True religion

April 7-8, 2017

Zeph. 3:17

The Lord your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing."

NIV

Worship: Song of My Father by Urban Rescue

When silence falls
I hear You call
In a secret place


You still my soul with quiet joy
And I'm wide awake

In the middle of the night
I look up to the sky
I can hear You
Singing over me
Through the fire and the flood
I know that I am loved
I can hear You
Singing over me

You spoke the earth with just one word
And You hold my heart
My every step, my every breath
Is Your work of art

In the middle of the night
I look up to the sky
I can hear You
Singing over me
Through the fire and the flood
I know that I am loved
I can hear You
Singing over me

I hear Your melody
I hear Your symphony
There's nothing louder than the song of my Father
I hear Your melody
I hear Your symphony
There's nothing louder than the song of my Father

In the middle of the night
I look up to the sky
I can hear You
Singing over me
Through the fire and the flood
I know that I am loved
I can hear You
Singing over me

In the middle of the night
I look up to the sky
I can hear You
Singing over me
Through the fire and the flood
I know that I am loved
I can hear You
Singing over me

I hear Your melody
I hear Your symphony
There's nothing louder than the song of my Father
I hear Your melody
I hear Your symphony
There's nothing louder than the song of my Father
There's nothing louder than the song of my Father

Lyrics: https://genius.com/Urban-rescue-song-of-my-father-lyrics

Video: https://youtu.be/m8dYLZVjwhA

Ps. 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the Lord.

NIV

Lord,

Don’t ever let the music stop.

That new song You put in my heart.

The melody from heaven ever drop

Into my spirit and never depart.

And let my praises rise up to You

As gladness and joy fill my soul

Whether in abundance or few

Let my words Your name extol

Witness:

I was taught a lesson two days ago. As I have said recently, “satan’s temptations are God’s testings.” One thing God is doing when He tests us is to teach us. The Lord reminded me of this truth found in Scripture (the verse of which came only to mind now though it’s truth was displayed before me yesterday),

So, if you think you are standing firm,

be careful that you don't fall!

1 Cor 10:12-13 NIV

One of the great temptations I have at work is all the delicious artery clogging food at work. I spoke about this in another journal entry. I wrote then how God delivered me from this temptation on one day in the past (I have slipped many times since ☹ - it’s a daily battle). I found victory two days ago and resisted eating anything more than what I had brought with me. When I drove home, I rejoiced in this victory and thanked God for it. However, the devil is crafty and has taught his minions well. So, when I got home under the euphoria of victory the enemy was busy preparing another temptation in order to trip me up in my rising pride and smugness (which he played off of).

Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall.

Prov 16:18

NIV

After I had finished praying, I went into my bedroom with the intention to go to sleep in a timely fashion. However, when I sat down at my desk to start the background rain and thunder sound on my computer to help me go to sleep, I decided to open my emails and clear them out because I had not done that for a couple of days. Of course, a news alert would pop up while I was doing this and I had to read that as well and all the interesting news articles that were on the same page. Back to the emails. As I cleared them out, of course, I had to read some of them along the way. Then there were the Facebook posts. By the time I was finished, it was after 10 am. That was 2 hours after I planned to get to bed. It then hit me. While I had victory over the food temptation, the enemy defeated me in the computer temptation. The urge to read my emails, the news, and Facebook posts.

Lesson learned: When I experience a victory… Watch out for the ambush from behind.

Lesson learned: Prone to Pride? Watch out! You become prey to the predator.

Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. NIV (’84) Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. 5 I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, 7 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. Ps 26:4-8 4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. 6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord: 7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. KJV Ps 26:4-7 4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. ESV  Earlier in my studies, I pointed out that David began his prayer by mentioning his internal walk with the Lord. Verses 4 -7 deal mainly some aspects of his external walk. These external elements are evidence David sees of his innocence before his accusers.   As I have pointed out previously, David first speaks about what he abstains from. This is seen in the words such as “I do not” (v. 4), “nor do I” (v. 4), “I will not” (v. 5). In verses 6-7 he speaks positively about things he does do. Religion that is only negative in character is certainly a dark and dismal religion. It is characterized by loneliness and seclusion. It can lead to a legalistic lifestyle and judgmental attitude towards others. But David’s religion is also characterized by the positive. We see this in his use of these words in verse 6-7. He says, “I wash” (v. 6), “go about” (v. 6), “proclaiming” (v. 7), “telling” (v. 8). David worships and witnesses as well. These verses, of course, do not encompass all the aspects of a believer’s walk nor do they illustrate every aspect of true religion. James says, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 NIV “Religion” is not a popular word today. It’s used by believers and unbelievers alike as an insult or description of a legalistic character flaw. Certainly, in some contexts, this is true. However, though the New Testament uses this word sparingly, here in James, it is used three times in a positive sense as those actions (both positive and negative as we have seen in the present passages we are studying) which exemplify a follower of Christ.

