O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!

1) What is the motivation for “hating evil”?
In the historical setting of this psalm, God had purposed that His people, Israel, would be set apart, be holy, and reflect the heart of God’s love to all other nations around them. There was much evil taking place around the nation of Israel, and it stemmed from worship of false gods and idols. In the preceding verses of this psalm, the author paints a powerful, striking picture of the glory and righteousness of the One True God, especially in comparison to worthless impotent idols. God’s people were called to hate evil because of their purpose to live a life of love.

2) What does it look like to “hate evil”?
The prophet Amos sheds some light on the idea of hating evil when he says, “Hate evil and love good. Establish justice in the gate.” (Amos 5:15) To hate evil is to love good, to love the way of the Lord, to seek righteousness. Amos’ reference to “in the gate” is significant as well. The gate was the epicenter of a city in ancient times. If the gate was governed by love and justice, it was a strong indicator that the city and its rulers were as well.

3) Who is the one doing the actions in these verses?
In verses 10-11, 5 actions are discussed: hate evil, preserve life, deliver life, sowing light, and sowing joy. Those who loved the Lord are called to hate evil and as a benefit of living this life of love, God declares the work He does in a heart given to Him. The Lord will faithfully “preserve life, deliver life, sow light, and sow joy” in the life of those who love Him.

4) What is the heart response of the righteous one?
Verse 12 reminds the “righteous one”, the same ones who “love the Lord”, meaning all those who have crossed the line of faith, to rejoice and give thanks. We praise the Lord for being a God who we can love because He is so loving, so good, the source of our security, our strong deliverer; this is our faithful God and we can rejoice in Him!

1) What is the motivation for “hating evil”?
God’s purpose for His people as believers today is no different than it was centuries ago as Israel was being formed. We are called to be set apart as a people, shining as lights in the darkness around us. We don’t accomplish this by lists we create on what we think holiness looks like, we shine light by doing exactly what the first part of verse 10 declares, “love the Lord”. When we truly love the Lord in increasing fashion, there is no room for arrogant self-righteousness, we simply love others and hate evil.

2) What does it look like to “hate evil”?
While it may be easy to look outward at our cities, our neighbors, our churches, or just “others” in general to find evil, the psalmist and the prophet remind us that “hating evil” must begin in our own hearts and lives. Instead of busying ourselves with hating evil in others, if we focus on hating the evil in our own lives, we will find ourselves leaning ever closer to the righteous God as we see our need for Him.

3) Who is the one doing the actions in these verses?
The Bible is very clear from Old Testament to New that it is God alone who works in us to produce strong fruit of righteousness. If we could produce righteousness on our own, we would have no need for a Savior! When we say “yes” to Jesus and choose to love Him with our whole selves, we naturally begin to hate that which we once loved. We hate evil, we hate sin, both in ourselves, and in the world around us. The more we lean in to this love and justice work that God is doing in us, the greater the fruit He bears in our lives. The benefits of following the One True God are boundless, but the few quoted in this psalm can bring stability and focus into our everyday chaos of life. Eternal security, safety from evil, clarity and peace, and joy are just a few of the grace gifts God gives us when we depend on Him!

4) What is the heart response of the righteous one?
Sometimes when life gets so messy and chaotic, the idea of being thankful and rejoicing sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. We aren’t called to give thanks for all circumstances, rather, in the words of Paul, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Because we serve the One True God, who never falters in His character of love, faithfulness, and kindness towards us, we always have reason to rejoice in Him, despite the ugliness happening around us. Make a list today of ways God has shown His good character to you and rejoice in Him!

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