How Should We Respond to the Wicked?

How Should We Respond to the Wicked?

Psalm 119:113-120

Main Idea: Reject the life of the wicked, warn them of God’s judgment, and cling to your hope in God.

The word hate, which occurs more than 150 times in the Bible, is a difficult word for Christians. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount to love our enemies, not to hate them (Matt 5:43-44). Yet Scripture instructs us on numerous occasions to hate or to reject something. In Christian circles we are often admonished to hate the sin but not the sinner. Though some would argue this is a distinction without a difference, there is a significant difference. C. S. Lewis helps us think through the difference when he writes,

Now that I come to think of it, I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions, but not hate the bad man; or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner.

For a long time I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life—namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere he can be cured and made human again. (Mere Christianity, 117)

Stanza Samek (?), the fifteenth in Psalm 119, addresses how we should respond to the wicked. Three actions are highlighted; each relates to how one responds to God and his Word. If we genuinely want to be “human again,” as Lewis said and as God designed us, we will heed well the instruction we find here.

We Should Hate the Way the Double-Minded Think

Psalm 119:113-114

In Joshua 24:15 Joshua commands Israel to “choose this day whom you will serve” (ESV). The options were between the false gods of this world and the one true God who had rescued them out of Egypt. Indecision was not an option. Double-mindedness was not an option. You can follow the Lord or you can follow idols; you cannot follow both. God is unimpressed with the double-minded, as James 1:5-8 makes clear. If you are not with God, you are against God (cf. Luke 11:23). Why should God’s people hate the double-minded? The psalmist gives us two reasons.

They Do Not Love God’s Word (119:113)

The psalmist makes a simple declaration in verse 113: “I hate those who are double-minded.” The Hebrew word for “double-minded” occurs only here in the Old Testament. Ross writes, “It describes people who are fickle, who cannot decide what they believe” (Psalms, 556). We get a good picture of such people in 1 Kings 18:21, where Elijah dresses down the people who “waver” between following the Lord and following Baal. The psalmist says that double-mindedness is a matter of the heart and what you love. If we love God’s instruction, his Word, then the ideas and philosophies of this world will have no attraction. If we love (choose) God and his Word, we will hate (reject) that way of thinking that opposes him. As Spurgeon well says, “The opposite of the fixed and infallible law of God is the wavering, changing opinion of men” (Treasury, 355). Only a fool would choose the latter.

They Do Not Hope in God’s Word (119:114)

The psalmist loves the Word of God, and he hopes in the Word of God. His love and devotion to the instruction of the Lord guard his heart against being double-minded. His love for the instruction of the Lord also fuels hope as he finds in God’s Word both his “shelter” (“hiding place” ESV) and his “shield.” The image of God being a shelter indicates his Word is a place of safety and protection. The shield points to God’s Word as his protector and defender. The Word of God is a place of safety from double-mindedness. It is also a defense against hopelessness. VanGemeren says, “The ways of the righteous and the wicked are clearly divergent” (Psalms, 880). He is right. They do not think the same way, they do not love the same things, they do not trust in the same things, and they do not hope in the same things. It is right to hate the ways of the double-minded.

We Should Not Associate with Those Who Have No Regard for God

Psalm 119:115-117

Psalm 1 warns us about our associations. It instructs us not to walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers. Our companions will impact our way of thinking, our morals, and our reputations. Knowing this warning, the psalmist addresses the double-minded, whom he now calls “evildoers,” in verse 115 (NIV). He then pleads for God’s help in verses 116-117.

They Do Not Obey God’s Commands (119:115)

The psalmist is blunt with those he calls “evil ones.” He commands them to “depart” from him. Today we might say, “Get lost!” “Move on!” “Hit the road!” Why does he speak in such a direct, even harsh, way? It is because he wants to “obey my God’s commands.” The Word of God means little or nothing to those whose life is characterized by evil. They have no respect or regard for it. In contrast, the child of God has a passion for Scripture. He loves it (v. 113). He hopes in it (v. 114). He longs to obey it (v. 115). Jesus, at the judgment, will command lawbreakers to depart from him forever (Matt 7:23). So we would do well to tell them to leave us alone today.

They Do Not Trust God’s Promises (119:116)

The double-minded men of verse 113, who are characterized as workers of evil in verse 115, were likely attempting to lead the psalmist away from God. They wanted him to compromise his commitments and convictions. No doubt they could be persuasive, exerting enormous pressure. To stand strong, he would need God’s help. He asks the Lord for two things in verse 116. First, the psalmist asks the Lord to sustain and strengthen him so that he may live every day for the Lord. God is his protection and defense (v. 114). Evil men do not trust in the promises of his Word, but the psalmist says, “I do.”

