Psalm 37

Of David.

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

While quite different in form from the previous psalm, it picks up on the key word of “evildoers”. Psalm 36 begins with a description of the evil man and concludes with the fate of the evil man -- he will be shoved down and unable to rise. It follows then that we should not worry when the evildoer prospers because it is only a temporary phenomenon. The metaphor here is of grass and tender plants that are vibrant and alive in the morning but by late afternoon they have withered before the sun and the heat. So it is with the wicked. They seem to have it all -- health, wealth, beauty, strength, fame -- all the things that we assume to represent the good life -- and yet it is all a sham. Their lives are a hot mess and when the heat is on, they melt. When the pressures of reality arrive, their worldview cannot survive its force. Reality has a way of mugging you when you least expect it. Much of what is evil and wrong in the world today is an attempt to push back against reality, against the way things were designed to work best. Some of the ideas that are in vogue today include the practice of trying to make men into women, raising children without a mother and father, becoming intimate with strangers with whom you are willing to share a bed but not a life, blaming inequity on inequality and trying to make everything equal by creating inequality. I could go on, but it’s a never ending list when one sets themselves against God and his creation, i.e. reality. So don’t worry about the wicked. Their worldview does not work and it will be shattered against the hard rocks of reality. That doesn’t mean that we should just do nothing. Our role is to persuade by word and deed that a life is best lived when it is aligned with reality as revealed by the Maker of that reality. The wisdom of the psalmist is to avoid being anxious when the evildoers seem to be winning the day, when an alternate reality appears to be the option that everyone is selecting. Jesus had much to say about worry in Matthew 6:25-34 as an elaboration on this idea. Don’t worry about tomorrow for it will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. The second word of wisdom is to avoid envy of the wrongdoer. Envy is when you want something that someone else has, and you wish they didn’t have it. It’s when you would like to take their place. Pick your favorite celebrity or billionaire and wish that you had it as good as they do -- money, talent, beauty, body, whatever it might be. This is envy and it’s an affront to God who made you as He did. Not only is it stupid (because the lives you envy are really not that great -- they’ve still got the same problems as everyone else), but it’s also rejecting your identity and unique relationship with God. Embrace who God made you to be without comparing yourself to others. 

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. [Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture]

4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The first two verses were stated as a negative, “don’t fret and don’t envy”, but the next series of verses are stated in a positive form. Trust in the LORD, do good, dwell in the land, be faithful, delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. These verses also are echoed in Jesus’ sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:33) when he says to seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you as well. Rather than focusing on the false appeal of those who do evil, focus on the LORD -- the commands in these two verses begin and end with Him. Trust in Him and do good. (Reminds me of the old song, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey”). It’s a simple command and sometimes that’s the wisest response to trial when you can’t see a way forward. Simply trust and do what is good and right. Psalm 4:5 says this in slightly different language: “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the LORD”. All of this may seem simplistic, but often in life the simplest solution is the best. When you are trusting in the LORD and doing good you can dwell in the land (earth) and feed on faithfulness. You can live in peace with a clear conscience. Whether you do something criminal or immoral, your conscience will trouble you. While there may be some who have seared the conscience to the extent that they feel nothing, we are made in the image of God, and that includes a sense of justice. Doing what is wrong is a punishment unto itself. It is a corrupting influence that eats you away from the inside. Watching people loot businesses in the recent riots I could not help but grieve for the thieves. What they have stolen and consumed will rot within them. In contrast, goodness is its own reward. You’ll live well in the land and have plenty to eat, feasting on what God’s faithfulness provides. If you enjoy God you’ll get more of Him. He will become the desire of your heart. The prosperity peddlers will tell you that if you delight in God you will get the desires of your heart, whatever they might be -- success, wealth, health, power. However, if you truly delight in God, you will come to desire the things that he desires: the well-being of others, justice, fidelity, goodness. This is the mark of someone who delights in the LORD: godliness. This person comes to be more Christ-like. We understand the experience of delight from our experience of it in the physical realm -- food, laughter, sex, friendship, beauty, achievement, rest -- these all bring us joy and delight. Does your experience with God bring you that type of pleasure? Is it something you desire each day as you might desire food, achievement or sex? Delight must certainly include an element of worship, of wonder and awe at who God is and what he has done. And for the Christian that worship must be centered on Christ, on what he has done, on the cross and the empty tomb. These should bring a smile of delight, that God in his vast greatness would be mindful of me. Delight yourself in the LORD as He has delighted himself in you. 

