War Psalms of the Prince of Peace: Lessons from the Imprecatory Psalms

by James E. Adams

"I cannot enthusiastically enough commend Jim Adams (no relative of mine) for the work he has done in dealing with a difficult and all-too-often neglected area of preaching!” —Jay Adams

TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION

Although the Psalms are much beloved by readers of the Bible, hostile language in individual psalms is often rejected or misunderstood by well-meaning Christians. Pastor-theologian James E. Adams tackles such questions as:

• Are these psalms from God?
• Who is the speaker in the psalms?
• Who are the enemies the psalms describe?
• May we pray these psalms today?
• How ought a pastor to preach these texts?

“James Adams’s book on the rather startling imprecatory psalms is the best of its kind. . . . Christ-centered throughout, it is enlightening, succinct, warm, practical, and helpful for everyone grappling with the strong language of these psalms—including pastors! Once you’ve read this book, you will no longer feel confused or embarrassed by these psalms, nor will you want to avoid them. . . . Let Dr. Adams’s book assist you to preach, teach, and pray the ‘war psalms’ as never before!”
—Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“Dr. James Adams’ War Psalms of the Prince of Peace must rank among the finest studies on the imprecatory psalms. . . . I routinely advise others to read this book when any question about those psalms arises. . . . We would all do well to spend time in this book, with these psalms, and in prayer for God to triumph over the forces of evil we face today.”
—Michael A. Milton, Chair for Missions and Evangelism, Erskine Theological Seminary

James E. Adams (DMin, Westminster Seminary California) has been the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Mesa, Arizona, for more than thirty-five years and has taught theology in churches and seminaries in the United States and throughout Latin America for more than forty years.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1991

About the author

James E. Adams (DMin, Westminster Seminary California) has been the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Mesa, Arizona, for more than thirty-five years. He has taught theology for Reformed Baptist Seminary and in Latin America and is the author of Decisional Regeneration and Liberacin: El Evangelio de Dios.

Reviews

[Judith Koene Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly helpful book, not just for understanding the imprecatory Psalms, but for reading and understanding and praying all the Psalms. My understanding of the Psalms has been changed and I will read and pray the Psalms with a much deeper and more Christ-centered view. I not only strongly recommend but urge all Christians to read this book. It is easy to read and will strongly enhance and help your personal Bible studies, devotions, and prayers.

[Colton Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book on an often neglected subject>

[Mitch Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the imprecatory psalms found in Scripture and understand how they fit into our worship today. If you’ve ever wondered how the psalmist’s prayers against his enemies square with Jesus’s teaching to love and forgive our enemies, this book is what you need to help you understand and appreciate the imprecatory language of Scripture.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book on reconciling the cursing nature of key Psalms and the "love your neighbor" command emphasized throughout the New Testament (although loving one's neighbor was a command in the Old Testament as well - see Ex. 23:4-5).

James Adams does a wonderful job of showing the reader how the Prince of Peace, who would not break a bruised reed, would also call down God's eternal curses upon His enemies.

There is a great balance in showing how, while we are not at liberty to pray the imprecatory Psalms against our own enemies, we still have a duty and obligation to pray them in regard to the Lord's enemies. This follows the example of our Lord and His apostles.

A great read. Soberingly insightful. And practical for the Christian walk and growing you in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[Austin Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh

……..

Trevor Laurence’s “Cursing With God” points out the shortcomings of Adams’ strict christological reading of the imprecations. He points out that “identifying Jesus as the primary petitioner of the psalmic prayers . . . risks eclipsing the original theological and historical context of the psalms.” If Christ is thought of as the “original imprecator,” the psalms are ripped out of their historical and liturgical context. It is almost impossible to imagine that the Jews would have sung the imprecations in such a strictly christological light.

[Michael Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

helpful instructive introduction to the imprecatory psalms. I have my suspicions that he too easily reduced the "I" of the psalms to Jesus and didn't talk about their ecclesiological significance or importance.

[Kevin Godinho · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have never heard of the imprecatory Psalms or don't know how they can be utilized in prayer and worship, this is a great introductory on the subject.

Imprecatory Psalms are those prayers, mostly written by David, that curse his enemies. It is important to understand that these Psalms are not a man's anger and vengeful spirit asking God to destroy his personal enemies. These are Psalms that are being sung by a prophet of God, through the Spirit of God, in the words of Christ. These are Christ's Psalms.

Because the Messiah is the Son of David, David's personal enemies very much were God's enemies. God needed to preserve His Messianic line and fulfill His word of keeping one of David's descendants on the throne forever. This was fulfilled in Christ.

During Jesus's life, He spoke many Psalms, not as quoting Scripture, but as speaking forth His own words within the context of His life. Today, we get to grab hold of these prophetic words of our Lord and Savior and pray in agreement with Him. We pray and sing these songs of judgment over our enemies; God's enemies. We don't pray them out of sinful anger or personal vengeance, but in accordance with God's will; agreeing with Him that vengeance is His alone.

