“The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.”
Psalm 37:30-33
In Psalm 37 the wicked are prospering, getting away with their evil plans, and causing sin to abound. This is not the way it should be, but it is often the way it is. It is certainly that way in our culture. Psalm 37 instructs the righteous, those who have faith in Jesus, how to live faithfully in this reality.
In verse 30 followers of Jesus are called to speak wisdom and talk of justice and to be committee to proclaiming the wisdom and justice of the word of God in the midst of evil times. We are to speak the whole counsel of the word of God into the culture, even the imprecatory Psalms. The imprecatory Psalms are a call for God to act and bring His justice to the wicked so that evil will cease. We have no problem asking God to bring mercy, but we often struggle to ask for justice. But the justice of God, the judgment of God on the wicked, is the salvation of the righteous. In times like these we are called to pray boldly for both mercy and for justice.
In verse 31 the righteous are called once again to continue walking in faithfulness during evil times. Loving the law of God means obeying its commands. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. Keep the commands of God by walking in His ways, speaking God’s wisdom, and praying for justice even in the face of death. Overcome evil with good.
Verse 32 is an expression of the antithesis in Scripture which goes all the way back to Cain and Abel. Why did Cain kill Abel, “Because his works were evil and his brother’s were righteous,” I John 3:12. The wicked hate the righteous. Psalm 2:1-3 describes how the wicked plot and scheme against God and His anointed. Earlier in Psalm 37:12 we saw that the wicked plots against the just and gnashes his teeth at him like a ferocious dog. Proverbs 29:27 says, “An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.” Of course, Jesus told the disciples several times that the world hates them because it hates Him and they follow Him.
The wicked in heart will hate those who follow Jesus, and those who follow Jeus must stand against wickedness, so conflict in inevitable until Jesus returns and finally judges the wicked forever ending the war. In the meantime, we are called to fight this good fight. Psalm 37 shows us how. Verse 33 reminds us that it is impossible for the wicked to win. The LORD will not forsake His people, and he will not hear the accusations of the wicked against the followers of Jesus. It is impossible for the accusations of the wicked to have any weight against followers of Jesus. Romans 8:31-35 tells us that if God is for us who can oppose us? If God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins while we were yet sinners, what hope does the wicked have to condemn us? In fact, Jesus, who died for us to reconcile us to Himself, is the supreme judge. He is the one authorized to condemn and He has already declared us innocent and makes intercession for us. It’s a done deal.
The works of the wicked, the plans of the wicked, and the accusations of the wicked are all vanity, like smoke that vanishes in the wind.(Psalm 37:20). Their future is to face the justice and judgment of the Judge of all men. In contrast, Psalm 37 assures us that, as tough as the present may be, the future of the righteous is eternal blessedness and joy!
Glory to the Lord of hosts!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn
