The Law as Accusation and Judgment: Curses in the Divine War Against Evil – A Reformed Exposition of Psalm 7Introduction: Divine Righteousness and the Cry for JudgmentPsalm 7:9–14 presents a fervent appeal to God's justice: "O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment" (ESV). This passage depicts God as an active, wrathful judge who prepares instruments of judgment against unrepentant evil.In Reformed theology, the Mosaic Law functions as a proclamation of death to lawbreakers, where curses serve as divine weapons in an ongoing spiritual conflict. This essay examines how the law brings formal charges against the wicked and invokes curses to terminate their schemes, enacting God's sovereign judgment. Drawing from Psalm 7 and related texts, it contrasts reliance on earthly weapons with trust in divine pronouncements, emphasizing that victory over evil arises through spiritual means rather than temporal ones.The Law as Proclamation of Judgment: Curses as Divine Weapons in Spiritual WarfareThe law delivered to Moses includes explicit proclamations of death for covenant violators (Deuteronomy 27–28), establishing it as an instrument of divine justice. In Psalm 7, the Psalmist portrays God's opposition to the wicked as a judicial process: God searches "minds and hearts" (v. 9) and readies "deadly weapons" and "flaming arrows" (vv. 12–13) should repentance fail. This imagery illustrates the cumulative "weight" of the curse, which intensifies until it crushes the offender.John Calvin, in his Commentary on the Psalms, interprets this as God's righteous indignation against persistent evil, noting that divine wrath is expressed daily and culminates in prepared judgment if the wicked do not turn. The curse operates as warfare: God adds pressure through pronouncements until the wicked are overwhelmed. When believers invoke curses, they engage spiritual warfare, wielding God's word as weapons (Ephesians 6:12–17). As Psalm 7:16 states, "The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head," demonstrating the self-destructive recoil of divine justice—evil schemes return upon their perpetrators.This principle underscores that curses end wicked plots by turning destruction inward. The Psalmist prays, "Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword" (Psalm 17:13), and warns that disregard for God's works results in permanent demolition: "He will tear them down and never build them up again" (Psalm 28:5). Thus, the law formally accuses, and curses execute judgment, terminating schemes through sovereign reversal.Earthly Weapons Versus Spiritual Pronouncements: Trust in God's DecreesScripture repeatedly cautions against dependence on human strength in the eternal battle against evil. Psalm 44:1–3 recounts Israel's conquest: "It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them." Similarly, Psalm 20:7 asserts, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."Earthly defenses—such as protecting one's home or employing physical force—remain limited by time and circumstance, offering no ultimate triumph over evil. Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, emphasizes that true victory stems from God's decrees, not human effort: "You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes" (Psalm 44:4–5). Trusting in "the name of the LORD" involves wielding God's law and decrees as instruments of war.This extends to sanctification: believers sanctify culture through God's word, not "the arm of the flesh." Pronouncing curses and blessings shapes generations, as one teaches the next the Lord's works. The inward struggle entails destroying opposition through declarations of death while maintaining outward harmlessness (Matthew 10:16). True freedom arises when life and death unify under divine sovereignty, enabling believers to resist evil by pushing it away through pronouncements.Mastering Sin Through Divine Authority: The Call to Rule Over EvilGenesis 4:7 warns Cain: "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Reformed exegesis views this as God's exhortation to rule over sin through obedience and alignment with divine law, not self-reliance.The Psalmist's confidence in Psalm 7 rests on God's daily wrath and readiness to judge. Believers, as God's elect, confront evil not with worldly fixes but through pronouncements that bring charges and curses, ending schemes and securing the upright (Psalm 7:10). This spiritual discipline—wrestling evil until subdued—transforms the heart and culture.Charles Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David, highlights Psalm 7 as a model of entrusting vengeance to God, where divine justice recoils upon the wicked and delivers the righteous. The curse functions as approaching danger while resisting it through invocation, unifying the believer's experience in life and death.Conclusion: Curses as Instruments of Divine Judgment and VictoryPsalm 7 portrays the law as an accusatory and judicial tool: it brings charges against the wicked and invokes curses to terminate their schemes in judgment. Far from arbitrary retribution, curses recoil evil upon itself (Psalm 7:16), thwart destruction, and inaugurate renewal. Trusting in God's decrees rather than earthly weapons secures victory, as seen across Scripture.In the Reformed tradition, this affirms God's sovereignty: He alone reverses evil's course, empowering believers to participate through pronouncements. By wielding spiritual weapons, God's elect confront corruption, master sin, and forge a reality where divine justice prevails—evil subdued, the righteous secure, and God's purposes fulfilled.Theologians and Commentators Referenced

• John Calvin (Commentary on the Psalms): On God's daily indignation and prepared judgment against unrepentant evil.
• Matthew Henry (Commentary on the Whole Bible): On divine decrees as the source of victory, not human strength.
• Charles Spurgeon (The Treasury of David): On entrusting vengeance to God and the recoil of evil upon the wicked.
• Vern Poythress (Reformed theologian): On the reversal of destructive forces through redemption (cross-referenced from broader Reformed discussions of curses).
• David Guzik (Enduring Word Commentary): On wisdom amid life's brevity and God's discipline as a pathway to renewal.