True Religion (James 1:27) Religion that is pure And without fault Rescues the poor And will not exalt The sins of this world And ungodly gains But with hands unfurled Gives and abstains

Love & Hate, part III

March 29, 2017 (Completed on April 1^st -no fooling 😊)

Worship: Man of Sorrows by Hillsong

Man of sorrows Lamb of God
By His own betrayed
The sin of man and wrath of God
Has been on Jesus laid

Silent as He stood accused
Beaten mocked and scorned
Bowing to the Father's will
He took a crown of thorns

On that rugged cross
My salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out
Hallelujah
Praise and honor unto Thee

Sent of heaven God's own Son
To purchase and redeem
And reconcile the very ones
Who nailed Him to that tree

Now my debt is paid
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled

Now the curse of sin
Has no hold on me
Whom the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed

See the stone is rolled away
Behold the empty tomb
Hallelujah God be praised
He's risen from the grave

Read more: Hillsong Live - Man Of Sorrows Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Video: https://youtu.be/8pXqf5TH8po

Witness:

“He chastens and hastens His will to make known” is a line from a well-known hymn written anonymously by a saint of God in 1597. I remember growing up singing this song at the dining room table at Thanksgiving. That seems to be the traditional time to sing this song. The background of this song is interesting, and one can Google it and find a plethora of brief articles and websites containing the lyrics and/or history of the hymn. I quote one source summarizing the theme of the song based on its origin.

In many hymnals, “We gather together” appears as a Thanksgiving hymn. Perhaps this is because of the opening line and the general idea that God is with us regardless of our circumstances. However, the hymn speaks more about God’s providence throughout the trials of life. The story behind this hymn clarifies its text. ( https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-we-gather-together1 - see also this site if you want to know the history behind the song)

That is all I am going to say about this song. In fact, I would rather not dwell on its history but sing it in the larger context of our asking for the divine blessings and praise for our Lord’s providential care and protection and sovereignty.

However, I did not start off with these lines from this hymn in order to discuss its meaning and background. I began with these words because it perfectly describes my experience last night as I left for work. I had sent a message Monday to my wife in response to hers about an upcoming surgery she was telling me about. I began my message first by referencing the cost of the surgery and the need for her to come home because the cost would be vastly less than having it done where she lived. She needs a knee replacement. I then went on and spoke of how important getting a knee replacement was, but in the end, it had only temporary blessings attached to it. Honoring God in marriage has eternal consequences. I asked her to come home and work on reconciliation. When I left for work on Tuesday night she had not responded to me (It’s Wednesday night, and she still hasn’t). I was fretting about having to go to work and then receiving a negative response to my message. However, up until that time, I had been praying for her to respond positively and had other friends involved in prayer to this same end. Yet, instead of trusting I worried and doubted that she would. That is where the song’s words come into play. The Lord immediately chastened me and reminded that he was in control. Therefore, I need not be anxious about it. I felt release and joy and went to work in gladness because my faithful heavenly Father had chastened me in Love. I cannot say that every time my phone pings I won’t react first with fear, but that will be quickly quelled if I remind myself of what God has told me of Himself.

He Weaves His Plan

God is sovereign

I need not fear,

Nor be disheartened

For He is near.

He’s in control

Of all my ways.

And on a scroll

He’s written my days.

In good or ill

He weaves His plan.

His sovereign will

None can withstand.

When sorrow besets me

And I can’t see His hand,

Let me trust His sovereignty

Even if I don’t understand.

