Let those who love the Lord hate evil

Psalms 97:10-12 - How can you love the Lord, yet love the things that He hates?

Feb 27, 2026

Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

“Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭97‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We’re back to the wonderful treasury of the Psalms for a study of a portion of one of these 150 gems of wisdom and praise. The author of Psalm 97 is unknown, and in fact it repeats other psalms and portions of Old Testament literature… but to good effect.

Enduring Word begins its commentary on Psalm 97 with these insights from a number of famed preachers and Bible commentators:

Psalm 97 continues in the theme and tone of the previous psalms. It uses phrases found in other psalms and other Old Testament passages. “The psalmist’s mind is saturated with old sayings, which he finds flashed up into new meaning by recent experiences. He is not ‘original,’ and does not try to be so; but he has drunk in the spirit of his predecessors, and words which to others were antiquated and cold blaze with light for him, and seem made for his lips.” (Alexander Maclaren)
“The psalm contains many allusions to other parts of the Old Testament, all of which have been shaped into a magnificent hymn.” (Willem VanGemeren)
G. Campbell Morgan summarized this psalm: “The effects of His judgments are declared. His adversaries are destroyed, His glory is revealed, His people are filled with joy.”
“Psalms 96; 97; and 98 each hail God’s coming as the world’s King. But Psalms 96 and 98 soar with delight at what is in store for the world when God returns, while in Psalm 97 the frightening, awesome side of God’s kingly rule is emphasized.” (James Montgomery Boice)

In a nutshell, Psalm 97 spotlights God’s greatness and wisdom. Starting with verse 10, we read “Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Boom! Right out of the starting gate we get a very strong statement from the psalmist — “Let those who love the Lord hate evil”.

David Guzik’s commentary says this:

Despite the seemingly abrupt transition, the psalmist sensibly connected the appearance of the God whose very throne is founded on righteousness and justice with the heart for righteousness and justice that His people should also have.

Do today’s Christians hate evil? Sadly, hating evil seems to have taken a back seat to being too “loving” and accepting of sin. There are many Christian denominations that profess to “love the Lord,” yet they ignore the “hate evil” part. How can you love the Lord, yet love the things that He hates?

Often we may feel angry at sin for the troubles it causes, but we don’t hate it enough to repent of that sin. That’s what God wants of His people: to be cognizant of sin, to confess our sins to Him, and to repent of those sins. Too many of our churches today preach nothing but love, totally ignoring the need to hate sin.

There’s a reason we should hate evil as part of our love of the Lord: He does so much for us! He “guards the lives of his faithful ones”, caring for their souls. God “delivers them from the hand of the wicked”. Perhaps we may not see that deliverance from our human perspective, as when a fervent believer is persecuted or murdered. From the eternal perspective, that believer has been delivered! Spurgeon elaborated on this:

“He may leave the bodies of his persecuted saints in the hand of the wicked, but not their souls, these are very dear to him, and he preserves them safe in his bosom.”1

I use ChatGPT to create original images for most of our devotionals, and the imagery arising from verse 11 — “Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart” — seemed perfect as a prompt for the AI to use today.

Verse 11 continues to describe how God blesses His people, shining light on the righteous and bringing joy to the upright in heart. The NKJV translation is slightly different — “Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart.” Adam Clarke, cited in Enduring Word, provided this explanation:

“Every grace of God is a seed, which he intends should produce a thousand fold in the hearts of genuine believers. We do not so much require more grace from God, as the cultivation of what we have received. God will not give more, unless we improve what we have got. Remember the parable of the talents. Let the light and gladness be faithfully cultivated, and they will multiply themselves till the whole body shall be full of light, and the whole soul full of happiness.”2

Verse 12 ends Psalm 97 with a very upbeat instruction: “Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.” Throughout the Psalms and the rest of the Bible, the concept of rejoicing in the Lord is a common thread. Why? As believers, we should feel joy from our personal connection with God. Throughout the history of God’s people, that joy has been expressed through worship, music, and celebrations.

The last directive in this verse is to “praise his holy name”. When believers praise God’s holy name, we are recognizing His holiness and responding to His mighty works throughout history. In our New Testament times, we are encouraged to pray and act in the name of Jesus, which not only recognizes His divine authority, but also His role as the mediator between God and humanity.

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, I pray to You today in recognition of Your greatness and holiness. Thank You for reminding us that those who love You have a responsibility to hate evil, and I pray for strength for all Your people to resist wickedness and embrace righteousness. I ask for Your assistance in living in a way that reflects Your light, bringing joy not only to my soul but to those around me. May I always remember to give thanks to You for Your protection, deliverance, and the countless blessings You provide.I pray these things in the name of Your Son and My Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com

BibleHub was accessed on February 26, 2026 for commentary on Psalms 97:10-12

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon “The Treasury of David: Volume 2” (Psalms 58-110) (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1988)

Clarke, Adam “Clarke’s Commentary: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes” Volume 3 (Job-Song of Solomon) (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1827)

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