Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
10/11 Reading Portions: 1 Kings 14; Colossians 1; Ezekiel 44; Psalms 97-98
Psalm 97:10
O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
WAR
Because it is expressed by way of command, there can be no mistake that the redeemed of YHVH God are to hate evil. Concerning evil, Mr. Spurgeon writes,
“For [God] hates it, his fire consumes it, his lightnings blast it, his presence shakes it out of its place, and his glory confounds all the lovers of it. We cannot love God without hating that which he hates.” —Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. iv, Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, TX, 1983; pgs.355-6
We are not only to shun evil (Job 1:8), and remove evil from our deeds (Isa 1:16), we must also take up arms against it, spiritually speaking. We must have such a holy hatred for evil that we don the whole armor of God (Eph 6:11) and engage the enemy on the battlefield of prayer (Eph 6:18). The saint upon his or her knees will not be overcome in that battle. The Lord preserves the lives of His saints, that warrior will be delivered, and Apollyon will flee from a well-placed blow from the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph 6:17). The more time we spend in private prayer, the more time we spend in the holy presence of Christ’s Spirit, and His holy presence will cause us to hate evil more and more as we grow in grace and are strengthened in faith. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hate evil you who love the Lord,
His saints, whom God preserves;
He will save you, declares His Word,
And for His glory serve.
