[The following is a manuscript written to precede the delivery of a sermon. It has been pointed out that a manuscript differs greatly in tone from a sermon. This is true, as when presented publicly, the manuscript of the sermon is not available to the speaker (me). The implication is that the sermon is the better communication, more enjoyable, and this is likely the case for when delivering a sermon, the conscientious pastor will of course seek to enliven the presentation with spontaneous illustrations and even new information that has entered into his mind subsequent to writing the manuscript. For those preferring the sermon version in writing, alas, like most pastors, we have no stenographer to take down the words as delivered from the stage. With that in mind, any wishing to experience the sermon corresponding to this or most any post I make on substack (the vast majority are manuscripts), I refer to you the church website, www.harvestpa.org, where the sermons can be searched by title. —mg]
TEXT: Psalm 119:113–120 (ESV) --Samekh
113I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.
David declares his own love for the law, and his hate for those who are double minded. The double minded are those who hear God’s word, but rather choose to doubt it and live by the ways of the world.
Before going farther, we must deal with the question of David’s declaration of who he hates! We who are followers of Jesus are accustomed to obeying the command to love our enemies and forgive all who sin against us, yet David seems to hate his enemies without hesitation. We might overlook this statement if it were the only time David spoke like this, but it is not:
…I hate those who regard vain idols… --Psalm 31:6
…I hate the assembly of evildoers…--Psalm 26:5
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?—Psalm 139:21
If these declarations are righteous before the Lord, then should we not follow that lead, and declare that we too hate everyone who doesn’t follow God faithfully? The answer is a resounding, no, we must not hate anyone, for we are forgiven and loved by God. When God became a man and walked among us, He taught us this:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.—Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus mandates an extreme standard of for us, doesn’t He? If we are to love our enemies, then no one is out of the scope of our forgiveness. Why is this? Because to do so is to be like God. God is kind to all people, the just and the unjust. Evil people, while hating God, still know the love of God, as He brings the sun and the rain to grow their foods. God’s forgiveness and love are mature, perfect, and we are called to live by the same standard.
We love our enemies because we are like Him. This standard is reflected in the prayer common to all Christians, taught by the Lord Himself, saying, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
We cannot compromise on this point. We have no one on earth that we may hate. We must forgive and love and pray for and bless all.
So we are left with the problem of why David can get away with saying he hates people.
I must disclose, before I give you my answer to that question, that I am not 100% satisfied with my own understanding on the issue. But a good habit I learned many years ago in seminary was, when handling difficult Bible texts, to begin by observing things that we can understand.
So, first, we observe that David says he hates some people. The text does not explicitly declare what God’s opinion is on David’s declaration. The Bible also describes how Abraham laid with his wife’s maidservant but the Bible does not say that Abraham did the right thing. He did a thing, that’s it.
Secondly, we can observe that this section of Psalm 119 has to do with judgment, as we will see. When the day of judgment comes, those who hate God will become His forever enemies. In other words, all people, because of sin, are enemies of God. All of us are born and grow up as His enemies. When Jesus says that God loves His enemies, He means it. He loves this lost world. The death of Jesus on the cross is a double-edged sword. On one side the cross displays the judgement of God on His enemies, for the sins of the world are punished on His Son. But on the other side, the cross displays the depth of His love for His enemies, since Jesus was willing to bear that judgement as a substitute.
As the text says:
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. --Romans 5:8–10 (NASB95)
God showered His greatest love, not on His friends, but on His enemies. Jesus didn’t die because God loved faithful people, but because God loved His enemies.
Some might ask at this point, “Well if God loves His enemies, why did not His cross save everyone and not just some?” The answer is that God’s goal is to transform His enemies into His beloved family members –that’s a relationship that must be chosen by both parties. God offers salvation to the world, but many reject His love. Like a woman who spurns a loving man’s offer of lifetime love, so can an enemy of God turn to Him and say, “No! I’d prefer to stay your enemy.” If so, then the sacrifice of Christ, though it was for him, will not be applied to him.
You see, choosing Christ requires humility. It is not like choosing a favorite color or a favorite food, because in those cases, there is no loss of one’s pride. We like what we like. But if the Bible is true, then when a person chooses to receive the love of God, he is at the same moment admitting his active hate for God, his need to turn over a new leaf, to change. God loves His enemies until they change their mind and return His love.
But He does not wait forever. Eventually, He will give to His enemies what they want: instead of saving them, He will punish them for their deeds. That is judgement.
More on the judgement in a moment. For now, I am pointing out that David is writing of the judgement of God here, making it clear that he is on the side of those who repent and believe in God. He is not on the side of those who refuse to stop sinning. And his love for God’s goodness is passionate, and he expresses his own distaste for sinners, a distaste shared by God in judgment.
