Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 3-8-23: Imprecatory Psalms – Curse & Prophecy or No Big Deal?

There seems to be some confusion in Christian circles regarding the purpose of what are considered Imprecatory Psalms. There are some fourteen psalms labeled in this way. Typically, the thinking appears to categorize them as ones which call down calamity or destruction, yet they are not seen as having actually fulfilled their purpose. In other words, these psalms denounce, but that’s as far as it goes.

I think it’s problematic to only view these imprecatory psalms as powerless figures of speech. Doing so, robs them of their impact and also causes people to miss something very important.

We do well to remember first of all what an imprecation is:

1. An imprecation is a curse that invokes misfortune on someone or something. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary an imprecation is literally a curse. Because of that very specific definition, from a Biblical perspective, we must understand what that implies, i.e. what are the consequences when someone declares a curse in Scripture?
2. An imprecation is also, for all intents and purposes, a prophecy. Again, as we consider Scripturally what occurs when someone utters a curse, we see that it has prophetic fulfillment. That’s critical when we examine any imprecations, i.e. curses, whether they appear in psalms or in the books of the Prophets.

When examining various imprecations, i.e. curses, i.e. prophetic words, another angle on this is the subject of vows. God considers vows of extreme importance, and we see the import of them throughout the Bible. Additionally, when Jesus Himself speaks about vows, we’d better listen. Here He is in Matthew 5:33-37:

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

These issues affect us today, and what we anticipate happening in the near term in regards to Psalm 83. Psalm 83 is thought by many Bible prophecy teachers to be an imprecatory psalm that denounces certain peoples, and that’s all there is to it; or that it’s been completely fulfilled from past events. I say, “Not so fast!” As I’ve argued many times, I believe Psalm 83 is an unfulfilled prophecy because of the curses called down upon certain people groups. What we think about this colors our view of the next-coming world events as we wind down the end of this age. Specifically, our understanding of what will soon occur in Israel is directly affected by the Psalm 83 issue. To that end, we’ll delve into this a little more deeply in our Update today.

Sources:

https://www.gotquestions.org/imprecatory-psalms.html

https://readthehardparts.com/what-are-the-imprecatory-psalms-and-should-we-pray-them-today/

https://www.gotquestions.org/imprecatory-prayer.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/vows-God.html

https://bible.org/seriespage/q-scripture-what-exactly-vow

Imprecation = a curse (per https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imprecation)

https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/CGG/ID/12171/Gebal.htm

Gary Ritter website: books & blog
http://garyritter.com/

Please note that the transcript is available on my website blog under the post with the same title.