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

These two parallel commands reinforce the need to express your faith in God by patiently waiting for him to act. “Commit your way to him. Trust in him and he will act”. These are such simple commands to understand, but more difficult to obey. There are times that the LORD asks us to do hard things. These may be kingdom related tasks (move to foreign country, plant a church, start a new business) or they may be more personal and relate to moral behavior in a world that is guided by feelings more than truth. “Commit” and “trust” are actions that relate to marriage as well, to human relationships. How much better the world would be if we were better at committing and trusting. These instructions also come in the context of the first verses where the actions of the evildoer are highlighted with the command to “fret not”. When it seems that the wicked are ruling the day, keep doing good, keep the faith, remain confident that God will act. In due time your righteousness and justice will be plain for all to see as in the light at noonday. This is also stated in Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Injustice and the prevalence of evil has been a constant from the beginning of human civilization. There are moments when justice and what is good triumphs, and the world celebrates. But there are also dark times when the believer is tempted to despair and question, why bother doing what is right when you are mocked for it? Why bother maintaining ancient laws in the modern world that claims a new morality driven by data, science and facts (as long as they support what I want to do). Truth, justice, goodness -- these are absolute constants that do not change with the passage of time. Be confident that your goodness and your treatment of others justly will make you shine in the midst of a dark world. This is what the world needs now, believers who will be a light in the darkness, who will commit their way (their life) to the LORD’s way regardless of the consequence. You can do this because you know that God is committed to goodness and justice, and He’s committed to you. 

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Verse 7 stands out because it breaks the pattern of two line parallelism with a positive command. “Be silent before the LORD and wait patiently for him.” This may very well be the key verse of the entire psalm. It won’t be the first time the believer is instructed to patiently endure. The Hebrew word for “wait patiently” is elsewhere translated “writhe” and “travail”, suggesting that this is no easy task. It may be the most difficult thing you do in your life. Be silent when you want to scream in anger. Wait patiently when you want to jump into action. Resist your urges and surrender your desire for action to the sovereign wisdom of God. The verse then returns to the negative imperatives echoing the first two verses. “Fret not” over the evil person who prospers in their way (contrasted with “your way” in verse 5), “refrain from anger” and “forsake wrath”. Excessive and obsessive worry only leads to evil. These are powerful commands that speak to the need for believers to remain non-violent in the face of evil. The law and government have the role of securing justice, but on a personal level, our responsibility is to be still, wait, and refrain from anger. This was the genius of the Civil Rights Movement led by MLK. The non-violent response to injustice shed a bright light on the nature of the injustice. The justice of their cause shone like the noonday (verse 6). This is true on a personal level as well. Psalm 4:4 says to be angry and sin not. This text tells us the same. Resist the urge to explode on someone in wrath -- it will not help the situation. Instead, commit your way to the LORD and trust in Him. The justice of your cause will become clear to others. This is another of those texts that is simple to comprehend but difficult to obey. The LORD himself restrains his wrath, so those of us who claim to follow him and aspire to share in his divine nature should do the same. Acting in anger and obsessing over harm done to you “tends only to evil.” That’s an absolute statement. It’s a guarantee. If you respond with anger, the result is absolutely evil. We shouldn’t expect a non-believing culture to accept this teaching when there is little in our culture to cultivate self-control. This is where we must be counter-cultural. I must be countercultural and refrain from anger and wrath even as “everyone” is doing it. 