Ps 139:16-18

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there were none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

ESV

WORD:

Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. NIV (’84) Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. 5 I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, 7 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. Ps 26:4-8 4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. 6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord: 7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. KJV Ps 26:4-7 4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. ESV I have examined the use of the word hate in Scripture. It is by no means exhaustive nor have I dealt with other words used in Scripture that can be translated as hate or its synonyms. Yet, from what I have studied, it is clear that the word has several meanings and covers a broad range of emotions.  I think it would be wrong to try to minimize the emotional sense of the word hate here in this passage by saying that David was just saying he preferred God’s presence to these people. Applying passages where Jesus spoke about hating mother and father or Jacob “loving” Rachel and “hating” Leah would not fit here and would rob the passage of its separating and purifying power. David was not just saying he didn’t like to hang out with these people, he abhorred it.  Neither would it be appropriate to read into this word outright hatred to the point of bringing harm or acts of violence against these people. Both errors have been perpetrated by individuals in the name of God. Cults have used passages of Scripture to keep their victims from having any contact with parents and have actually taught them to hate them in the more intense sense of the word. Religious fanatics have killed in the name of God by misusing this word as well. Therefore, balance is called for.   John Piper has an excellent discussion of the saying, “We hate the sin but love the sinner.” I found it online at http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/god-loves-the-sinner-but-hates-the-sin. Usually, it has an audio transcript include with it so I could just copy and paste it. However, this one did not come with one, so I had to open a blank page in Word and use the microphone on my computer to record it. I had also tried to do this on my phone, but it would stop recording every so often, and some of the message was missed. This happened on my computer too. So, I had to go over it and redact it by listening to the audio file. What follows is the transcript pretty much word for word with few corrections and my own guess at punctuation and paragraph division.

God Loves the Sinner, But Hates the Sin? Marco Redding, PA writes in to ask this question, “Pastor John, what do you make of the saying God loves The Sinner but hates the sin?” The problem with the statement God loves the Sinner but hates the sin is that it’s misleading. It’s not a false statement. And what’s misleading about it is the word “but.” “But hates the sin.” Because “but” should be “and.” “God hates the sinner and hates the sin” because “but” implies that He doesn’t hate the sinner and that’s not true. God does hate sinners. Psalm 5:4-5 says, 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. ESV or Psalm 11: The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. ESV

So, it's just not true to give the impression that God doesn’t hate sinners by saying “He loves the sinner but hates the sin.” He does hate sinners. His wrath is real. It’s not something He pours out on people He approves of. This infinite disapproval is what the Bible means when it says God hates sinners. He infinitely disapproves of them. Sin is not sinful except as committed by sinful hearts. Sin is an expression of anti-god human corruption of human hearts. Sinful volitions are owing to sinful hearts. Sin just doesn’t hang out there with its own existence. It is in hearts, or it’s nothing. Sins do not suffer in Hell, sinners suffer in hell. I wonder what people, who say that, believe about hell because He’s not punishing sin in hell. He’s punishing sinners in hell. He hates- and here’s the paradox- and He loves at the same time. For God so loved the world - that He hates. Hate and love are simultaneous as God looks upon hateful, rebellious, corrupt, loathsome, wicked God-dishonoring sinners. Now here are the distinctions we need to make. This is just so crucial. I hope people will listen carefully. Hate and love both have two meanings each. Hate can be an intense loathing of a quality, or hate can be, beyond that, the intense intentionality to destroy. Love, similarly, can be intense delighting in a quality and it can be an intense intentionality to bless even in spite of the presence of some unsavory quality. So, in any given text in the Bible, we have to ask, “is the hatred being spoken of here only an intense loathing of a quality of a person or is it also the intent to destroy?” And it’s different. If you went over to Malachi 1, you’d find the latter, and I think some of those texts in the Psalms refer to the former. It’s the same with God’s love. God’s love moves Him to save millions of people who in and of themselves are loathsome to him. But here’s why this matter. If we don’t understand that God finds us hateful and loathsome in our ugly sin, we won’t be as stunned by what God’s love is for us. God saves millions of people who in and of themselves are loathsome to Him until He saves them and makes them the apple of His eye. Which makes salvation stunningly more. Stunningly more- if you get that. That God comes to us not in our attractiveness, like, “Oh I really love this person but just hate their sin.” No, He finds me reprehensible because of my rebellion, just like we find certain wicked people reprehensible because of their sin. And He’s coming to us, and He’s dying for us in order that He might make us into the apple of His eye. So, God can love us with the intent to save us even while He’s hating God despising rebels like us. And then when He saves us He transforms us so that now He not only loves us with the intent to bless us forever but He loves us with an ever-increasing delight, I think, in helping us make much of him. http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/god-loves-the-sinner-but-hates-the-sin

I also found this article helpful. It also comes from the Desiring God website.

