What is the meaning of Psalm 119:163? I hate falsehood The psalmist starts with a clear, uncompromising stance: “I hate … falsehood.” This isn’t mild dislike; it is moral revulsion. •Falsehood covers every shade of lying, deception, distortion, and hypocrisy. Proverbs 6:16-19 reminds us, “There are six things that the LORD hates… a lying tongue.” •Psalm 119:104 adds, “Through Your precepts I gain understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” The more we absorb God’s Word, the more we recoil from anything untrue. •Romans 12:9 urges, “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good,” showing hatred of sin is an essential partner to genuine love. Truth matters because God Himself is “a God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16). Any departure from truth offends His nature and damages our fellowship with Him. I abhor falsehood The psalmist intensifies the thought by stacking another verb—“abhor.” Hatred is strong; abhorrence is stronger. •Where hatred speaks of moral rejection, abhorrence adds a gut-level disgust. Psalm 101:7 insists, “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house,” illustrating how thoroughly deceit must be expelled. •Isaiah 59:3-4 pictures societal decay when truth is abandoned: “Your lips have spoken lies… No one calls for justice, no one pleads his case with truth.” •1 John 1:6 warns, “If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie.” Abhorring falsehood keeps us from living a double life. The double verb challenges us to cultivate zero tolerance for dishonesty—in our words, in our motives, and in the systems we support. But Your law I love The hinge word “but” signals a glorious contrast. Hatred of falsehood is inseparable from love for God’s law. •Psalm 1:2 models the delight: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.” •Psalm 19:7-10 piles on reasons for affection—the law is perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, true, and sweeter than honey. •John 14:15 ties love to obedience: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Why the affection? –The law reveals God’s character. –It guards us from error and bondage (John 8:31-32). –It nourishes peace and stability (Psalm 119:165). –It lights the path ahead (Psalm 119:105). Loving Scripture is not dry legalism; it is passionate devotion to the God who breathed it out. summary Psalm 119:163 captures a holy polarity: wholehearted hatred for every distortion of truth and wholehearted love for the flawless Word of God. The verse calls us to the same posture—reject lies in every form and embrace Scripture with growing affection, knowing that loving what God loves necessarily includes hating what He hates. |
    |