The harp strings lie rusted and broken,
The kingdom has gone to decay:
The harpist king sleeps in Mount Zion
Not far from the ancient gateway.
But the sweet tender Psalm of the shepherd
Sings on through the wearisome years;
The shepherd may sleep, but his message
Still lives to dispel mortal fears.
(Ps. 23)
Not one psalm is purely imprecatory:
Only one psalm is half, or more than half, imprecatory:
Only fifteen psalms out of one hundred and fifty contain imprecations:
Out of 2,350 or more verses in the Psalms, about 65 contain imprecations:
Some of the imprecations are not prayers but predictions, with future tense verb:
The authorship of eleven of the imprecatory psalms is ascribed to David:
Imprecations are fewest in Books III and IV.
In considering the Imprecatory Psalms, four things must be taken into account: David's character, David's circumstances, David's convictions and David's creed.
(Ps. 83. 15, 16; 139. 19-24; 1 Cor. 16. 22)