We began this service of worship by reciting Psalm 139. Well, not really. For we only recited part of Psalm 139, the nice part.

Our hymnal leaves out the last part of this psalm, the part that isn't so nice. After speaking of the Spirit of God, the wings of the morning, the precious thoughts of God, there is a jolt:

O that thou wouldst slay the wicked....Do I not hate them that hate thee,... do I not loathe them that rise up against thee? I hate them with a perfect hatred!

As John Wesley said, perhaps after reading these verses of Psalm 139, “there are parts of the Psa1ms that are not fit for Christian ears.”

Now those are not nice thoughts, particularly in church!

Worse, such hateful thoughts are not limited to Psalm 139. In fact, they are fairly typical of a good many of the Psalms. As C. S. …