1. Hear Me! (verses 1-3)
2. Because You Hate Wickedness (verses 4-6)
3. Lead Me! (verses 7-8)
4. Because They Hate You (verses 9-10)
5. Let's Seek Him (verses 11-12)
In the past few weeks, we have been working our way through some of the early Psalms, Psalms 2, 3, and 4. Today, we come to Psalm 5. My heart is that we would find the heart of God in these Psalms. My aim is that they would become greatly familiar to us, that we would read them, and that we would pray them.
Throughout these Psalms, we have found a similar theme. David is facing some trouble in his life. And so, he turns to the LORD for help. And this morning in Psalm 5, it is much the same. David is in trouble. And so, he seeks the LORD for help. It's really not much more difficult than that. And if there is any lesson that we have learned these past weeks, it is this: in your troubles, turn to the LORD.
Now, it is interesting to note that in these Psalms, there is no resolution of David's trouble. In other words, it's not like David seeks the LORD, and all goes well. He is still in his trouble at the end of the Psalm. However, David does has confidence that the LORD will come to his aid at some point. In fact, so confident is he that he can sleep well at night (Psalm 3:5; 4:8), unburdened by his troubles.
And in Psalm 5, we will see no resolution in David's problems either. He is surrounded by enemies at the beginning of the Psalm. He is surrounded by enemies at the end of the Psalm. But through it all, He is seeking the LORD. He is trusting the LORD. And at the end, we find David placing his life in the LORD's hands.
What a great word for us. Too often when the problems of life come our way, and we want a solution. We want a solution right now! We want things resolved! We want to know what to do. We want to know how to get out of our mess. But, it just may be that God's solution to our problems are simply to trust and wait patiently for the LORD to resolve the issues of our lives in His time and in His way.
This is helpful to me as a pastor. People come to me with problems in their life, looking for counsel. They want solutions to their problems. They want to know what to do. But, I look at Psalms like Psalm 3, Psalm 4, and Psalm 5 and I realize that there may be no solution to the problem brought to my attention, other than seeking the LORD, and longing for Him to work.
Now, that's not to say that there are never any solutions to the problems of life. There are. Often people have fallen into their problems because of their sin. They need to turn from their sin and seek the LORD. They need to seek forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus. Often people have dug a big, deep hole for themselves because of foolish choices they have made and bad habits that they have developed. They simply need to start working to get out of the hole, trusting in the LORD for patience and strength. Sometimes the hard times have come, through no fault of their own. Again, the counsel is the same. Simply trust the LORD; trust that He who brought the circumstances can easily remove them.
So, we come to Psalm 5. And we see David in distress. And in his distress, he's crying out to the LORD. Let's read the Psalm.
Psalm 5
For the choir director; for flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
Again, we see the superscription, which just tells us a bit about the Psalm. David wrote it. It's meant to be sung in public worship by a choir or the entire congregation. And, it is to be played with flutes.
Psalm 5
Give ear to my words, O LORD,
Consider my groaning.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;
Make Your way straight before me.
There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, O God;
By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
For they are rebellious against You.
But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
The Psalm is broken up into 5 sections. Each of them go back and forth between David and his enemies, between the righteous and the unrighteous, between the one upon whom God's favor rests and the one upon whom God's wrath rests.
The first section, verses 1-3, is focused upon David. We see him crying to the LORD, pleading that God would answer his prayer. The second section, verses 4-6, focuses upon David's enemies, particularly how God hates them. The third section, verses 7-8, focuses again upon David. We see his commitment to follow the LORD. The fourth section, verses 9-10, focuses again upon his enemies, particularly why God should punish them. The last section, verses 11-12, is a call for the righteous to seek the LORD, because God's favor rests upon the righteous.
The title of my message this morning is this: "Help Me and Harm Them!" I have taken this title from one of my seminary professors. It really captures the pathos of this Psalm. David is in trouble, and so, he seeks help from the LORD. But, as he seeks his own rescue, he isn't content at that. He prays that the LORD would deal harshly with his enemies, destroying them in their sin. And much of this Psalm deals with their sin and how they deserve to be punished by the LORD. Let's look at my first point this morning.
