Hating What God Hates

August 1st, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Psalm 139:19-24 O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. 20 For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Verses 19-24 reveal that David was under great duress from his enemies when he penned Psalm 139. Having praised God for His omniscience in vv. 1-6, His omnipresence in vv. 7-12, and His omnipotence in vv. 13-18, he turned to that which tormented him, petitioning the Almighty God to deliver him from the evil men who surrounded him. His words are harsh and brutally honest when he calls for God to “slay the wicked” in v. 19 (cf. 5:6; 6:8; 9:17; 59:2; 119:115; Isa. 11:4). Knowing that God will ultimately judge those who repudiate and reject Him, David connects the feelings his enemies have towards him with their attitude toward God. In short, if they hate David, they hate God. David sees their hatred of him in their desire to kill him, for they are “men of bloodshed,” those who take what God has “fearfully and wonderfully made” (v. 14) and callously slaughter those created in God’s image (cf. Gen. 1:26; 9:6). In addition, these men had the audacity to take the holy name of Yahweh in vain (cf. Exod. 20:7). In what capacity they did such is not stated, but David was livid that the holy name of God would come forth from the lips of anyone who so heartlessly shed the blood of the innocent.

Wanting nothing to do with those who hated his beloved God, David expressed his hatred for them. Though tricky to reconcile with Jesus’ teaching that Christians should love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matt. 5:44), David’s words are neither misguided nor sinful. Notice that although David could have killed these men himself, he was in fact praying for them and showing love to them by not killing them! Of course his true feelings for them are evident, but are not God’s children to hate that which God hates and love that which God loves (cf. Rom. 12:9)? In this sense, “hate” is not a red-faced, malicious fury that seeks to kill but rather a term for rejection (Mal. 1:2-3). David was thus simply expressing his rejection of those who rejected God. In this sense he “hated,” even loathed, those who rejected God outright. Ultimately, all those who hate God will be judged by God (Isa. 11:4), for God “hates all who do iniquity; …the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit” (Ps. 5:5-6; cf. 11:5).

Relying upon his loyalty to God, and knowing that God knows all things (vv. 1-6), David pleads with God in vv. 23-24 to “search” and “try” him, like a refiner testing metals, to discern the loyalty of his devotion towards Yahweh. He knew he was not like those who hated God but was wholly devoted to Him, and he knew God would see this upon examining him and relieve his anxiety. Yet David also knew that he was not perfect, for he desired that God would examine him to find “any hurtful way” (lit. “way of pain”) within him so that he would not grieve the Spirit of God (cf. Eph. 4:30). Instead, David wanted to be led down the “everlasting way”—the way that pleases God for eternity. Whatever sins God revealed to him, he would repent.

Food For Thought
It’s okay to hate evil and those who personify it. But that does not keep us from showing them the love of Christ and praying for them. Since God will judge them, it is right to pray for it. As Christians we have been approved by God and entrusted with the gospel. We thus speak not as pleasing to men but to God who examines our hearts (1 Thess. 2:4). He knows whether our prayers are vengeful or based on our loyalty towards Him. So let us seek His assessment.