We might also observe that God brings the death of all people in His times and in His ways. Consequently, in expressing His holiness on earth during the age of the kings of Israel, He required that those enemies of His who inflicted pain on Israel were to be put to the sword. So, David, a warrior king is also aware that he is speaking of enemies of God whom he, from time to time, he has hated a soldier hates an enemy.
So, with those things in mind, David says he hates the doubleminded. I am not excusing nor condemning him for saying this. That’s the best I can do with it. Still, we are reminded by the Lord that we must not hate people, even our enemies.
Now, let’s finish reading our text:
114You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
Where do we run from evil? To God. David found that the place to hide. That is the same for us. No matter what evil we find attacking us in our lives, we run behind the wall, behind the shield of God and His word, and He will guide our minds and emotions, and keep our soul well.
115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
This is an interesting rebuke as David is telling people who want to do wrong to get out of his presence. He knows that making companions of those who do not fear God will lead to sin. He wants to keep God’s ways so he is careful to avoid those who hate God.
David takes a break from his prayer to God to address “evildoers.” Why? Again, this stanza regards judgement, and judgement must involve separation –separation of the good from the evil, and from God and His enemies.
We are reminded of Jesus who likewise says to sinners at the Judgement Day, “Depart from Me!” We see the theme of separation from those who do evil.
116Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! 117Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
David asks for salvation. He has hoped in God, so he wants his life to prove that hope in God’s promise. Unlike the evildoers whom he pushes away, he asks God for salvation.
118You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain. 119All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies. 120My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.
These last three verses can be taken together. David is declaring the destiny of those who do not fear the Lord. When David considers the judgment of God, he trembles. His flesh is frightened. Goosebumps? Panic? We do not know, but he reacts in his body to the thought of God’s terrible judgement of sinners.
My generation of movie watchers often quote the line from a “Few Good Men,” when Jack Nicholson says, “You can’t handle the truth!” In this case, David is saying the very thing. The thought of God judging the wicked is more than he can handle.
Again, separation and judgement go together. What will it be like to be punished by God after the last judgement? The Bible only gives us a few glimpses, probably because we cannot handle the truth yet. One thing is sure is separation.
Jesus declares this clearly in many places. Speaking of false teachers, Jesus said:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’—Matthew 7:21-23
This phrase, Depart from Me, is spoken to evil people in general, only 4 times in the Old Testament, and one is our text today, and the other three are also in the Psalms of David. Jesus, called the Son of David, now quotes His own words, spoken by His grandfather 10 centuries before. In the time to come, when Judgment comes, the declaration of judgment includes departing from the presence of God forever.
Notice that to stay with the Lord, one must know Him. Those who stay are in a relationship with Him. Those who go do not have the benefit of that relationship.
Jesus uses the phrase another time, speaking of those who were among the Jews who did not believe in Him:
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.” –Luke 13:24-28
Those who knew of Him but did not follow were surprised to find themselves cast out. Notice that when they depart from the presence of the Lord, they go somewhere. They do not go nowhere, to be a place of sorrow and pain. This is not torture, this is existence outside of all the goodness of the Lord. What is left? Nothing but one’s own soul, one’s own goodness, and there is nothing good there. Hell will be a place where a sinful human being will finally see himself as he truly is, apart from grace, and he will be horrifying. Heaven will be a place where redeemed human being will finally see himself as God has intended. These are very different destinies and very different destinations.
Commenting on this reality, C. S. Lewis said, “…the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations.”
Heaven and hell are not about being good, but becoming what you are: an ordinary fallen human, or a child of God inhabited by the holiness of God Himself. God will allow no one to cohabitate with Him unless they are holy, unless they are family. And the only way to become family is to receive Jesus, the Savior, who took away our sins on the cross, and shared His holiness with us by His Spirit.
In one last place, Jesus declares “Depart from Me,” and that is in a parable about the judgment day. It goes like this:
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”—Matthew 25:31-46
What do we see here? The ones who enter into life see that all their good deeds count as good deeds done to Jesus Himself. What about their sins? There is no record of them, of course. Blessed is the one that the Lord has forgiven! Only the good remains.
But those who must depart from Jesus are those whose evil deeds are remembered. Every time they devalued another human being? They were devaluing God.
One destination was the Kingdom of God. The other destination was the place of punishment for devils. Of this place we are told two additional things: the fire is eternal, and the punishment is eternal. Eternal means never ending. The punishment never ends. If you know God, you will know life. If you do not know Him, you will know punishment forever.
We also learn that a faith that concentrates only on yourself is not from God. God expects His children to be first concerned about the wellbeing of others. That is how He feels loved by us.