Article by
Jonathan Parnell
Pastor, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jesus said to love our enemies.

That is what he said, as Matthew recounts his words from the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’” (Matthew 5:43–44, emphasis added)
And when Jesus said “love,” we should be clear that he didn’t mean hollow good will, or some bland benevolence, or a flakey niceness that hopes our enemies stop being so cruel. Jesus never talks about love that way. A category for love like that — the anything-goes, pat-on-the-head, can’t-we-all-just-get-along kind of love — is a phenomenon peculiar to our own day. When Jesus says to love our enemies, he means that we love them with a lay-your-life-down type of love — the type that comes from the heart and desires the other’s good, and sacrifices for it, when no one else but God is watching.
And it’s the type of love that includes hate.

The Hate of Love

In fact, if the love is real, it must include hate. We’ve seen or experienced something like this before, though it might be more complex than we first thought. Love that rightfully includes hate needs to navigate between the two ditches of unhelpful generality and selfishness in disguise.

In other words, to only say that we must “love the sinner but hate their sin” oversimplifies things, glossing over the inseparable connection at work in the evildoer and his evil. At the same time, to only hate the sin because of how it affects us is actually superficial virtue, not love. But real love, and therefore rightful hate, sails beyond these docks to drop anchor an extra mile down.

On one hand, righteous hatred is expected because evil acts are morally repugnant and offensive to God (Psalm 97:10). Evil belittles God’s holiness and evidences that his name is not hallowed. We hate evil because it is wrong. But on the other hand, if this hatred is part of loving our enemies, we must hate the evil of our enemies because of what the evil means for them.

With Them in View

Expounding Jesus’s love command, John Piper writes that we cannot claim to truly love someone while being indifferent toward what destroys them. If we love our enemies, then we must hate the evil of our enemies that makes them so. That evil — the evil for which they are culpable and liable for eternal punishment — is therefore at odds with love’s interest in their eternal good. “We do not hate God’s judgment. That is just and wise. But we do hate the evil that leads a person to oppose God and incur his judgment” (What Jesus Demands from the World, 224).
To be sure, our enemies aren’t mere victims of evil’s tyrannical force, and we don’t parse individuals away from their actions. ISIS does evil and is evil — and our love for them means we hate both. We hate that they are blinded by darkness, that they are trapped by Satan’s schemes, that they are following the course of this world and ignorant of it all (Ephesians 2:2; 4:18).
But that hate, if we are obeying Jesus, means that we hate them not only because of their disgusting injustice, but for what that injustice means for their souls. Piper explains, “There is a kind of hate for the sinner (viewed as morally corrupt and hostile to God) that may coexist with pity and even a desire for his salvation” (222).

Love for our enemies means, fundamentally, that we hate our enemies for wholeheartedly joining in the evil that will ultimately cause their damnation (John 5:29). That is the kind of hate — the kind of love — that might look on them and say, in the spirit of our Savior, Father, forgive them for being so oblivious to what they’re doing. Open their eyes.http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-love-your-enemies-enough-to-hate-them

 As always, the Bible stretches our mind to include categories which our feeble and fallen minds don’t have by nature. God opens us to see deeper and wider than our limited vision can see. Apparent paradoxes are reconciled and seeming contradictions are proven to be just opposite sides of the same coin. We begin to think deeper and beyond our trite little sayings in which we try to package truth.

Let me finish with an excerpt from a sermon by Jonathan Edwards:

Sermon 5: The Nature and End of Excommunication (1 Corinthians 5:11)Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am I not grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred."

  Not that he hated them with a hatred of malice or ill-will, but with displacency and abhorrence of their wickedness. In this respect we ought to be the children of our Father who is in heaven, who, though he loves many wicked men with a love of benevolence, yet cannot love them with a love of complacency.
(from Works of Jonathan Edwards, volume 2, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2004, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. and Ages Software, Inc. All rights reserved.) 

