Here is an excerpt taken from page 238 of Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin in the Psalms by John Calvin.
August 25
Psalm 97:10-12
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.
Those that fear God are here enjoined to practise righteousness, as Paul says, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” (2 Tim. 2:19). He shows from the very nature of God, that we cannot be judged and acknowledged to be his servants unless we depart from sin, and practise holiness. God is in himself the foundation of righteousness, and he must necessarily hate all iniquity, unless we could suppose that he should deny himself; and we have fellowship with him only on the terms of separation from unrighteousness. As the persecution of the wicked is apt to provoke us to seek revenge, and unwarrantable methods of escape, the Psalmist guards us against this temptation, by asserting that God is the keeper and protector of his people. If persuaded of being under the Divine guardianship, we will not strive with the wicked, nor retaliate injury upon those who have wronged us, but commit our safety to him who will faithfully defend it. This gracious act of condescension, by which God takes us under his care, should serve as a check to any impatience we might feel in abstaining from what is evil, and preserving the course of integrity under provocation.
Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.
We have seen that the Lord’s people are often treated with the utmost cruelty and injustice, and would seem to be abandoned to the fury of their enemies. The Psalmist reminds us for our encouragement that God, even when he does not immediately deliver his children, upholds them by his secret power. Righteousness does not consist in a mere outward appearance, but comprehends integrity of heart, more being required to constitute us righteous in God’s sight than that we simply keep our tongue, hands, or feet, from wickedness. The Lord’s people, looking upon God as their Redeemer, should lead a life corresponding to the mercy they have received, and rest contented under all the evils they encounter, with the consciousness that they enjoy his protection.
Excerpt taken from page 238 of Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin in the Psalms by John Calvin, copyright 1999 by P&R Publishing.