Remember, we (believing ones) were all once enemies of God; in rebellion against Him. Upon us all once stood God's judgment; resulting in our condemnation. In humility, we pray these Psalms, hoping that God's judgment might bring His enemies to their knees in worship of Him; resulting in eternal life. But if His enemies will not turn to Him, we pray and sing God's vengeance on those who remain rebellious unto the final judgment, that the blood of the martyrs might be avenged. These Psalms are very much prophetic, proclaiming final judgment on those who will never turn to the Lord.

May we pray for our enemies and bless those who spitefully use us. All the while praying in agreement with God that final judgment is coming and will be a dreadful day for those who don't fear Him.

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[Taylor Bradbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful. At times I wished for a little more practical implementation on praying psalms of cursing, but overall Adams was insightful. I especially enjoyed his discussion on the psalms in general - but especially the imprecations - being the prayers of Christ himself. Adams helpfully demolished arguments that pit the psalms of imprecation against the ethic of the New Testament. I look forward to exploring more resources sighted in his endnotes.

4.5/5

[Wesley Busch · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never read the Psalms the same again. Of special interest if you find passages about the destruction of evil/evil doers confusing.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but I had higher expectations.

[LMS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as revolutionary to read now as it might have been at date of publication. In fact, his justifications seemed at times hesitant and tame. Still worth reading.

[Dallas Goebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book.

[Susan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle for, War Psalms of the Prince of Peace, is Lessons from the imprecatory Psalms. I found this a very helpful book as it looks at the book of Psalms in a new light. In fact, James Adams’ thoughts were so new to me, that I actually read the book a couple of times so I could fully understand what he was saying. This wasn’t because it was hard to understand, or poorly written, because it was neither. Rather the message of the book made me re-assess my previous understanding about the psalms and David, its main author.

While the book focusses on the imprecatory psalms (those ones which are praying a curse on an enemy), the material covers a broader range of material, including imprecatory prayers in the New Testament. Even though I gained a lot of insights from the book I cannot say I completely agree with all his arguments.

The most helpful thought that Adams presents is that Christians ought to feel so strongly about the importance of God’s kingdom that we pray that God will do whatever it takes to bring people to faith. Often, we become complacent in our prayers for our lost friends and relatives, hoping they will have an easy life and forget about their eternal future. Whereas if we consider what is at stake we will pray with greater fervour.

A worthwhile read.

[Радостин Марчев]

Намирам доста от нещата, които авторът казва за добри и полезни - особено по отношение на това християните да не пренебрегват псалмите "проклятия" и да търсят начини да ги използват в своя молитвен живот и поклонение.
От друга страна аз не съм убеден във верността на неговия подход към тези псалми. Боговдъхновеността и верността на Слвоото е общоприета християнска доктрина, но това не означава, че всяко нещо описано там и е дадено, за да бъде копирано от нас като препоръчително. Христоцентризма на автора също е изключително добро напомняне, но отново, аз не съм сигурен във верността на приложението на този христоцентризъм. Разбира се, новозаветни автори използват псалми проклятия като пророчества за Исус, но начинът, по който НЗ автори използват СЗ е много сложна тема. Нещо повече, в своето приписване на думите на псалмите проклятия на Христос авторът сякаш напълно пренебрегва реалния исторически контекст и човешкия автор, който пише воден от лично негови чувства и за реално случили се с него събития (В книгата има секция, която говори за историческия контекст, но тя на практика не казва нищо по този въпрос).
В крайна сметка, аз приемам голяма част от това, което авторът казва, но оставам с усещането, че съществуват и други начини да приемаме псалмите проклятия за Божие вдъхновено слово и да ги използваме в нашия живот.

[Studentofparables · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and re-read the “blurb” about this book several times before getting it. The description enticed me, made me curious, and also a little unsure of delving into such a weighty book.

Would I understand it? Would I be able to pass it on to others?

Yes, whole-heartedly, to both.

I am so very glad I got to read “War Psalms.” The edition I read is the ‘expanded and revised’ 25th anniversary copy. Dr. Adams’s writing is engaging, accessible, and completely on point. The truths he illuminates were well supported, as he meticulously built each facet of his lessons. Studying the Psalms can always be a little tricky, but “War Psalms” does a great job of tying the book of Psalms to the rest of the Bible and allowing us to see new threads in the weave of the master Story throughout.

This book would be incredible to go through with a Bible study group. It is powerful, and would shake up any church group who chose to read it – a stirring call to action. I highly recommend!

I received a review copy of this work from the publisher through NetGalley

[David Westerveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book in general. The idea of interpreting the Psalms in light of the New Testament usage of them is spot on and the appendix in the back showing NT usage of the Psalms is very helpful.

