Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Psalm 139:21-22
I heard a top world sportsman being interviewed on television. Asked about one of his rivals, he said bluntly, “I hate so-and-so”. It was like a slap in the face, all the more so because it was said in such a matter-of-fact way, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
The word hate, surely, is one of the nastiest and ugliest in the English language - it conjures up all sorts of spite, malice and anger, the very worst feelings we are capable of.
This is why, while we may feel hate for somebody (let’s be honest!), we tend not to express it. And this is why that sportsman’s words came across as so shocking - and why the psalmist’s words do so as well here in Psalm 139.
The psalm as a whole is a very challenging prayer - about the fact that God knows everything about us, even the secrets of our deepest hearts. It tells us there is no way we can escape from his all-seeing eye - we can, as they say, run, but we can’t hide. All strong, bracing stuff; it makes you think, but hopefully in a positive way.
But then these verses come like a kick in the teeth. How can the Psalmist say such a ferocious thing! How did these words find their way into the Bible?
Some people try to explain it on the grounds that it is Old Testament, not New. “Oh well,” they say, “there’s loads of anger, judgment and hatred in the Old Testament - but the New Testament of course is different, and that’s what we as Christians draw from.”
But that just isn’t true. Who was it who said, “Love your neighbour as yourself”? Why, Jesus, of course. Wrong! It’s there in Leviticus 19:18 - Jesus was just quoting it. And what about Proverbs 24:17: “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice...”?
No: there’s plenty about forgiveness and love in the Old Testament (and, come to that, a fair bit about God’s anger and judgment in the New). So you could say that the man who wrote Psalm 139 was in fact ignoring his own scriptures.
How can we, as Christians, apply these verses? Let me share two ways in which I personally have tried to do so.
First, they encourage me to be honest with God.
As I said earlier, most of us would never talk openly about hating people. But haven’t we all felt such emotions in our hearts? Have we never wished somebody ill?
Let me come clean. I was badly cut up by a fellow-driver once - his driving could have caused a serious accident. I found myself muttering and fervently wishing that he would wrap himself and his car round the nearest available lamp-post. I didn’t say it, of course; I’m much too nice and well brought up for that. But there’s no denying: the thought was there.
So can I claim to be any different from the psalmist? Hypocrites that we are, we can hide murderous thoughts behind smiling faces. At least the psalmist was honest, putting into words what the rest of us only think.
God knows us through and through: “Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely”, says verse 4 of this same psalm. Well, if this is so, why not give up any silly pretence of keeping secrets from God? He can take it! Get it off your chest!
Second, these words challenge me as to where my ultimate loyalty lies.
How so?
Well, it’s important to notice that this isn’t just an overflow of petty personal spleen (like me in the car that day), but an explosion of outrage that people should be so disobedient to, and disrespectful of, almighty God. The people the writer feels so angry towards “speak of you (God) with evil intent” (verse 20); they are those “who hate you,” those who “are in rebellion against you” (verse 21). It’s not about him; it’s about God.
The Psalmist is declaring which side he is on - nailing his colours to the mast, if you like. This is a man who knows exactly where he stands in the greatest question any of us have to face: are we for God or against him, “on the Lord’s side” or not? There is no middle way.
We sometimes talk about “righteous anger/ indignation” - times when it would be a sin not to be angry. But if there is such a thing as righteous anger, may there not also be such a thing as “holy hatred”?
And so the question arises: As I look around me at the world and all the wickedness in it, how much do I care? Enough to be angry? Or do I just shrug my shoulders?
Could it be that having strong feelings - even perhaps wrong strong feelings - is better than spineless indifference or turning a blind eye?
Lord God, I remember those times when our Lord Jesus was angry. Guard me, I pray, from every hint of sinful anger. But help me too to know when anger is appropriate and right, and show me how to channel that anger for good. Amen.
I heard a top world sportsman being interviewed on television. Asked about one of his rivals, he said bluntly, “I hate so-and-so”. It was like a slap in the face, all the more so because it was said in such a matter-of-fact way, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
The word hate, surely, is one of the nastiest and ugliest in the English language - it conjures up all sorts of spite, malice and anger, the very worst feelings we are capable of.
This is why, while we may feel hate for somebody (let’s be honest!), we tend not to express it. And this is why that sportsman’s words came across as so shocking - and why the psalmist’s words do so as well here in Psalm 139.
The psalm as a whole is a very challenging prayer - about the fact that God knows everything about us, even the secrets of our deepest hearts. It tells us there is no way we can escape from his all-seeing eye - we can, as they say, run, but we can’t hide. All strong, bracing stuff; it makes you think, but hopefully in a positive way.
But then these verses come like a kick in the teeth. How can the Psalmist say such a ferocious thing! How did these words find their way into the Bible?
Some people try to explain it on the grounds that it is Old Testament, not New. “Oh well,” they say, “there’s loads of anger, judgment and hatred in the Old Testament - but the New Testament of course is different, and that’s what we as Christians draw from.”
But that just isn’t true. Who was it who said, “Love your neighbour as yourself”? Why, Jesus, of course. Wrong! It’s there in Leviticus 19:18 - Jesus was just quoting it. And what about Proverbs 24:17: “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice...”?
No: there’s plenty about forgiveness and love in the Old Testament (and, come to that, a fair bit about God’s anger and judgment in the New). So you could say that the man who wrote Psalm 139 was in fact ignoring his own scriptures.
How can we, as Christians, apply these verses? Let me share two ways in which I personally have tried to do so.
First, they encourage me to be honest with God.
As I said earlier, most of us would never talk openly about hating people. But haven’t we all felt such emotions in our hearts? Have we never wished somebody ill?
Let me come clean. I was badly cut up by a fellow-driver once - his driving could have caused a serious accident. I found myself muttering and fervently wishing that he would wrap himself and his car round the nearest available lamp-post. I didn’t say it, of course; I’m much too nice and well brought up for that. But there’s no denying: the thought was there.
So can I claim to be any different from the psalmist? Hypocrites that we are, we can hide murderous thoughts behind smiling faces. At least the psalmist was honest, putting into words what the rest of us only think.
God knows us through and through: “Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely”, says verse 4 of this same psalm. Well, if this is so, why not give up any silly pretence of keeping secrets from God? He can take it! Get it off your chest!
Second, these words challenge me as to where my ultimate loyalty lies.
How so?
Well, it’s important to notice that this isn’t just an overflow of petty personal spleen (like me in the car that day), but an explosion of outrage that people should be so disobedient to, and disrespectful of, almighty God. The people the writer feels so angry towards “speak of you (God) with evil intent” (verse 20); they are those “who hate you,” those who “are in rebellion against you” (verse 21). It’s not about him; it’s about God.
The Psalmist is declaring which side he is on - nailing his colours to the mast, if you like. This is a man who knows exactly where he stands in the greatest question any of us have to face: are we for God or against him, “on the Lord’s side” or not? There is no middle way.
We sometimes talk about “righteous anger/ indignation” - times when it would be a sin not to be angry. But if there is such a thing as righteous anger, may there not also be such a thing as “holy hatred”?
And so the question arises: As I look around me at the world and all the wickedness in it, how much do I care? Enough to be angry? Or do I just shrug my shoulders?
Could it be that having strong feelings - even perhaps wrong strong feelings - is better than spineless indifference or turning a blind eye?
Lord God, I remember those times when our Lord Jesus was angry. Guard me, I pray, from every hint of sinful anger. But help me too to know when anger is appropriate and right, and show me how to channel that anger for good. Amen.
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