1. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groaning. 2. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. 3. In the morning O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. 4. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. 5. The boastful will not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. 6. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit... 10. Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You. 11. But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. 12. For it is You who bless the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor like a shield.
You can't read the Psalms without feeling the revulsion the Psalmist has with the wicked. It almost sounds non-New Testament in its tone. But it's not. The fact is, a Christian lives in an ongoing tension in his heart and life. There is within Him the heart of God who said "love your enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use you", but there is also within him the heart of God who "hates all who do iniquity and destroys the wicked." While passionately pursuing the salvation of evil men, we are also actively opposed to the injustices of evil men. Some say, "Love the sinner, but hate their sin." The difficulty with this is that, in the eyes of God, sin and sinner are one. Sin is the sinners very nature. Therefore, in God's justice, His judgment will fall on the sinner. As an aside, this is why we need a transformation of our nature. That's what God is in the business of doing! But, back to this tension we're talking about. It's important to note that this is a tension God lives with as well. He fights to save the sinner, and He fights against the sinner. We can be just as passionate about both, and we must be. Christians are a people who rejoice when the wicked are converted, but they are also a people who rejoice when the wicked fall. We can be assured that God will deal with them one way or another. Either way, wickedness will not prevail. The Psalmist knew, that because God does not take pleasure in wickedness, nor will evil dwell with Him, the future does not bode well for the sinner, but God's character bids confidence and contentment for the righteous. Concerning the wicked, the Psalmist says, "God will shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they will be wounded... Then all men will fear, and will declare the work of God... Concerning this he says, "The righteous man will be glad in the LORD," (Psalm 64:7, 9, 10). Followers of Christ are not soft. With God, they are always fighting against something, both for or against the sinner, and they do it with everything they have. Join the fray! It's a no lose situation, with victory one way or another. And, by the way, aren't you thankful that God fought for you!? Can you imagine Him fighting against you? You don't want to go there!
You can't read the Psalms without feeling the revulsion the Psalmist has with the wicked. It almost sounds non-New Testament in its tone. But it's not. The fact is, a Christian lives in an ongoing tension in his heart and life. There is within Him the heart of God who said "love your enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use you", but there is also within him the heart of God who "hates all who do iniquity and destroys the wicked." While passionately pursuing the salvation of evil men, we are also actively opposed to the injustices of evil men. Some say, "Love the sinner, but hate their sin." The difficulty with this is that, in the eyes of God, sin and sinner are one. Sin is the sinners very nature. Therefore, in God's justice, His judgment will fall on the sinner. As an aside, this is why we need a transformation of our nature. That's what God is in the business of doing! But, back to this tension we're talking about. It's important to note that this is a tension God lives with as well. He fights to save the sinner, and He fights against the sinner. We can be just as passionate about both, and we must be. Christians are a people who rejoice when the wicked are converted, but they are also a people who rejoice when the wicked fall. We can be assured that God will deal with them one way or another. Either way, wickedness will not prevail. The Psalmist knew, that because God does not take pleasure in wickedness, nor will evil dwell with Him, the future does not bode well for the sinner, but God's character bids confidence and contentment for the righteous. Concerning the wicked, the Psalmist says, "God will shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they will be wounded... Then all men will fear, and will declare the work of God... Concerning this he says, "The righteous man will be glad in the LORD," (Psalm 64:7, 9, 10). Followers of Christ are not soft. With God, they are always fighting against something, both for or against the sinner, and they do it with everything they have. Join the fray! It's a no lose situation, with victory one way or another. And, by the way, aren't you thankful that God fought for you!? Can you imagine Him fighting against you? You don't want to go there!
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