Corey Sharpe
Where do we get our beliefs?
Three theological perspectives have significantly shaped my Christian identity: Evangelicalism, the early Methodist tradition and liberation theology.
From my coming to faith in a Baptist church and throughout my education in a Baptist school and college, I was nurtured by convictions that emphasized a spiritual rebirth, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the centrality of the Bible. Even when I disagree with certain aspects of evangelicalism, it has deeply influenced my sense of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
My seminary studies spawned my interest in early Methodism, particularly its approach to spiritual formation. Its leaders were convinced that only a foundation of doctrine and discipline would lead to a meaningful transformation of the heart and mind. In other words, having the mind of Christ enables me to be more like Christ.
Life in a suburban culture obscures the increasing gap between the poor and rich, as well as the Bible’s close identification with the poor. My doctoral work in socio-cultural context exposed me to liberation theology, which helps me see redemptive history as a history of oppressed groups, written from the perspective of the powerless, about a God who is actively involved with the poor in their struggles.
I am now the pastor at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in St Mary’s County, Maryland. Together my wife and I have 4 children.
The Other Six Days 