1. Hear Me! (verses 1-3)
This is the cry of David in these three verses. He says, "Hear Me O God!"
Psalm 5:1-3
Give ear to my words, O LORD,
Consider my groaning.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
And then, in verse 3 comes the assurance that God will indeed hear:
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
Again, like we have seen in various places in Psalm 3 and in Psalm 4, these verses don't say anything about David's actual prayer. They simply record how he prays to the Lord. These verses are filled with passion. David is groaning (verse 1). He is crying (verse 2). He is pleading that his prayer would enter the ear of God (verse 1).
This reminds me of when my youngest son was three or four years old. If my little David was speaking with you, and you weren't looking at him, he would reach up with his hands, grab your chin, and pull your face toward him so that you were looking him straight in the face. It was as if to say, "Give ear to my words."
This is what king David was doing with God. He was saying, "Let my words enter into your ear." He was saying, Hear Me! (verses 1-3). This is the cry of a desperate man. In fact, he is so desperate that he is groaning. Verse 1 continues, "...Consider my groaning" (Psalm 5:1). Some versions translate this, "consider my lament" (NIV). Or, "consider my meditation" (KJV, NKJV). The idea is that some of David's prayers were inaudible. They were sighs and groans and grunts.
But, realize this: the LORD can even answer these prayers. Romans 8:26 speaks of the struggle in prayer that we all may face from one time or another. "The Spirit helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words" (Romans 8:26). We know that something is wrong. We need help. We literally cry to the LORD, perhaps with sobs and tears. We groan in our pain, and the Holy Spirit prays for us.
In verse 2, we see David postured perfectly for prayer. He says, ...
Psalm 5:2
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
David knows who sits on the throne of his life. He acknowledges God as, "my King." Although David is the king of Israel, he knows that he, himself, has a King, the LORD. It is to Him that David prayed. David knew the LORD, as he called him "my God." To Him, David prayed. And he prayed, Hear Me! (verses 1-3). "Hear Me! O God!"
Verse 3 shows a great model for prayer.
Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
He prays early. Twice in this verse he mentions how he prays "in the morning." Prayer is top priority for David's life. First thing in the morning when he arises, he prays. This is a good practice to follow.
He prays orderly. He says, "I will order my prayer to You." That is, "I will arrange my prayers," much like the priest takes time to arrange the sacrifice upon the altar. He thinks through his prayer requests.
He prays expectantly. He says, "I will ... eagerly watch." Like the watchman on the wall of the city, watching for the attack of the enemy, so also does David watch for God's answer to prayer."
He prays confidently. He says, "You will hear my voice." David had so walked with God through the years that he was confident that the LORDwould indeed hear his prayers. He knew that God had helped him in the past. He was confident that God would help him in the future.
Does your prayer life match David's? Do you pray early? Do you pray orderly? Do you pray expectantly? Do you pray confidently? I trust that the LORD will convict us all where we lack and give us the grace to pray as David prayed.
Let's move on to my second point. In verses 4-6, David argues with God as to why He should hear his prayer, ...
2. Because You Hate Wickedness (verses 4-6)
I get this from verse 4. Notice how verse 4 begins with "For." Verses 4-6 are reasons for verses 1-3.
Psalm 5:4-6
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
These are some pretty challenging words to us. Because, quite frankly, there are many in the evangelical world today who don't believe these words.
Have you ever heard it said, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner"? Perhaps you have said them yourself, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner." And there is reason for this statement. Jesus said, "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The reason why Jesus came to earth is because He loved sinners. Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Yes, God loves sinners! When Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son, He showed how much the father continued to love his wayward, sinful rebellious son as he was willing to take him back. In the same way, God, our Father, loves wayward people, and is willing to take back all who repent of their sin. Yes, God loves sinners! And absolutely, God hates sin! Sin ruined the creation. Sin ruins lives. Sin ruins marriages. Sin ruins society. Throughout the Bible, God is always calling people away from sin and unto God, because He hates sin and will punish sin.
Jesus came into the world to punish sin. He bore the wrath of sin upon the cross. Jesus came to restore this creation to the sinless paradise that it was meant to be until sin came into the world.
