Should we loathe the "faithless"? (119:158)
"I look on the faithless with loathing,
for they do not obey your word." (Psalm 119:158, NIV)
Psalms 119:1 - 176
ESV - 1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.
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Asked November 02 2021
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
Based on my study of the cited verse, I would say that the wording of the verse as translated in the question does not exactly capture the sense of the psalmist's statement. The psalmist is more accurately saying that the actions of the faithless make him extremely sad, sorry, or sick at heart at the wrongs that people are capable of committing. He does not look on them with anger, or desire to return their deeds with evil on his own part, but is instead intensely grieved by their actions. In my opinion, such a reaction would not preclude the possibility of the psalmist desiring that the faithless be turned from their ways through acquisition of the same faith that he himself possesses, as summarized in the aphorism, "Hate the sin, but love the sinner."
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