Psalms 5:4-5 - Homiletics

God's hatred of sin.

"Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness," etc. It needs courage to preach the severe side of Bible truth. Time was when preaching could not be too severe. Men loved to hear the thunder and see the fire of Sinai. Now it cannot be too flattering and soothing. A view of Divine love is current, not to say fashionable, which tends to reduce it to an easy-going apathetic tolerance, taking little account of the difference between moral good and evil. We need reminding that in God's judgment the opposition is irreconcilable, infinite, eternal. These verses strongly set forth God ' s hatred of sin.

I. GOD 'S HATRED OF SIN IS INSEPARABLE FROM HIS HOLINESS . Having "no pleasure in wickedness" stands here for abhorrence, unchangeable opposition. Were it possible to conceive "a God that hath pleasure in wickedness," this would be the most terrible, hateful, and hideous of all imaginations—an Omnipotent Fiend I Even a wicked man must see that such a thought is monstrous. But if all sympathy with evil is thus abhorrent to the Divine character, the very thought revolting, it follows that sin must be infinitely hateful to God. Not to hate sin is characteristic of a bad man ( Psalms 36:4 ); he finds in himself no standard by which to test and hate it. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil!" ( Psalms 97:10 ).

II. GOD 'S HATRED OF SIN DOES NOT CONTRADICT HIS LOVE , but is inseparable from it. Because "God is love," he must desire the happiness of his creatures. But men are created to be happy through holiness. Sin poisons the very source of human happiness; fills the world with strife, injustice, cruelty, vice, disease, want, pain, tears, death. Where would Divine love be if our Maker calm]y looked upon the destruction of all that is best in his creatures, and the wholesale wreck of human happiness? Again, because "God is love," he must desire the love of his children. Love asks love. Sin robs God of his children's love; robs them of the very power of loving him, and of all the joy that can spring only from his love. Because "God is love," he must desire men to know him and converse with him; and in this communion grow up to their true spiritual stature ( Ephesians 4:13 ). Sin tends to banish the knowledge of God from earth; to dry and choke the channel of communion with God ( John 17:3 ; Romans 1:20 , Romans 1:21 , Romans 1:28 ; Ephesians 4:18 ).

III. How CAN HATRED OF EVIL BE RECONCILED WITH LOVE TO THE WRONG - DOER ? How separate sin from sinners—the sinner from his sins? The gospel is the answer. By the atonement of the Son of God, and by the renewing power of the Holy Ghost ( Romans 5:8 ; Titus 3:5 , Titus 3:6 ; 1 Corinthians 6:11 ). The Old Testament Scriptures contain abundant promises of pardon to the penitent; and one wonderful example in King Manasseh ( Exodus 34:6 , Exodus 34:7 ; Psalms 32:1-11 .; 2 Chronicles 33:12 , 2 Chronicles 33:13 ). But Law, and fear of punishment, were necessarily predominant till "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." On the other hand, never forget that if the sinner will not and cannot separated from his sin, the New Testament is fully as severe as the Old ( Matthew 7:23 ; Matthew 13:49 , Matthew 13:50 ; Romans 2:8 , Romans 2:9 ). The cross, which reveals God's love to sinners, is at the same time the most tremendous of all witnesses against sin ( Romans 8:3 , Romans 8:4 ).