Love & Hate, part II

March 25, 2017

You have searched me and you know me
You're familiar with all my ways

You have placed your hand upon me
With such a knowledge I can't attain

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I make my bed in the depths
If I go up to the heavens

You are there

If I rise on the wings of the dawn
If I settle on the far side of the sea

Even there your hand will hold me fast
Even there your hand will guide me

You are there
You are there
(repeat)

I will sing
Sing a new song
Because you love me

I will sing
Sing a new song
Because you care

I will sing
Sing a new song
Because you’re there

Lyrics: https://genius.com/Mercyme-psalm-139-you-are-there-lyrics

Video: https://youtu.be/etr4-sCK6CI

At the Name of Jesus

every knee shall bow,

every tongue confess him

King of glory now;

'tis the Father's pleasure

we should call him Lord,

who from the beginning

was the mighty Word.

At his voice creation

sprang at once to sight,

all the angel faces,

all the hosts of light,

Thrones and Dominations,

stars upon their way,

all the heavenly orders,

in their great array.

Humbled for a season,

to receive a Name

from the lips of sinners,

unto whom he came,

faithfully he bore it

spotless to the last,

brought it back victorious,

when from death he passed;

Bore it up triumphant,

with its human light,

through all ranks of creatures,

to the central height,

to the throne of Godhead,

to the Father's breast;

filled it with the glory

of that perfect rest.

Name him, brothers, name him,

with love as strong as death,

but with awe and wonder

and with bated breath;

he is God the Savior,

he is Christ the Lord,

ever to be worshiped,

trusted, and adored.

In your hearts enthrone him;

there let him subdue

all that is not holy,

all that is not true;

crown him as your Captain

in temptation's hour;

let his will enfold you

in its light and power.

Brothers, this Lord Jesus

shall return again,

with his Father's glory

with his angel train;

for all wreaths of empire

meet upon his brow,

and our hearts confess him

King of glory now.

Words: Caroline M. Noel (1817-1877), 1870

Lyrics: http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/a/a388.html

Video: https://youtu.be/m8IiA1PUbmw

Witness:

When I considered what to sing today for worship time the words “At the Name of Jesus” came to mind. I looked it up and found out it was an old hymn. As I searched for a video, the song “Psalm 139” by MERCY ME came on.  I decided to worship to this song instead. However, as I typed these words, I was convicted for not including this hymn in my time of worship. The tune was indeed of an older generation, and the lyrics were in a prose from another time, yet it contained a timeless message based on Philippians 2. The words are transcendent in nature and moved me to worship my “King of glory now.”

The lyrics to the first song remind me that the Lord is ever present in my life. Psalm 139 has led to many different songs based on it. This is MERCY ME’s simple rendition with the single emphasis on the omnipresence of God in our lives. Whether we run and try to hide or rest in His hands, He is there. What a warning and what a comfort. It warns me not to run because I cannot hide from the LORD. It comforts me with the fact that wherever I go, He is there guiding me.

And why should I run? In Him I “live and move and have [my] being” (Acts 17:28). In Him, I have all I need (Ps. 23:1; 2 Peter 1:3). My response can be found in the question Peter asked in response to a question our Lord asked the 12 Apostles. Our Lord had just spoken to a crowd of people in His adopted hometown of Capernaum. Among them were some who asked Him to give them a sign that He was who He claimed to be. His response to them was not to their liking, and they rejected Him, and even many professed “disciples” turned their back on Him and deserted Him. So, He turned to the 12 and asked, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67 NIV) Now comes the response of the Apostle Peter in the form of a rhetorical question.

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68 NIV

The Lord is the giver of life and all good things. Why would I seek to flee His presence? He has the words of eternal life. He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Ironically, today as I came back to this journal entry I first read a journal entry from April 15, 2016, and placed it on my blog. The opening song of worship ended with these lines:

Where else can we go, Lord 

Where else can we go 
You have the words of eternal life 
(from Show Us Christ by Sovereign Grace)

         Where?

To whom shall I run, O Lord

When life deals a mortal blow

When pain cuts like a sword

And my tears begin to flow?