So, yes, "God loves the sinner and hates the sin." There is truth to this. But, it's not as simple as that, because the attitudes of God toward people can't be reduced to one simple statement. And, like we see here in verse 5, we see this statement contradicted. Consider carefully verse 5, ...
Psalm 5:5
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
This verse doesn't say that he "hates the sin and loves the sinner." No, this verse clearly says that God "hates the sinner." And this isn't the only place in the Scripture where this is said. Psalm 11:5 says the same thing, "The LORDtests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates."
And so, here's the question: Will you believe the Bible? Or will you continue believe your nice, tight theology that "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner?" Because, we clearly see here in Psalm 5 that God hates those who continue in their sin. [1]
So, you might ask, "How can this be?" "How can God hate the sinner and love the sinner at the same time?" In many ways, I think that it has to do with what sort of sinner we are talking about. There are two types of sinners. If the sinner is repentant and loves God and has placed his faith in Christ, we find the LORD's favor upon such a one. But, if the sinner is unrepentant and continues in sin, we find the LORD's wrath upon such a one.
Psalm 5:6
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
These are those who are continuing in their sin. These are those who are in continued rebellion against the LORD. We can see this with the two thieves on the cross. One was repentant, the other was not. One received the promise of Paradise before the day was through (Luke 23:43), and the other had no hope for the afterlife. In the context of Psalm 5, these are the enemies of David who are seeking to take him down. And the enemies of David are the enemies of God. God will take them down. He will destroy them. He will ultimately destroy them in hell.
Sin and the sinner aren't easily separated. Whenever God sends a soul to hell, He sends the sinner to hell, not the sin. Yes, they go to hell because of their sin. But, it's not just their sin that spends eternity in hell. You say, "Why is this? I say, "Because God hates all evil."
Psalm 5:4
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
Any picture that the Bible gives us of God in heaven is a picture of purity. In Isaiah 6, the Seraphim (angelic creatures) surround the throne and crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." And Isaiah, the prophet of God, feels out of place because of his sin.
When you read of heaven in Revelation, you read that, "Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it" (Revelation 21:27). Heaven will be a pure place, because God is there. And "no evil dwells with [Him]" (Psalm 5:4).
And so, the question naturally comes up, "So, how can anyone dwell with God?" Especially David! He was a man of bloodshed. He was a man of deceit. He was a man of falsehood. He sinned with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up for over a year! How can he be so pious, saying, Hear Me! (verses 1-3), Because You Hate Wickedness (verses 4-6)? The implication is that David holds himself to be righteous, so he won't be destroyed like the liars and men of bloodshed and deceit. But, David was all of these things. So, what gives?
It's David's attitude toward the LORD. Look at verses 7 and 8.
Psalm 5:7-8
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;
Make Your way straight before me.
Right there in verse 7, you see a "but." "But as for me." In other words, "My ways are different than their ways." By way of outline, I'm using David's phrase in verse 8, ...
3. Lead Me! (verses 7-8)
And this is the key that makes the difference in God's disposition toward you. He will hate you and your sin. Or, if you but say, like David, "Lead me in your righteousness, Lead me in the way that you would have me to go," then He will love you despite your sin. This is the cry of the believer. This is the cry of one who has faith in God. And this is the difference between David and His enemies. And this is the difference between experiencing God's favor or experiencing His wrath.
See, we don't come into the presence of God because of our righteousness. Look at verse 7, ...
Psalm 5:7
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
How is it that David entered the temple? It wasn't because he was righteous. It was because of God's lovingkindness. It was because of God's steadfast love. No, it was because of God's "abundant" lovingkindness. It was because of the "multitude of [God's] mercy" (NKJV). It was because of the "abundance of [God's] steadfast love" (ESV).
And any of us who have come into God's presence know that it is only because of God's abounding grace toward us. Such is the theme of much of our worship. We call it, "Marvelous."
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin. [2]
We call it, "Amazing."
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see. [3]
We are blown away by it.
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? [4]
When John Bunyan came to write his autobiography, he entitled it, "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners." When Paul wrote about it, he said, "The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increase, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). This is David's assessment of his own life, ...