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

The psalmist provides a good reason to refrain from anger and vengeance against the wicked. Their days are numbered. In comparison to the godly person, their days will be cut off. In just a little while you’ll look, and they’ll be gone. You can even examine the place where he was and you’ll find him AWOL. The instability of a life without God is a notable feature from the perspective of the psalmist. Without the foundation of moral reality, strength and guidance that faith in God provides, the wicked person is directed by his passions and finds himself engaged in self-destructive behavior without even realizing it. Before he knows it his life is over and he has little to show for it. Alternatively, those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. This is the first of five times that this will be stated in the psalm, making it a connective thread throughout the entire poem. What does it mean to “inherit the land [lit. earth]”? Jesus used this same phrase in his sermon on the mount, specifically stating that the meek shall inherit the earth. Meekness is typically defined as strength under control with the horse being a metaphor for this character trait. There is tremendous strength of character when one can patiently wait on the LORD while all around others are rushing to get their share of stuff and pleasure in this world. The godly person takes the long view and maintains control over themselves and their passions, delighting instead in a relationship with God and aligning themselves with his ways. So don’t believe everything you see. When this world seems to be racing full throttle into godless self-indulgence, know that this will pass. In a little while, they will be cut off. This is how the laws of morality work. As Romans 1 says, when you reject the laws of nature and of nature’s God you receive in yourselves the due penalty for your perversion. Actions have consequences whether they are good or evil. Wait patiently for your reward both in this life (you’ll inherit the earth) and in the life beyond death. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you. 

11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,

13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Jesus quotes these words directly in his sermon on the mount, and here there is a promise to accompany this truth that the meek will inherit the land. The meek will also delight themselves in abundant peace. This is in sharp contrast to the life of the evildoer. Whatever they do enjoy in this life (prosperity, pleasure, power), they sacrifice peace in order to get it. Living for yourself supremely naturally puts you at odds with others who are doing the same. There is a limited quantity of these things and inequalities are bound to exist. You want the same resource and so you fight for it. You use other people rather than love other people resulting in personal degradation. You take moral shortcuts to get ahead of others in the world and the price you pay is a guilty conscience that gnaws at you on your bed at night. You may get everything you want in this life but you certainly won’t get peace, not by following the ways of the world. The text says that the wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth. There is palpable hatred and opposition when the wicked see the abundant peace of the righteous. It is the one thing they desire, but they can’t have it, so they turn against the one who does have it. They may not understand why, but history demonstrates that the one who does evil can’t just leave good people alone, they must be made to change, to endure the same kind of turmoil that rages within the unbeliever. “Why should those people enjoy peace when I can’t have it?” Has it ever occurred to you that those people who want Christians to conform to their worldview are doing so out of envy? Why should they care what I believe or do if it doesn’t affect them? No, deep inside, they know that we have something they do not. Unable to acquire it, the next best thing is to destroy those who do. This is envy. The LORD looks at all of this and laughs. The day of the wicked is coming. They will be cut off. A moral universe and a moral judge assures it. 

14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;

15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

These verses state a universal principle, not just a prayer or wishful thinking. There is always a negative consequence to sin. The wicked threaten the lives of the poor and needy and those who are doing what’s right, but their actions are inevitably self-destructive. This should give hope to victims of crime, even when the perpetrator is never caught and may never face civil penalties for his crime. Sin is its own prison. Sin corrupts and destroys its own. Psychologists say that there is a certain tiny portion of the population that are sociopaths, who feel no remorse for crime. Apart from them, everyone else who sins has to face their conscience, a nagging voice that dogs them day and night, memories that haunt them and steal their peace. The result of that can often be substance abuse and other self-destructive behaviors -- “a sword shall enter their own heart.” No one gets away with murder. The one who rapes and assaults the innocent locks himself in a prison of his own making. And even if he claims that there is no God and no afterlife, he will still face his own mortality with dread and terror. “What if?” As a child I recall being frightened of images of hell, eternal torment, darkness, pain, loneliness. Reading C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, my view altered a bit to consider that there is less physical pain and more emotional and psychological pain in a life separated from God. That is the essence of hell -- separation from God and humanity. This is the cost of sin, the cost of raising your sword and drawing your bow against the innocent. These words reflect an underlying worldview of the psalmist. God is just, sin is punished, the just are vindicated. This happens in this life and in the life to come. Embrace this and you can enjoy abundant peace. Confess your sins and find grace and abundant life. These verses make me think of the many who are incarcerated and don’t know any other life than violence and self-destruction. I’m grateful for the prison ministries that are transforming lives with the power of the gospel. If you are not going to the prisons, support someone who is.  