And where can I go and hide

When sorrows rip me apart

When fears with me abide

And seize my trembling heart?

Where shall I go for direction

When I have lost my way

When I have no predilection

And doubts rule my day?

To You, O Lord, I will run.

Under Your shelter, I will hide.

And when I need direction

You will be there by my side.

WORD:

Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; 5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. NIV (’84) Ps 26:4-8 4 I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. 5 I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, 7 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. Ps 26:4-8 4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. 6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord: 7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. KJV Ps 26:4-7 4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. ESV

If we understand that the word “hate” has various shades of meaning in Scripture, it will help keep us from making a misapplication when we encounter this word in the Bible. This point is inferred from an entry in a Bible Dictionary I have in one of my Bible software programs.

HATE Strong dislike, disregard, or even indifference toward someone or something. As such, hate may be seated in a person's emotions or will. Various degrees and types of hatred are described in the Bible. This makes it difficult to define hatred in simple, absolute terms.(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

It goes on to say:

The people of God are to hate what God Himself hates with an absolute hatred-sin (Deut 12:31; Isa 61:8; Heb 1:9). But God is also said to hate human beings, as when He declared, "Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated" (Rom 9:13). This is a relative hatred. It is not the opposite of love but a diminished love. God loved Jacob so much that He chose him to become the father of the nation Israel; He did not love Esau in the same way. To hate our relatives for the sake of Christ (Luke 14:26) means to love them less than we love Christ (Matt 10:37); it does not mean to hate them absolutely. Believers ought to love their enemies (Matt 5:43-44) but hate their enemies' sins (Eph 5:3-14; Rev 2:6).

Wicked people, living under the power of Satan, will hate the Lord Jesus, His followers, and their righteous deeds (John 3:20; 8:44). It is the Christian's duty not to strike back but to do good to his enemies (Matt 5:43-44; Luke 6:27).(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

This is a good definition but leaves out the fact that Scripture does speak of God and God’s people hating their enemies.

In the original edition of ISBE, the entry on hate says:

    

HATE(hat), (ha'-tred) (verb, ‎sane°‎, "oftenest," ‎saTam‎, Gen 27:41, etc.; noun, ‎sin°ah‎; ‎miseo‎): A feeling of strong antagonism and dislike, generally malevolent and prompting to injury (the opposite of love); sometimes born of moral resentment. Alike in the Old Testament and New Testament, hate of the malevolent sort is unsparingly condemned (Num 35:20; Ps 109:5; Prov 10:12; Titus 3:3; 1 John 3:15), but in the Old Testament hatred of evil and evil-doers, purged of personal malice, is commended (Ps 97:10; 101:3; 139:21-22, etc.). The New Testament law softens this feeling as regards persons, bringing it under the higher law of love (Matt 5:43-44; compare Rom 12:17-21), while intensifying the hatred of evil (Jude verse 23; Rev 2:6). God himself is hated by the wicked (Ex 20:5; Ps 139:21; compare Rom 8:7). Sometimes, however, the word "hate" is used hyperbolically in a relative sense to express only the strong preference of one to another. God loved Jacob, but hated Esau (Mal 1:3; Rom 9:13); father and mother are to be hated in comparison with Christ (Luke 14:26; compare Matt 10:37). See ENMITY . James Orr

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) 

This, perhaps, is a more balanced view because it includes both the fact that the Old Testament

does speak of hating evil doers and includes a more accurate use of progressive revelation, for it does not make a distinction between the OT and the NT that is so disjunctive that they end up being antithetical to each other. However, I’m not sure the word “softens” is a good choice here to describe the difference between the two testaments. Perhaps it would be better to point out the difference in emphasis rather than any softening.

The revised ISBE has a much longer article on the word, and I recommend referring to it if you wish to study this issue further. It not only breaks down the use of hate in the OT and the NT but also brings in the intertestamental view by referring to the Dead Sea scrolls and the community at Qumran. 

In summery we can say:

HATE Sane° represents an emotion ranging from intense "hatred" to the much weaker "set against" and is used of persons and things (including ideas, words, inanimate objects).(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

I will stop here and tie things together in my next journal entry because this entry is already quite long. I also have run out of time and have to get ready for work.