Second, he pleads, “Do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” The Hebrew word for “be ashamed,” according to Ross,

means much more than being embarrassed or made to look silly; it is commonly used for humiliating defeats at the hands of the enemies. [The psalmist] does not want to be so humiliated and have his belief in God’s word seriously discredited. (Psalms, 558)

Evil men care nothing for the promises of God. The psalmist will stake his life and his reputation on them. Indeed, they are his only hope and assurance.

They Do Not Rest in God’s Strength (119:117)

Verse 117 closely parallels verse 116; both begin with a request to “sustain” that results in life and safety. The double-minded do not depend on the power and strength of the Lord, but the psalmist does. Continuing his prayer, he asks God, “Sustain me [“hold me up” ESV] so that I can be safe.” He leans and depends on the Lord for support, rest, and safety. God is his hiding place, shield, and hope.

The psalmist prays again with a purpose. In verse 116 he prays so that he would not be put to shame as he hopes in the Lord. In verse 117 he prays so that he would “always be concerned about your statutes.” Spurgeon is right: “Perseverance to the end, obedience continually, comes only through the divine power” (Treasury, 357). The psalmist requests divine power that he might honor God’s Word every day of his life. What are you resting in? What are you trusting in? Who or what is your hiding place? Continual obedience is only possible as we rest in the Lord—his promises, his strength.

We Should Warn the Wicked that God Will Judge

Psalm 119:118-120

The phrase judgment day should strike fear in the heart of every human person. The certainty of its coming is a signed, sealed, and settled reality. Evildoers and those who disregard God and his Word will not continue to prosper, and they will not escape divine judgment. Genesis 18:25 raises the question, “Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” Verses 118-120 of this psalm answer with a resounding “Yes!” that causes the psalmist to tremble at the thought of what is coming for those who hate God.

The Wicked Are Foolish (119:118)

I often say sin makes us stupid. And it does. Verse 118 makes that point clear. God rejects those who walk away from his Word. Ross writes, “Those who abandon the law of God have no future with God” (Psalms, 558). Their disobedience proves that they are playing the fool! Their cunning and deceitfulness are all in vain. It is all for nothing. They may have lied to and fooled others. They may have lied to and fooled themselves. But they have not fooled God! They have lived a lie and deceived themselves. They think they are fine. They think they will never give an account of their evil. Romans 1:22 could well be written on their tombstone: “Claiming to be wise, they become fools.”

The Wicked Will Not Last (119:119)

Judgment day is coming. You can be certain of that fact. When it does, the wicked of the earth will be discarded like “dross from metal.” Dross is the useless material that forms on top when precious metal is being refined by fire. It is worthless and has no value, so it is removed and discarded. The Message paraphrases it well: “You reject earth’s wicked as so much rubbish.” Such a terrifying reality drives the psalmist again in the right direction. It drives him to the Scriptures. For a second time (cf. v. 113) he affirms his love for God’s instruction and decrees. His commitment, his loyalty, is to the Lord’s Word. This is what he is devoted to because, as Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

The Wicked Lack Reverence (119:120)

Considering what awaits the wicked in final, future, eschatological judgment terrifies the psalmist. His flesh trembles. His skin gets goosebumps and crawls. We might say the thought causes the hairs on his arms to stand up. The fear he experiences as he contemplates the judgment of God is not a reverential fear. It is a real and actual fear and terror of how terrible and awesome divine judgment is. Ross once more is helpful: “The psalmist is not afraid that he might be swept away in the judgment; he is overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of divine justice on all the ungodly” (Psalms, 560). Of this reality we can be certain. Of this reality we must warn the wicked.

Conclusion

God hates the ways of the ungodly and so should we. When they stand before the great white throne (Rev 20:11-15), they will be judged justly for all their works. Every single one. They will not be able to hide. They will not be able to talk their way out of the guilty verdict they will receive. Amazingly, although God hates their evil, wicked ways, he still loves them and has made a way of escape possible. It is the way of salvation proclaimed in the gospel and accomplished by the death and resurrection of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We who have believed the gospel and received divine forgiveness must warn unbelievers of the wrath that is to come. We should tremble at the thought of it. We should do what we can to snatch them out of the fire (Jude 23) while there is still time. Judgment day is coming.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Have you ever considered what C. S. Lewis observed about how Christians hate their sin but not themselves? How does this shape how you view other people and their sins?
2. What is “double-mindedness”? What are examples of it being lived out?
3. What does it mean to love God’s Word? Is this love an emotion or an action?
4. Is anger ever a proper response to the sin of others? Why or why not?
5. How can you obey God’s commands to reject evil people and yet still love them?
6. What are some areas of life other than God’s Word that you are tempted to use as your “shelter” and “shield”? Describe a time when you trusted in other “shelters” and they failed you.
7. How can you know whether God’s Word is your shield and hope?
8. The wicked are attempting to shame the psalmist for his hope. Why would abandoning his hope, however, bring him more shame?
9. What does it mean to fear God’s judgment?
10. Does the sin of others ever cause you to have a feeling of superiority? How does the gospel speak to this issue?