Psalm 5:7
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
We bow in fear and reverence toward the LORD, because we know that we are at His mercy. It is only because of Jesus and His work on the cross that we come. Do you know this? Do you embrace this? Is the grace of God in Jesus Christ your highest joy? Can you say with David, Lead Me! (verses 7-8)?
Psalm 5:8
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;
Make Your way straight before me.
David didn't want to walk the way of the wicked men. David wanted to walk in the righteous way. Psalm 1 mentions the wicked way and the righteous way.
Psalm 1
How blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
And David was seeking the righteous way. And he knew that he needed God's strength to help. And by faith, he would be enabled to do so. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). That's the idea here. As David would trust in the LORD, his way would be made straight before him.
And so, David says, Lead Me! (verses 7-8). Let's move on to my fourth point. In verses 1-3, we see David cry out to the LORD, Hear Me! (verses 1-3). In verses 4-6, David gave the reason why: Because You Hate Wickedness (verses 4-6). In verses 7-8, David again cries to the LORD, Lead Me! (verses 7-8). And again, in verses 9-10, David will give a reason why he wanted the LORD to lead him.
4. Because They Hate You (verses 9-10)
In the Hebrew text, verse 9 begins with another explanatory word, "for" or "because." I'm not sure why the New American Standard chose to leave it out. The ESV and NKJV caught it. You might read ...
Psalm 5:9
[For] There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue.
Verse 9 give us four statements of the hatred of David's enemies toward the LORD.
Psalm 5:9
(1) There is nothing reliable in what they say;
(2) Their inward part is destruction itself.
(3) Their throat is an open grave;
(4) They flatter with their tongue.
Many of these attributes are picked up by Paul in Romans, chapter 3:13, in which Paul is arguing how all of us are under sin. And apart from the grace of Christ, this is where we all would be. Our mouths speak from the overflow of our hearts. And with wicked, unregenerate hearts, what would you expect, but filthy mouths.
Now, in David's case he was dealing with insurrectionists who would do anything in their power to bring down the king. They would lie. They would deceive. They would talk smooth talk to get their way. And as they opposed David the king, they were actually opposing the LORD, the true King! We see this in the last phrase of verse 10, ...
Psalm 5:10
... For they are rebellious against You.
And in verse 10, we see David pleading that the LORD would turn against them.
Psalm 5:10
Hold them guilty, O God;
By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
For they are rebellious against You.
David knew that the LORD had said, "Vengeance is Mine" (Deut. 32:35). David knew full well that God was the one to dish out the retribution against His enemies. When Saul was mighty against David, David didn't touch the LORD's anointed. When Shimei cursed him, David didn't seek the revenge. He knew that he was a guilty man getting what he deserved.
As the king, David certainly fought in the wars against the enemies of God. But, these enemies seem to be different. They don't seem to be military enemies. They appear to be those from within, who are seducing people wrongly against David. They were spreading lies, spreading deceit, using whatever means necessary. My guess is that these enemies are fellow Israelites, along the same lines of Psalm 3, those who entered into conspiracy with Absalom. And David places them completely into the hands of God, ...
Psalm 5:10
Hold them guilty, O God;
God can do this by pouring out his wrath upon them directly. Or, God can do this by simply being, "hands off." God often works this way with sinful people. You can see this in Romans, chapter 1. After describing the sinful ways of men, and God's wrath toward them, Paul simply says that the LORD "gave them over" to their own sin. And what goes around comes around.
Those that spread lies will, themselves, be victim to lies against them. Those that set the trap will, in the end, find themselves caught in a trap, themselves. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword (as in Matthew 26:52). This is what Solomon shared in Proverbs 1. Those that seek to entice others by saying, "Come with us. Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause" (Proverbs 1:11). Solomon says that, "they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives" (Proverbs 1:18). Such is the prayer of David in verse 10, ...
Psalm 5:10
... By their own devices let them fall!
