This is another psalm written from the perspective of people who are entering into some kind of trial. This may seem like a challenging psalm to many because it says that God hates a certain group of people. And the term hate is one that is used pretty casually in our society, everything from children looking up at parents and saying "I HATE YOU!" to the recent debates about what accounts for "hate speech" and "hate crimes." And it may be easy to read this passage and read a passage about some kind of eternal punishment and that God gladly throws people who disagree with Him into a smoldering prison. But that would be to miss the point of the psalm. After all, how many worship songs do you sing that praise God for throwing "the bad people" into hell? Certainly, a song like that would not top my list in any possible way.
In this song, we have to recognize the perspective of the Israelites and the various empires that marched against them. This passage is not about the eternal punishment of people- Old Testament spirituality did not have much room for a place of rescue and a place of punishment after death (only Sheol, which is where everyone went). This passage is about God defending Israel from imperial expansion. Since we are not on the receiving end of imperial expansion in our country, it is hard to relate to this passage. What this psalm does give us, however, is a tool in transformation- examination. Sometimes, it can be tempting to hide things from God in our prayers. But relationships cannot be built on hidden secrets and the like. It can only be built on openness and trust. So I hope this psalm helps me remain open with God and gives me the hope that because of Jesus, I too may see the face of God one day.
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