Q: What does King David mean in Psalm 139:22 that he had a perfect hatred towards his enemies?

A: In order to properly understand this Scripture, you must begin with Psalm 139:19. King David began with the obvious when he stated that God will surely slay the wicked for they speak wickedly against Him and take His name in vain. He then goes on to say in 21, “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?”

It is not unusual to read where the righteous, like Job in Job 1:1, eschewed evil, which means he was totally turned off by it. It actually grieved him and repulsed him, and he would depart or turn aside from having anything to do with it. We are told in 1 Peter 3:11 if one is to live a good life they must eschew or shun evil.

In this Scripture we see that, first of all, David was grieved over the enemies of God and their wicked attitude and ways towards Him. They showed contempt towards His way, disdained His commandments, and used His name in vain. They in essence hated Him. Since they were enemies of God, they were also his enemies.

When you come to the term, “perfect hatred” towards them, the first thing that must be noted is it is justified because of these people’s hatred for God, who David loves, serves, and worships out of a pure heart. The other aspect about this hatred is it is void of David taking matters into his own hands. He is not asking God to avenge these people; rather, he is acknowledging that in due time God will righteously judge them. The hatred is not based on some passion, cause, or personal offense. It is a matter of taking offense for God because of how His enemies are unjustly and irreverently treating Him.

David is becoming identified with the Lord because those who are His enemies are also David’s enemies. David is adopting the same attitude the Lord has towards those who insist on resisting and rebelling against Him because they have no love or regard for Him. They have chosen the way of hate towards Him. By David choosing the same attitude towards them as God, he will ensure he will not be found in company with them, trying to make peace with them, compromising with them, or ignoring the fact that they are indeed God’s enemies, and in due time will prove to be his as well.

The concept of “perfect” means it is a complete hatred that has come to fruition as to the attitude one needs to adopt towards those who are blatant enemies of God. The problem today is it is natural to take offense when one personally offends, but how many will take on the pose of tolerance towards those who are hateful towards God? There is no shunning them, departing from them, or identifying them as true enemies of God.

As I watch how Christians respond to those who hate God, I wish they were more like David who developed a perfect hatred towards such defiant souls, while turning from having any company with them, marking them as so, shunning their wicked actions and departing far from their wicked ways as the Bible instructs us to do. However, we must keep in mind, it is always God’s heart to restore such individuals. This means we leave open the possibility that one day these individuals will see the error of their ways, repent of their disdain for God’s ways, confess their sin and be restored (Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; 15:33-34; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; James 4:4).