To Love Justice
What many now call “moralistic therapeutic deism”, or the belief that all religions are basically the same, teach that people should be nice, that God exists primarily to bail you out of bad situations, and that everyone goes to a peaceful afterlife, has been the dominant religion in the US for generations. Many adherents would consider themselves Christian, and a lot of those who regularly attend Christian fellowship will profess to be a lover of Psalms.
Psalms is a beautiful book with a lot of deep truths wrapped up in God honoring poetic language. However, I always wonder how people who think God exists only to validate people and help them along manage to read only the Psalms (often only parts of a Psalm) about God being steadfast in love, without managing to notice all of the declarations about judgement and justice!
Psalm 119 is the alphabet Psalm. It goes through the Hebrew letters one at a time with a section for each letter. The letter Samekh is a section where David describes how God’s judgement against the wicked brings him to praise.
Justice Requires Hatred
It may seem awful to suggest, but justice requires that we hate wrongdoing. Even those who would reject this statement do this all the same. They may not like God’s standard of right and wrong, and therefore they hate when people apply it. People who love sin aren’t any more tolerant or kind, they just hate the wrong thing!
I hate the double-minded, but I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
Psalm 119:113-114
Here we see David starting by going even deeper into the choice between sin or God’s law. Even just to be double-minded (somewhat lukewarm toward God, but still living for sin) is worthy of his hatred. Why? Because he loves God’s law. You can’t sit on the fence on this. God is good, which makes everything else lesser and something to be put away. David knows that apart from God’s word (his shield and hiding place) he is vulnerable. You won’t catch him sitting on the fencepost away from his protection!
Hatred Requires Separation
Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
Psalm 119:115-117
David than says that evildoers should depart far from him so that he can keep God’s commands. Here he doesn’t mean that he can’t do the right thing unless everyone else around him is also doing it. Instead, he knows that bad company corrupts good character. He will not fellowship and consider the wicked part of his community. He wants to drive them out of his circle so that he is ready to live toward God.
Again, he turns his focus back to his God who is his safety. Asking for God to prove his faith out by protecting him. He knows the world is out to get him and if he’s going to have regard for God’s statues, he’s going to need his help!
Separation is a Blessing
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain. All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.
Psalm 119:118-120
David uses a common image in scripture (which I’ve discussed more here) of refinement and dross being discarded. God himself removes the wicked, and this act causes David to love God’s word. Far from the modern idea of us mourning the judgement of the wicked, we see David praising God for his goodness because of it.
However, it should be noted that even though David loves God’s justice, he still finds it terrifying. This isn’t some petty gloating where David is happy to see someone getting worse than he does. He knows God is just and knows that he hasn’t lived perfectly any more than the wicked. While witnessing God’s judgement brings him joy, it also gives him reverent fear.
Those who practice the religion of this age are the exact opposite. Rather than fearing God and rejoicing in right judgement they hate judgement and rejoice when the godly (which they will call self-righteous) get “knocked down a peg or two”.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
John 3:20
Either you love justice, and therefore hate wickedness and rejoice in God’s judgement, or you will hate the light. The entire 119th Psalm is an excellent read, in it’s entirety, when you want to be reminded of the goodness of God’s precepts and judgements.
