Psalm 145:20 NKJV
The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
The Contrast of Love and Wickedness
MY NOTES
“The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.” Psalm 145:20 (NKJV)
In ancient history, King Philip IV of France emblazoned his shield with both an olive branch and a sword, accompanied by the Latin motto Utrumque—meaning “one or the other.” It was a declaration that a true, capable sovereign must be a master of both peace and war, offering protection to his loyal subjects and decisive judgment to his enemies.
In Psalm 145:20, David points us to the ultimate Sovereign who wields both the olive branch and the sword with absolute perfection.
David begins with a deep, comforting promise: “The Lord preserves all who love Him.”
Notice how the heart posture in this psalm has progressed. In earlier verses, David spoke of those who fear God and cry out to Him. Now, he elevates the conversation to those who love Him. There is a sweet progression in the believer’s walk: we begin in reverent awe, we cry out in our distress, and as we experience His faithfulness, our hearts melt into deep, personal love for Christ.
When you love God, you hold Him dear in your heart—and in response, He holds you secure in His love.
Does this mean believers live a “charmed life” completely free from physical hardship, pain, or persecution? Not necessarily. The word preserves is often best understood as God actively watching over His own. As Jesus warned His disciples, we may face worldly trials, but “not a hair of your head shall be lost” in the eternal, spiritual sense (Luke 21:16-18). “You will be betrayed… and they will put some of you to death. But not a hair of your head shall be lost.”
God preserves those who love Him:
- From the dominion of sin: Keeping your integrity intact when temptation rages.
- From spiritual ruin: Shielding you from being devoured by Satan’s schemes.
- For His eternal Kingdom: Ensuring that no earthly trial can ever rob you of your ultimate inheritance.
In other words:
You may walk through fire, but the fire cannot claim you; you may face enemies, but they cannot overthrow you; you may feel exposed, but you are never unprotected. God preserves His people not by removing every danger, but by ensuring no danger can ultimately destroy them.
And notice who He preserves: those who love Him.
Not perfect people.
Not people who never stumble.
Not people who never fear.
But people who love Him.
Those who keep Him in their love are kept by His love.
Love is the fruit of new birth, the evidence of faith, the overflow of His goodness poured into the heart. And where love is real, God’s preservation is certain.
This is not fragile protection. It’s eternal security.
The second half of the verse presents a stark, sobering contrast: “But all the wicked He will destroy.”
This is the part we sometimes want to whisper, but Scripture speaks it plainly. God’s holiness requires that wickedness be dealt with.
Not ignored.
Not tolerated.
Not negotiated with.
Wickedness destroys, corrupts, spreads, and harms. A holy God cannot allow it to remain forever.
And here’s the sobering truth:
Those who cling to wickedness cling to their own destruction.
They “fit themselves for destruction,” as the old commentators say. God’s judgment is not arbitrary—it is the natural end of a life set against Him.
Psalm 91:8 (NKJV)
“Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.”
God’s destruction of wickedness is actually part of His preservation of the righteous. He removes what threatens His people. He uproots what poisons. He judges what harms.
And ultimately, at the final judgment:
Malachi 4:1 (NKJV)
“For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.”
This is not cruelty. It is holiness. It is justice.
It is love protecting what is good.
Prayer
Abba, You are the righteous King who guards Your people and upholds pure justice. Thank You for loving me first and pouring Your Holy Spirit into my heart so that I can love You in return. When life feels chaotic or dangerous, remind me that my true life is hidden securely with Christ in God. Keep me from the power of sin, shield my heart from spiritual despair, and help me to rest under the shadow of Your wings. I leave all judgment in Your hands, trusting that Your kingdom will reign in perfect righteousness forever. I thank You for this in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Cross References (NKJV)
Psalm 91:7–8
“A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.”
Luke 21:16–18
“You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost.”
Psalm 91:14
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”
Malachi 4:1
“‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch.’”
Key Takeaways
| Principle | Spiritual Meaning | Comfort |
| Mutual Devotion | We keep God in our love, and He keeps us by His all-powerful love. | Your spiritual safety doesn’t depend on your grip on God, but on His grip on you. |
| True Preservation | God guards your soul, faith, and eternal destiny even through storms. | No earthly calamity can touch your true life in Christ without His sovereign permission. |
| Necessary Justice | God’s destruction of evil is essential to establishing everlasting peace. | You can let go of vengeance, knowing God will perfectly settle every account. |
Things to Think About
Spiritual Preservation: Looking back over your life, how has God preserved your faith, integrity, or heart during a season when you felt spiritually exposed?
