Westerns and the Imprecatory Psalms

The world's love for Westerns may shed some light on the nature of imprecatory Psalms and how to pray them. These Psalms call down fire on the enemy and wish damnation on them. They are straight out of the hymnal of Israel and were used in public worship and aimed at Israel's oppressors. We also use them in our church services today. They exist in tension with the teachings of the New Testament to love our enemies and pray for them. How do we square these with our Christian faith?

Many Christians are embarrassed by these psalms. They aren’t nice. Take the end of Psalm 137, for example:

  O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

    blessed shall he be who repays you

    with what you have done to us!

  Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

    and dashes them against the rock!

Amen?!

Back to Westerns: I like Westerns and shows with a justice theme, and I’m not alone. There is always a good guy hero-character, even if he is rough around the edges or compromised in some way, and he’s always up against a powerful enemy who may or may not be human. I loved Tombstone, Open Range, the Lonesome Dove series, Silverado, and many others.

The conflict between the individual and society is what Westerns are made of. These stories revolve around the themes of freedom and oppression. The underlying question in every Western tale is whether the self-reliant, independent person is a threat to society or essential to shield the powerless from tyranny.

An Expression of Messianic Hope

The town has been overrun by a cattle baron who uses his power to crush anyone in his way. He owns the sheriff, the judge, and the General Store. Everyone appears dependent on him. Then, a stranger comes from the outside—a lone individual, a hero. He overcomes the cattle baron and his plans and frees the townspeople at great cost to himself. Sound familiar?

In certain movies or books, where the good guy wins against all odds, and the bad guy is vanquished, I am out-of-my-skin elated.

The Jews were living the script for a Western movie when Jesus showed up. The enemies of God were running the town. The prayers of the people of God for thousands of years were the same. “Lord, deliver us. Show your justice, crush our enemies, and send us the promised hero who will do these things.  We can resonate with this. 

The Jews were living the script for a Western movie when Jesus showed up. The enemies of God were running the town

 

At War with the Enemies of God

We’ve got enemies too. And as bad as the Egyptians, Philistines, Babylonians, Persians, and Romans were, they don’t measure up to the real enemies that have always been at work behind the scenes to keep the townspeople oppressed and the town a hopeless place.

As Christians, we don’t pray against other townsfolk who need rescue just as much as we do, but against principalities and powers as St. Paul directs:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. - Eph 6:12

Paul says this in the context of putting on the armor of God for battle. These instruments of war are gifts given to us through our Baptism into Christ.

As Christians, we don’t pray against other townsfolk who need rescue just as much as we do, but against principalities and powers

How Long, O Lord

These Psalms calling for God’s just punishment on those who are wantonly evil and tyrannize others are a call for justice, and that is a scary concept when it is by grace you have been saved. But the Psalms run the gamut of human emotions, and this is one of them. We are called to be honest with God, and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t wanted to see a bully get his comeuppance. These songs of the church are an answer to bullies. In certain situations, they capture the heart of the matter better than anything else.

These Psalms calling for God’s just punishment on those who are wantonly evil and tyrannize others are a call for justice

Westerns help me to connect to the emotions of the imprecatory Psalms. Still, only in Jesus, the one who came to the town and was rejected, the one who took on the powers and defeated them once and for all at the greatest cost, setting all the citizens at liberty, can I pray them as I pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” Only Jesus can pray the Psalms perfectly, and I’m happy to take lessons from him.