Living in a Wicked World
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. 20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Of course David's theology here tends to make us uneasy as New Testament Christians. Of course David was not under the Grace Dispensation since Jesus had not been born as a man yet, and had not yet died for mankind's redemption. Jesus had said some profound things like for us to "love our enemies" and to "bless those who curse you." So when we read these words in David's prayer we want to pull away from it.
Let's not pull away from it or reject it though, let's dig into it! David is expressing his hatred it would seem at face value, but if we look closer he is expressing also his love for God. In verse 20 David says, "For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain." David is drawing out the sides here in a way. God's Team and Satan's Team... Good and Evil... He is doing so much more than expressing his hate. david is expressing to God - "Hey, I'm on Your Team God!" You hate evil and I hate evil! Your enemies are my enemies! David is expressing his loyalty to God.
David wants God however to be the judge of who is evil and who is not. David doesn't go the extra step and declare himself as the judge over evil people. David knows fully well that God alone sits in this position, so in verses 23 and 24 we see David realizing his own position of humility when he says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." David knows his only hope is in God, for he realizes that as much as he hates evil - he himself is evil in his own heart.
How many times have we watched the news and saw a person on trial for committing an evil act, and found ourselves getting angry? My memory goes immediately to John Couey, who in early morning hours of February 24, 2005 by his own confession, entered the home of nine year old Jessica Lunsford through an unlocked door at about three o'clock in the morning. He awakened Lunsford, told her "Don't yell or nothing", and told her to follow him out of the house. He video taped as he raped her for three days, then tricked her into getting into garbage bags by telling her he was taking her home. the autopsy of young Jessica revealed two skeletonized fingers that had managed to poke through the garbage bag in hopes of her getting air. This was a futile attempt however as John Couey buried her alive. It was determined that she died of suffocation.
It is not my hope that you would read the last paragraph and hate John Couey, but if you are human like me then you probably are finding it hard to muster up feelings of love for this man. This is why me, you, and the Psalmist David could never be God. We serve a loving God who has made room at the foot of the cross for evil people like John Couey, but the fact still remains that this world that we live in is full of evil. God hates evil, yet forgives evil people. He forgives us when we come to him and repent for our own evil sins, and according to 2nd Corinthians 5:17 God will make us a new creation. Coming to God on His terms is the only hope we have to escape this evil world and to be exempt from the punishment that is coming. This means making Jesus our Lord and Savior and accepting His forgiveness and His payment for our sins. If you do this then you will be a new creation!
God Bless!