16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

These verses are a proverb and a principle. The proverb here is that it’s better to have fewer possessions that you have acquired by the sweat of your own brow than to have an abundance that you have acquired unjustly. The principle is that the LORD is a just judge -- the wicked will be punished and the righteous will be protected. Regarding the proverb, the Bible has a great deal to say about money, and while there is no curse for being rich, there are caveats. First, wealth must be acquired justly, not on the backs of others. Those who work for you should share in your prosperity. Treat your employees well (as you would want to be treated). Second, wealth is not to be trusted. The temptation of wealth is to place your trust in it and not in the one who ultimately provided it to you. If it were all taken away from you, would you still trust the LORD? Ask Job what that feels like. Could you live without it if it were gone tomorrow? Third, wealth can seem to make life easier, but in some ways, it makes it harder. The more you have, the more you must protect and care for. Before you know it, you may find yourself spending your life acquiring and preserving that which you cannot take with you when you die. You take nothing with you when you die other than the good that you’ve left behind. Wealth is to be shared with others, blessing them in this life and storing up for yourself treasures in heaven. Regarding the principle, God’s justice relates to the gaining and abuse of wealth. “The arms of the wicked will be broken.” The arms represent the strength of a person, the actions that he takes. In this context it seems likely that these are actions that are related to the acquisition of wealth in an unjust way. The LORD will put an end to it by breaking their strength. At that same time, the strong arms of the LORD will uphold the righteous. These are the two aspects of God’s justice. God is at work in the world using his strength to punish the evil while supporting the good. As people of faith pursue justice in this life, know that the LORD is working with them. 

18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;

19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.

Those who trust in the LORD can be confident that they are known and provided for even in the worst of times. This verse suggests at least two things. First, God is with us every day in an experiential way. The word Hebrew word “know” here means “to know by experience” as in Psalm 1:6, “the LORD knows the way of the righteous”. For God this is not an academic matter, In Christ he experienced life on earth and he lived that life perfectly. He knows what it’s like to be human and he is right there with us each day. The second thing it suggests is that the LORD knows the length of our days, the span of our life, and the day of our death. As Psalm 139:16 tells us that, “all the days ordained for us were written in your book before one of them came to be.” The suggestion then is that the days of the blameless will be long. The godly person will live a long life and their possessions/heritage will endure forever. Even after they are gone, the effects of their life will live on in their children and grandchildren. This of course is not an absolute statement -- good people die young and rebellious children can come from good homes. But it is a principle worth trusting in. Nor are the blameless put to shame in evil times. They cannot be accused because they are above reproach. They can (and are) falsely accused, but their reputation will stand. Finally, they will have abundance in famine. “Abundance” may be a relative term here. It’s not suggesting that they are going to live high on the hog while everyone around them starves, but God’s provision will be so strong that it will feel like they have an abundance even when they should have nothing. I don’t know if we are living in particularly evil times or not. It feels like it, but I know there have been evil times in the past as well. It will be up to historians to tell us after it’s too late. Whatever time you’re living in, it’s a good time to do what’s right and trust in the LORD. You’ll have a better opportunity to live long and prosper if you do so.

