Hello father! Today as I was praying morning prayer, part of Psalm 5 (verses 5-6) confused me a bit. It says "You hate all who do evil: you destroy all who lie. The deceitful and bloodthirsty man the Lord detests." How is this so? The Lord loves all His people, correct? I've noticed a lot of themes like this is the Psalms, and I'm sure I'm missing the meaning behind it, because I know the bible is certainly not self-contradictory. Thank you so much, you are such a light in this world!
Yes, the Psalms are complicated! The whole Old Testament is sometimes, but it helps to keep in mind something the Catechism says:
"The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men." "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional," the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God's saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way." (#122)
(You may also get a lot out of #2585-2589 on how the Psalms are a form of prayer.)
Essentially in this case it's the imperfect understanding that the psalmist has of God that is shining through. It's reinforced in an odd way in psalms in which we read the psalmist's bewilderment that wicked men are prospering. Only in Christ's teaching would the Chosen People finally find the full key to understanding this: That full justice isn't carried out in this life, and that this life is what God uses to draw us closer to himself and to invite us to repentance.
So yes, the Lord loves all his people. And yet, at the same time, at the Final Judgment he will have to condemn those who have freely chosen to follow paths of destruction rather than the paths of righteousness he offered to them. God hates the sin and loves the sinner, but sin when freely chosen leads the sinner to true destruction. So it's a case of the psalmist just not having the whole story in front of him.
Personally when I'm praying the Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, it helps me a lot to read things in a spiritual light. The psalmist's "enemies" are, for us, not the people we share this life with, but the true enemies of our soul: the devil, sin, etc. The psalmist's agony in times of distress or joy in moments of triumph may not be what I'm experiencing right now, but undoubtedly many Christians are, and I'm praying for the whole Church when I pray her liturgy. The psalmist's praise of the king is my praise of my King.
There is a very rich tradition of interpretation of the Psalms in the light of the Gospel, as well as a number of books dedicated to helping us pray the Psalms better.
And thank you... you too are a light in this world! God bless you.
