When God's Face is Against You: Reflections on Psalm 34:16

“The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” — Psalm 34:16 (ESV)

This verse struck me recently—not just as a statement of divine justice, but as a deeply sobering picture of spiritual orientation. In Hebrew, the verse reads:

פְּנֵי יְהוָה בְּעֹשֵׂי רָע לְהַכְרִית מֵאֶרֶץ זִכְרָם׃

The face of YHWH is against the doers of evil to cut off their memory from the land.

The Hebrew word אֶרֶץ (eretz) can mean either “earth” or “land,” and English translations almost universally opt for earth here—suggesting a global, universal scope of judgment. That’s theologically appropriate: God’s justice isn’t limited to one nation. But when David originally wrote this, he likely had in mind the land of Israel—the covenant land, the place where righteousness and peace were supposed to dwell. In David’s eyes, the evildoer had no place among God’s people.

Still, Scripture often speaks on two levels: the human author writes truly within their historical and covenantal context, while God, the divine author, speaks more fully. This is one of those cases. David’s warning to the wicked in Israel also reveals God’s posture toward evil on a cosmic scale. His face is against those who do evil, and He is committed to removing them from His creation—not just from geography, but from memory.

That’s terrifying. But also clarifying.

The Orientation of the Soul

In Psalm 34, the righteous are described as those who do good, who seek peace, and who pursue it. The wicked, by contrast, are not merely those who commit spectacular acts of evil, but those who do not seek and pursue peace. They are oriented away from what is good, and that makes all the difference.

God is, by His very nature, turned toward the good. He doesn’t need to “turn from evil,” because evil is already foreign to Him. His face is turned toward righteousness by default. So if His face is against someone, it means they are opposed to what He is by nature. They are facing in the opposite direction. Their back is to Him—and His to them.

This is what it means to be God’s enemy: to be fundamentally misaligned with His purposes, His desires, and His peace.

Enemies by Default

We often think of enmity with God as a state people choose by dramatic acts of rebellion. But Psalm 34 suggests something deeper: people become God’s enemies simply by refusing to seek peace. They choose the path of mockery, division, and self-exaltation rather than reconciliation. These are the scoffers Scripture warns us about—those who threaten the unity of God’s people not by swords, but by seeds of discord.

And God will not let them remain. The psalm says He will cut off their memory from the land. That’s not just removal—it’s erasure. That’s what happens to those who permanently set themselves against the peace and unity God desires.

A Wake-Up Call

This is not merely a warning for them. It’s a call for us—a call to repentance. If God’s face is turned toward the good, then we must turn ourselves in that direction too. We must turn from evil. We must seek peace. And we must pursue it with urgency and intentionality.

We must also be vigilant in the community of faith. Mockers and scoffers—those who refuse peace and promote division—cannot be allowed to remain unchecked. God is building a people of peace, a people who reflect His nature. Those who work against that purpose cannot stay.

In Christ, We Turn Toward God

The beauty of the Gospel is that while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. He didn’t wait for us to turn our faces toward Him. He turned His face toward us first—and bore the wrath of God so that we wouldn’t have to. Through Him, the face of God can shine upon us again.

But that grace does not make holiness optional. It makes it essential. If we’ve truly encountered the peace of God, then we will become peacemakers too. We will stop facing evil and begin to pursue what is good. We will no longer be enemies, but friends of God.

May we all examine our orientation today. Are we pursuing peace? Or are we just avoiding war? Are we facing God—or are we hoping He’ll turn around first?

He won’t. And He shouldn’t. He is the standard. We must turn.