O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 97 praises the Lord reigning in power, with judgment falling on idols and on His enemies. Verse 10 then turns to the people who love Him, joining a command about what they must hate to a promise about how God keeps them.
The Setting: Deliverance for the Godly
One writer traces the whole psalm and marks where verse 10 begins a new turn.
J. N. DarbyPsalm 97 celebrates the coming itself. The Lord has taken to Himself His great power and His reign... Then comes the effect of the judgment. He puts idol worship to shame, and all power and authority, from angels down, must now acknowledge Him. But another fact comes out — this was joy and deliverance to Zion. The judgment of evil was her deliverance... In verses 10-12 we see the blessed objects of the deliverance — the godly remnant.
These saints went through trouble before the deliverance came.
Hamilton Smith(vv. 10-11) The godly remnant — "His saints" — love the Lord and hate evil. God had preserved them in trial, and now He delivers them from the wicked. For such there is light and joy; for the wicked fire and darkness (vv. 2-3).
Love and Hatred Belong Together
The command is not an addition to love; it is what love produces — and the pairing is easy to get wrong in either direction.
Hamilton SmithLove and hatred of evil always go together. The Psalmist says, "O you who love the LORD, hate evil!" (Ps. 97:10). A false kindness may ignore evil under the excuse of love, and even treat evil teaching as of little account to the Lord. Genuine love will lead us to hate evil without ignoring the good. In hating evil we may overlook much good; or, in trying to hold fast to the good, we may compromise with evil.
Holiness Is God's Own Character
Why should love take this shape? What God asks of His people is what He is Himself — and that is why He guards them.
L. M. GrantIf we love the Lord, then it is vital to hate evil (v. 10). For holiness in its essential meaning is the love of what is good and the hatred of evil. This in fact denotes the character of God. His nature is love and light, that is, what He is in Himself apart from all circumstances. Character refers to what He is in relation to circumstances, and these verses press this on us. His character is holy. That is why He preserves the souls of His saints and delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Hatred That Refuses to Bargain
Hating evil rules out bargaining with it, however small the concession looks.
L. M. GrantIt is not within our rights to make any compromise whatever with evil. Still, if we are linked with it, it makes cruel demands on us, requiring that we surrender what really belongs to God. "O you who love the LORD, hate evil!" is God's decree (Ps. 97:10). If we hated evil we should not in any way connect our name with it nor show it the least consideration. How can we dare agree to the slightest evil, hoping to avoid a greater one? Are we so foolish as to suppose that we can subdue evil by allowing evil?... What can satisfy the holiness of our Lord except our thorough separation from the evil and firm stand against it?
Where the Hatred Must Reach
A person can keep this command in his conduct and leave his heart untouched. One writer presses it inward, to where God looks.
Samuel RidoutRemember that God looks at the heart as much as He does at the outward life. We can think evil; evil thoughts can chase themselves through our minds. Is that possibility as unbearable to us as it ought to be? The soul that is in the presence of God hates the thought of sin as much as it hates the deed of sin. His word tells those who fear the Lord to hate evil. A true judgment of sin always looks at the root of it in the heart, just as much as at the fruit in the life.
The Promise Attached
The second half of the verse answers the first: their keeping rests on God's faithfulness. Older translations read "souls" here where the ESV reads "lives."
Numerical Bible NotesLove for the Lord, if it is real, means opposition to evil. To those who show this — His godly ones — He is faithful. He preserves them and delivers them from the hands of the wicked.
Summary
- Love — The verse starts with loving the Lord; everything else grows from that root.
- Hate — Real love for Him produces hatred of evil. Holiness is just this: loving good and hating evil, as God does.
- Heart — The hatred must reach the thought, not only the deed, since God looks at the heart as much as the outward life.
- Separation — Love that hates evil will not lend its name to evil or bargain with it. Allowing evil never defeats it.
- Preservation — God is faithful to such people. He keeps them through trial and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. His judgment on evil is their rescue.