Psalm 119:53 | “Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.”

The psalmist’s grief erupts into “hot indignation” (zalaphah), a word that expresses both fury and anguish. Though he suffers at the hands of the arrogant, what most troubles him is their disregard for God’s word. God’s people share this righteous grief over sin and rebellion against the Lord. Yet their indignation leads to compassion, for they understand the eternal cost of forsaking God. Spurgeon writes, “Those who are the firmest believers in the eternal punishment of the wicked are the most grieved at their doom. It is no proof of tenderness to shut one’s eyes to the awful doom of the ungodly. Compassion is far better shown in trying to save sinners than in trying to make things pleasant all round. Oh that we were all more distressed as we think of the portion of the ungodly in the lake of fire!” To love God’s law is to hate the violation of it, yet also to long for mercy on those who have turned away. May our hearts burn with holy indignation toward sin and with holy compassion toward sinners, as we hold fast to the truth of God’s word.