20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

22 for those blessed by the LORD [by him] shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

In sharp contrast those who are blameless, the wicked will perish, the enemies of the LORD are as short-lived as flowers in the spring and smoke that vanishes in the air. The wildflowers bloom for a season, but when the rains stop, they quickly fade. An even faster disappearing act is performed by smoke. This is in clear contrast to the godly who endure forever in the legacy they establish for generations to come and in the fact that they have abundance in times of drought. The implication is that the wicked are not to be envied or worried over (the main theme of the psalm). Verse 21 notes another contrast: the wicked borrow and do not pay back while the righteous are generous and give. The “wicked” in this psalm are typically portrayed as successful and affluent, so this makes their borrowing even more problematic. It could be that they are not repaying because they are unwilling, just downright crooks who refuse to return that which is not theirs. I doubt this is a poor person who cannot pay, and if it is, the next verse commands generosity toward those in need. No, this is someone who is calculating to use the system in order to acquire more things. A person who has received the abundance of God’s grace will demonstrate it in his generosity. The people that God blesses will inherit the land and the wicked will be cut off, the essential chorus of this psalm. It is more blessed to give than to receive and studies show that people who have less give more per capita than those who have an abundance. It is one of those counterintuitive realities. You’d think that those who have more to give would do so, but the responsibility is usually borne by those of less means but have experienced the provision of God day to day. The material things of this life are fleeting, like a field of wildflowers or smoke in the wind, so invest your life in the things that last -- immortal human beings. As Lewis said, ‘You have never met a mere mortal.” Treat everyone with dignity and share generously from your means to the blessing of others. 

23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

In verse 4 we are told to commit our way to the LORD and delight ourselves in him and he will give us the desires of our heart. In these verses the LORD promises to do his part -- to establish our steps and support what we do with our hands. In this verse it is the promise of the LORD delighting in our way, our conduct, our path of life that assures longevity and legacy. It is nothing less than the LORD’s blessing when we align our lives with God’s ways. The path of following God is a solid one, promised in his word and proven by the saints over time. I presume this is speaking of the moral conduct prescribed in the law -- these precepts are proven to give you the best life now, aligning our body, our family, and our society with reality -- the way things work best. This is similar to the prayer of Psalm 90:17, “establish the work of our hands.” In this journey of life it’s comforting to know that the LORD is holding our hand as we walk. Imagine a tottering child whose father is grasping his hand as he moves forward. Dad will allow as much freedom as is safe until his footing is more sure. He might even allow his child to fall, but will never put him in any danger. The same is true of the LORD’s guidance for us. When we vow to live his way, he delights to support us and walk alongside us, holding our hand lest we hurt ourselves or are tempted to get off the path. The problem for the experienced Christian, like a growing child, is to attempt to do things on our own, confident in ourselves, leaning less on God. The text also reminds us that we will fall on this journey. The good news is that God is always there to pick us up and keep us moving forward.

25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

These verses elaborate on verses 21 and 22 which highlight the generosity of the righteous and the blessing that comes on their family. Here the psalmist tells us that he has lived a while. He’s been young and now he’s old. He’s seen a lot of things and one of the things that he has never seen is the abandonment of the righteous. Nor has he seen their children begging for bread. On the contrary, a righteous person is always lending generously (I’m assuming this is without interest [Psalm 15:5]). He has excess that he can loan/give to others. I’m assuming these no-interest loans are not always paid back, because ultimately when you loan someone something you need to be prepared to make it a gift. If it is not returned or paid back, you cannot get angry and bitter over it. In that case it has become your owner and you are bound to it like a borrower to a lender. These verses express a principle, not an absolute description of reality at all times. The fact is, there are times that the righteous do seem to have been forsaken, and their children have begged for bread. Poverty is a real on-going condition for many in the world, irrespective of their faith. I’m sure that in the history of the world, good and upright people have suffered from hunger and famine so this can’t be a descriptive statement. Rather it is prescriptive. The wisdom here is of counterintuitive nature -- don’t be afraid to be a generous person, God will take care of you and your children. Be prodigal with your possessions and God will ensure that you always have enough. If you demonstrate this throughout your life, your children, who are always watching you, will pick up on your habit and become a blessing as well. What the world needs now is much more of this charity. How are you doing in the area of generosity? Are you lending freely, teaching your children that it’s more blessed to give than to receive? They are learning from you one way or another. 

27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.

