Psalms 37 provides rich advice on how to respond to evil and wickedness as we place our trust in almighty God. After some sage advice (verses three to six) on the godly response to the tide of evil around us, the psalmist warns against a fleshly response. He finishes in verses nine and ten with a firm reminder of the miserable end that awaits the unrepentant.
Vs. 7 – Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
Outside of hell, no place exists where God is not with us. He is actively involved in our lives and in every situation on the earth. He calls us to quiet our entire beings before Him, to take our focus off the chaos of sin and turn it to His sovereign love and his power over the entire universe and all the schemes and plans of man. He asks us to cease worrying and trust Him to prevail according to His holy, just time table.
Vs. 8 – Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.
Unchecked, worry can lead to rage. When wicked people appear to succeed in their plans, don’t think that God has forgotten or that He is indifferent to the pain and suffering they cause. We are not to take things into our own hands and become vigilantes. Such anger only shows our lack of trust in God and his justice.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-45 that we are to love our enemies and do good to them because that is what our heavenly Father does for the wicked. Romans 12:21 tells us to not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. When we respond with unrestrained anger, we forget that our fight is not against “flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). We misrepresent our heavenly Father and His lovingkindness that leads us to repentance.
Of course God does not ask us to sit passively back while brutal, greedy men have their way. But our actions must be directed and anointed by God’s Spirit and by His Word. And they must come directly from the Father’s heart of love and mercy for the world so that we will be more eager for the salvation of the wicked than for their judgement. For we too deserved punishment but have been spared through our faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death for our sin.
Vs. 9 – For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. 10 Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.
Bible authors sometimes say the same thing in two different ways back-to-back to create strong emphasis. We see it here in verses nine and ten where the psalmist contrasts yet again the fate of the wicked and the reward of the faithful.
Sin carries its own inherent consequences so sometimes, God does not need to enact judgement; the wicked bring down their ruin on their own heads. One day, the “reign” of evil people and the terror and suffering they imposed will seem like just a pinprick on the vast expanse of eternity. The King of kings and Lord of all lords will rule the new heavens and new earth that are free from evil, suffering, and death. The righteous will “endure forever” there in unending bliss and joy (Psalms 125:1).
In the next blog, I will comment on how the psalmist writes in more detail of the actions of the wicked versus the righteous. Be encouraged today!
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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