There is a bit of a danger that can come from taking the "Messianic" approach to interpreting the Psalms in that it can sometime be allowed to overshadow the original context and humanity of them. I think this happened to some extent in this book and while I appreciate and agree with the importance of have the New Testament interpret the Old, I would have liked to see a bit more thinking on how imprecatory Psalms should be viewed outside of the Messianic approach - There is certainly more to the Psalms then just considering them to be the words of Jesus, and when we go into that more 'human' side of them, how do we fit them in with some of the other themes in the Bible? There wasn't much grappling with this question and to be honest that is a question that I would like have read more on.

[Josh Pannell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good in dealing with hermeneutics and preaching.

I wish a few chapters on how to use these psalms in other aspects of pastoral ministry than the teaching ministry.

Here's a helpful summary quote,

“By praying, we put justice in the hands of the righteous Judge of all the earth. The psalmist puts the two together beautifully as he, after enumerating the treacheries of the wicked, exhorts us: “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Ps. 55:22).
We must remove anger and revenge from our own hands and hearts and commit ourselves to God’s wise charge. We please God when we practice the gentle and peaceable spirit He has given by loving our enemies in Christ. And God will hear our prayer in Jesus’ name. He can be trusted to bring perfect justice in His own time. We have the privilege of teaching God’s people to trust the God who will not be mocked.”

[Ethan Gualano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The imprecatory Psalms present a challenge for both the after Christian reader and the modern preacher. How are we to look at Scripture that explicitly seems to support, if not encourage, prayers that call for the babies of our enemies being dashed against jagged rocks? Even more so, how are we to reconcile these statements and Psalms with that of Jesus' teachings in the New Testament of loving ones neighbor? Adam's "War Psalms of the Prince of Peace" seeks to answer these questions and the many more surrounding the imprecatory Psalms.

Overall, I found Adams to be one of the smoother seminary reads I have had the experience of undertaking. I found his explanations to be full of detail and certainly pastoral. I would recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with these Psalms and is seeking to expand their understanding of not only the imprecatory Psalms, but also the genre of the Psalms as a whole.

[Seth Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The imprecatory prayers of the Bible are prayers of Jesus Christ to the Father that God would destroy all men and sins in the kingdom of Satan.
I am not sure. I had thought references to “enemies” refers to sin now in the New Covenant. But perhaps Adams is right. He did not list any other views to his own which is a weakness.

Interestingly, when he helps pastors to preach through the Psalms, he says that Covenant Theology is necessary for interpreting the Bible and pastors may want to do an entire series on Covenant Theology before teaching verse by verse through the Psalms. Also, preterism is essential.

[Yianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

How often are believers confused or shake their heads when read the imprecatory Psalms? Well, if you are one of many and want to understand why praying, singing, and preaching these Psalms along with all of Scripture is still for the church today, look no further! This book provides a great study on understanding what these Psalms are, why Christian’s should sing, pray, and preach them, and lastly that if Christ is the author of the Psalms, we will only grow deeper in our understanding of the gospel and our Lord when studying these Psalms. 5 of 5 and definitely a book I would read again in the years to come.

[Michael Cochran · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an overview of the imprecatory psalms but his passion flows from his pen. He calls for a rediscovery of them and shows why it should be so. If you've ever struggled with these psalms this is a great book (and short). If anything it struggles with being to much of an overview and not enough nitty-gritty analysis (I think in contrast to Richard Belcher's excellent work Messiah in the Psalms).

[Jake Ruefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in that relatively annoying “reformed guy” tone. However, it is pretty helpful in getting a big picture view of the imprecatory Psalms.

I do wish he spent less time on inspiration and more on dealing specific passages. It’s always good to be reminded of the inspiration and authority of Scripture but I’m not sure anyone reading this book needs the refresher.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not excited to read this book when I saw it on my syllabus for a seminary course, but I was pleasantly surprised I related to the question about how NT Christians should relate to the imprecatory Psalms. Adam’s answers were succinct, persuasive, and convicting.

[Jordan Shirkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you aren’t sure what to do about the imprecatory Psalms (you know, ones like Psalm 137:9 ““Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”), this book is short, accessible, and incredibly helpful.

A useful guide for both clergy and laity.

[Grace T]

i am Not Thrilled (to put it mildly) that the first appendix was an excerpt from Robert Dabney of all people. I found the body of the book itself helpful and encouraging though, and will look for the couple of Bonhoeffer books the author recommended.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed My View of the Psalms

I've never thought of the Psalms as the prayers of Christ. This is a huge shift in theological thinking! Amazing!

[Dónal Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book on clarifying role of imprecatory Pslams in church today. We can still sing them

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book that could have been a lot better. While I agreed with most of the conclusions I thought many of the arguments were shallow.

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great treatment of the imprecatory Psalms.

[Connor Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great study on Christ and the Psalms