28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

The psalmist states a simple key to having a great life -- turn away from evil and do good. The promise that follows is that you will dwell forever. This is not referring to eternal life but rather stability in the land. Some of the refrains of this psalm are “dwelling in the land” and “inheriting the earth”. We know what this means by looking at what is contrasted with it, namely, “being cut off”. Thus, resisting evil and embracing what is good, while not guarantees of a long and trouble-free life, they do ensure peace and stability. Doing the right thing is its own reward. For the LORD loves justice and he will not forsake his saints. Society is designed to operate best when human beings treat one another justly. The LORD will be working with those who are pursuing justice, not forsaking them (working against them). Human flourishing is related to the degree of justice experienced by members of society. This doesn’t mean equal outcomes but equal opportunity. Individual effort and abilities will differ, so outcomes will differ. A just society is one where everyone has the same opportunities. Verse 27 affirms that moral choice plays a role in this. The LORD’s people, his saints, are preserved forever. Goodness has its own reward and generally it is linked to a longer and happier life. For example, crime carries higher risks and can shorten your lifespan. The stress of lying and the violation of one’s integrity (wholeness) can ravage the body. Verses like this can be misinterpreted to suggest some kind of prosperity gospel. Instead they need to be understood as principles of reality in general. Personal experience may vary. The consequence of turning toward evil and away from the good has generational implications. Your children and their children will suffer for your choices. They don’t inherit your sin, but they will experience some of the consequences of your actions. Sin is always communal, starting with the most powerful unit of community -- your family. In the moral decisions that we make today, may we be guided by these simple imperatives: turn away from evil and do good. That’s not a bad mission statement for life (or for a business, or for a family, or for a church). Don’t do bad things. Do good things. 

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

The psalmist describes what a good person does and says. First he speaks wisdom. Wisdom is simply defined as “applied knowledge”. Knowledge is simply information that is true. This could be facts about the world or knowledge of human nature and social groups. A wise person relates what is true about the world and human beings to life. Truth has always been pushed around quite a bit by those in power. They say that history is written by the winners. Idealogues can push narratives and agendas that while containing truth also are deceptive. A wise person sifts through all of that and with the insight from the eternal words of God aligns their thinking with His. A good person speaks both wisdom and justice. Justice is fairness. It is truth applied to relationships. Divine justice is both punitive and restorative, punishing the evil and supporting those who have been harmed by evil. Thus a good person and a good life is one that speaks up for what is true and fair. Truth and fairness are an open debate in our culture, but the difference here is that we are guided by the law of God in our hearts. These are not proof-texts that we go to support our position and beat someone over the head. This is the knowledge of God in our hearts. It is the truth about God and the world that changes us from within. It is not legalism and it is not a kind of progressivism that bends scripture to conform to the latest “wisdom” of the world. Having the law of God in our hearts keeps us on the right path doctrinally, theologically, and ethically, and the result is that our feet do not slip. We won’t fall into any number of traps, pitfalls or potholes. Today for the sake of my family and for my community, let me speak wisdom and justice, guided by the law of God in my heart, help me to do what is right that I might not sin against you. 

32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.

33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

These verses state the ways in which God works out his justice. One of the observable facets of life is that there has forever been conflict between good and evil. This is true on the individual as well as the societal level. It plays out every day. There are people that are mugged, robbed, raped and killed. Sociologists, psychologists and criminologists offer explanations, but it springs ultimately from a moral decision which has its origins in worldview. I’ll assume that in the ancient world, the law enforcement system wasn’t as effective at preventing and prosecuting crime as it is now, and things were likely more brutal in the days of the psalmists (both the prevalence of crime and the thus the high price that criminals paid, often capital punishment). In that context, the psalmist promises that the LORD will not abandon the righteous to the power of the wicked and he will see that the righteous person will be treated fairly at trial. The context here is of a false accusation. Rather than attack the righteous person directly, a false accusation is made and the accuser hopes that the state will do the job of harming his opponent. This is not to say that God always prevents injustice. Sadly, we know that this is not the case, but rather this is stated as a principle. The LORD is on the side of the innocent. He’s designed the world in such a way that justice is ultimately done. It may not be in this lifetime, but God is just and we must all appear before his judgment seat. Thanks be to God that the just demands of the LORD have been met in Jesus Christ. He is our advocate at trial. We are not abandoned to the power of our enemy, the Accuser who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of verse 33. Know that whatever injustice you might face in this life, God is just. He is on your side. And when this life is over and you stand before the Judge of your life, he is still on your side.  