Though David's prayer here in verse 10 is harsh, I don't think that they are necessarily wrong to pray against the enemies of God. When you come to realize that God is a God of righteousness, and when you see righteousness not reigning upon the earth, it should give you a pain in your heart! It should give you a longing for the LORD to return and right all wrongs. We can say with the Lord's Prayer, "Your Kingdom come!" Psalm 96 and Psalm 98 give examples of the joy of all the earth when the LORDcomes in His kingdom to judge the world.
Longing for God's righteousness to prevail should give you the heart of the martyred souls in Revelation 6. They cried out to the LORD, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood with those who are on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10). This is a New Testament prayer. And God's answer to them was essentially, "Wait, because there are going to be more martyrs. There is going to be more injustice upon the earth before I come to make everything right."
But, even so, you need to be careful in praying such prayers. Now, before you go out and pray such prayers against any enemies that you might have, consider David's unique position. He was the king of Israel. To resist the king was to rebel against the LORD(Romans 13:1-7). He lived in the days when God's laws were the laws of the land. To turn against the law of God was a punishable offense. And so, David's prayers against his enemies come out of this context. But, today is different. None of us are kings or in a position to punish others in our society. We don't live in a theocracy today; God's law is not the law of the land.
Furthermore, consider the message of the gospel, God's message today! When Jesus gave His last commission to the disciples He said that, "Repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). You read through the book of Acts, and you see this clearly. Our message today is one of grace to all who repent and believe. As Peter said to those who nailed Jesus upon the cross, "Repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:19). As Paul said on Mars Hill, "Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30).
Today, our heart should be for forgiveness and reconciliation. When Jesus died upon the cross, He still found grace to pray, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). When Stephen was being stoned to death, he followed the pattern of Jesus, praying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" (Acts 7:60). When Peter and John were whipped and flogged by the religious leaders, they didn't pray for vengeance. They prayed for boldness to spread the message of the gospel (Acts 4:29).
And such ought to be our attitude as well. We are seeking to spread the message of grace, today. We should be longing for the prodigal to come home. We should be praying for salvation.
So, be slow to pray this prayer of verse 10 today. But, when people are so far gone, and doing so much harm to God's people, it's only natural to beg that the Lord take vengeance into His own hand and act.
Let's turn to my last point. We have seen David praying, "Help Me and Harm Them!" He has said, "Hear Me! (verses 1-3), Because You Hate Wickedness (verses 4-6)." "Lead Me! (verses 7-8), Because They Hate You (verses 9-10)."
At this point, the Psalm turns outward. In other words, we see that Psalm 5 is not simply a Psalm filled with David's own concerns. Rather, David's concern extends to all of God's people. In a way, it's like an invitation.
5. Let's Seek Him (verses 11-12)
Psalm 5:11-12
But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
David is here concerned for the joy of God's people. May they "be glad" (verse 11). May they "sing for joy" (verse 11). May they "exult in Your" (verse 11).
This picks up the theme of joy from last week (Psalm 4:7). Joy ought to be the attitude of every believer. We "sing for joy" because of God's favor toward us. We exult in God, because He has done great things for us.
Notice also the words of protection in verses 11 and 12. Words which come to the righteous who are seeking refuge in God. Verse 11 asks, "May You shelter them." And verse 12 says, "You surround him with favor as with a shield." Perhaps this gives us the ground of joy. Though surrounded on all sides by enemies, we can rest joyfully in God's protecting hand.
Those who believe in Christ are safe and secure. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28). As Peter said, "[we] are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).
I don't know what sort of troubles are coming upon you this morning. Family, friends, finances. Perhaps you have some real enemies as David did. May I encourage you to find your comfort and find your joy in the LORD, as David sought to do. Seek the Lord. He blesses the righteous.
This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
July 13, 2014 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.
[1] It’s these sorts of statements that cause Bible study to be so interesting. Just when you think that you have something all figured out (i.e. that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner), you read a passage of Scripture like this that surprises you. It seems to contradict what you thought. Now, when you read these sorts of passages, you have a decision to make. Either, you distort the teaching of this verse to fit your thoughts, or you change your thoughts about what you previously thought to be true. My hope, of course, is that you will choose the latter.
[2] "Grace Greater Than Our Sin," Julia Johnston. Public Domain.