Perfect Hatred
The Psalmist, David, spends most of the 139th Psalm declaring the beautiful works of God on a personal level. If it’s been a while since you have read Psalm 139, I encourage you to do so.
Then, David gets to the 19th verse and does an about-face. David clearly states his opinion of the wicked. David does not temper his voice with political correctness, nor does he cover up his feelings on this subject. He is not afraid of who is going to hear or read his words.
There is no misunderstanding David, when he plainly states in verse 22, “I hate them with a perfect hatred: I count them as my enemies.”
There are two times I can think of that I experienced what I refer to as “pure, raw hatred.” The hatred I felt was nowhere near perfect. Both instances scared me. Neither time lasted more than a few minutes, but I felt it. Both times were a result of injustices done towards me. I would doubt anyone, if they knew the stories, would disagree.
For those few minutes, I felt pure hatred. Not pure as in righteous. Instead, pure as in total. What I experienced was complete hatred.
This is a dangerous position to be in, for it presents a tee in the road. We have a choice to make. We either turn to God or away from God. We either stubbornly dig in our heels and allow pride to take us down the path of destruction, or we humbly turn to the Almighty God who is able and willing to save us.
David, a man after God’s own heart, chose the latter option. Immediately after declaring his justifiably perfect hatred, David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” After experiencing any emotional tirade, good or bad, it’s always best to have God examine the heart.
Thankfully, I made the same choice as David. How about you?