Shifting from Fear to Love: Where would you place yourself on the journey between reverent fear of God and intimate love for Him?
Entrusting Justice to God: Is there an unfair situation or a wrong done to you that you need to hand over to the Lord, trusting His promise to settle all things righteously?
Proverb for Today
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, So that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you. Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you? Proverbs 22:17-21 NKJV
Daily Scripture
For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ Acts 2:25-Acts 2:28 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Summary of Commentaries:
These commentaries highlight God’s dual nature of preservation and divine judgment in Psalm 145:20. God actively watches over, guards, and preserves believers—those who grow from reverent fear to sincere love—securing their integrity and protecting them from ultimate spiritual ruin. Conversely, His perfect holiness and justice require the complete removal of persistent evil. By weeded out the wicked and eradicating temptation, God ultimately defends His people and ensures righteousness and peace endure forever.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“The LORD preserveth all them that love him.” They keep him in their love, and he keeps them by his love. See how these favored ones have advanced from fearing the Lord and crying to him, even to loving him, and in that love they are secure from all danger. Mark the number of “alls” in these later verses of the psalm. In each of these God is all in all.
“But all the wicked will he destroy.” Wickedness is an offense to all holy beings, and therefore those who are determined to continue in it must be weeded out. As good sanitary laws remove all creators of pest and plague, so does the moral government of God mark every evil thing for destruction; it cannot be tolerated in the presence of a perfectly holy God. What ruins wicked men frequently become in this life! What monuments of wrath will they be in the world to come! Like Nineveh and Babylon, and other destroyed places, they shall only exist to declare how thoroughly God fulfills his threatenings.
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Enduring Word
The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy: David gave a further example of God’s graciousness in action (preserving all who love Him), along with His righteousness in action (all the wicked He will destroy). (Guzik)
i. “Preserves may be a little misleading, as though it promised the godly a charmed life. ‘Watches over’ (New English Bible) is better; see again Luke 21:16-18.” (Kidner)
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Albert Barnes
The Lord preserveth all them that love him – He keeps them; watches over them; defends them; makes them the object of his care. See Psalms 31:20, note, Psalms 31:23, note; Psalms 97:10, note.
But all the wicked will he destroy – All that are found ultimately to be wicked; all that on the final trial deserve to be classed with the wicked. See Psalms 9:17, note; Psalms 11:6, note; Matthew 25:46, note.
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John Gill
The Lord preserveth all them that love him,…. All do not love Christ, none but those that are born again, and believe in him: love to Christ is a fruit of the Spirit, and accompanies faith in him; it flows from the love of Christ shed into the heart, and from a view of his loveliness, and a sense of his benefits; and, where it is true and genuine, it is superlative and sincere, and shows itself by a regard to its truths and ordinances, to his people, ways, and worship: and such the Lord preserves often in times of public calamity; and from the evil of sin, the dominion of it; from Satan’s temptations, from being devoured and destroyed by him; and from a final and total falling away; he preserves them to his kingdom and glory, which is promised to them that love him;
but all the wicked will he destroy; he will consume them from off the earth, so that the wicked shall be no more; he will destroy the man of sin, and all his adherents; all the enemies of Christ, those that do not love him, but oppose him, his Gospel, kingdom, and interest; the beast and false prophet, with all that attend them, shall be cut off; the day of the Lord, like an oven, shall burn up all that do wickedly, and shall leave them neither root nor branch: this will especially be true at the day of judgment, when the wicked shall be ordered to everlasting fire; and they shall go into eternal punishment, when they shall be turned into hell; and all the nations that forget God. Kimchi interprets this of future time, when there shall not be a wicked man left in the world, and compares it with Malachi 4:1.
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Matthew Henry
He takes those under his special protection who have a confidence and complacency in him (v. 20): The Lord preserves all those that love him; they lie exposed in this world, but he, by preserving them in their integrity, will effectually secure them, that no real evil shall befall them.
If any are destroyed they may thank themselves: All the wicked he will destroy, but they have by their wickedness fitted themselves for destruction. This magnifies his goodness in the protection of the righteous, that with their eyes they shall see the reward of the wicked (Ps. 91:8); and God will by this means preserve his people, even by destroying the wicked that would do them a mischief.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“The Lord preserveth,” etc. God’s mercy and God’s justice; he preserves and he destroys. Philip IV of France, surnamed the Beautiful, on his escutcheon emblazoned a sword and an olive branch, with the motto, Utrumque, i.e., “one or the other.” A truly great king is master of either art—war and peace.
—Thomas Le Blanc.
Those who were called “them that fear him” are now denominated “them that love him.”
—Simon de Muis.
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