“O that you would kill the wicked!
O God!
Then the bloodthirsty
Would depart from me!
Those who speak of you maliciously
Would depart from me!
Those who lift themselves up against you for evil
Would depart from me!
Do I not hate those who hate you?
Yahweh!
Do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred.
I count them my enemies.
Search me!
O God!
Know my heart!
Test me!
Know my thoughts!
See if there is any wicked way in me!
Lead me in the way everlasting!”
This psalm ends on a bitter note. David asked Yahweh to kill the wicked ones. They are the bloodthirsty, malicious, and evil ones who should depart from David. They were his enemies. He hated those who hated Yahweh. He loathed those who were against Yahweh. In fact, David had perfect hatred for his enemies. Finally, David recognized that he might have a fault. He wanted God to search and test him, know his heart and his thoughts. If there was anything wicked in him, he wanted to be led into the eternal everlasting way. So while he recognized the evil in others, he was also aware of his own shortcomings.