absence. Even when God does not seem to answer, he is still there, and he still cares for his people. The imprecatory psalms are distinguished by language that invokes divine judgment upon the psalmist’s enemy or the enemy of God (Laney 1981: 35). Imprecatory, or cursing, language is found in nearly thirty psalms (Luc 1999: 395–96), but it is concentrated in eight psalms, which therefore often are called imprecatory psalms (Pss. 7; 35; 58; 59; 69; 83; 109; 137). The