34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.[The identity of this tree is uncertain]

36 But he passed away, [But one passed by] and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

The psalmist returns to his primary theme: be patient and wait while living faithfully to God’s covenant. If you do this, you will win in the end. God will exalt you and you will inherit the land. You will be the honored one and you’ll have a good life. And you will watch as the wicked get neither. Usually the wicked are compared to short-lived or worthless things (chaff, smoke, grass), but here they are like a spreading tree. The exact identity of the tree is unknown, but I assume it is one that is fast-growing and spreading, unlike the olive tree that is slow-growing but long-living. However, the point of the metaphor is that like a tree, the wicked man has the appearance of life and blessing, but when you look again, it’s gone and there is no evidence of it. You can even search him out and you won’t find him. He’s dead and gone. Wisdom literature portrays life and the decisions that we make in sharp contrast so there is no missing the point. There is right and wrong, good and evil, truth and lies without any nuancing. We have become adept at nuancing the Word, considering ourselves as more enlightened, but if we are to be transformed by the Word it will be when we take it seriously. These categories have served humanity well for centuries, but recent generations are discarding them as relics of the dark ages. The irony is that we are plunging into a new dark age where nothing is certain anymore expect the power of those in charge. This is why there is such a divisive political fight in the U.S. over who’s in charge -- nothing less than who gets to define reality is at stake. A recent Supreme Court decision effectively abolished “man” and “woman”, one of the most fundamental observations of reality. When the world and its vision for humanity seems like a spreading laurel tree, be certain that one day  you will look for it and it will be gone. You cannot fight against reality and expect to change it. The Bible reveals ultimate reality to us. It is a gift from God. Pay heed to its wisdom or you will pass away and be lost forever. 

37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

The psalmist continues to make his point about the outcome of the two different approaches to life. In some ways this psalm is much like the first psalm in its primary metaphors of the tree and the chaff. The wise person has a long life and fruitfulness while the fool’s life is short-lived and empty of value. Here we are told to take note of the blameless and upright, there is a future for a man of peace. The parallelism makes the connection between character and relationship with others. The presence of peace implies at least two parties. A person of character survives turbulence and conflict with others. In fact, conflict is one of the greatest tests of character. You will either cave in and compromise your character, or you will stand fast, and perhaps find yourself standing alone. Maintain your integrity, for in that, is a long life. Alternately, transgressors shall be altogether destroyed and their future cut off. This is another very direct statement of reality. This is a promise just as sure as any of the other promises of God. While we know that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, there is a way that seems right to a man and in the end it leads to death. Despite God’s grace, if a person sets their feet on this path, there is nothing that God will do. He will not force our love and obedience. True love and faith must be freely given. It’s dangerous to test God in this as many who wear the name of Christ do. I know some people, even former students, who no longer walk with God as they once did because they have become wiser in the ways of the world, they’ve chosen compromise over character in order to maintain peace with the world. It’s a deadly bargain, and I grieve for them while praying for realization on their part about where that path leads. 

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

The psalm ends on a strong note of confidence. While the transgressors are most certainly cut off, doomed to fail in achieving the good life, the righteous will experience the salvation of God. He himself is their stronghold in the time of trouble. There will be times of trouble, and in the midst of them, the LORD will be the place in whom the righteous will take refuge. A stronghold is a safe place, away from the threat of enemy arrows and battering rams. It is the last place to fall when a city is besieged and in this case, we can have confidence that it will never fall because the LORD himself is that stronghold, enduring until the end of days. As their stronghold, the LORD helps and delivers the righteous who run into Him for security. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in Him. The primary action required here is to run into the LORD, to turn to Him and trust in Him for salvation. This trust is evidenced by a righteous (just) life. What may begin as a claim to trust in God is confirmed by the way in which we live. The psalmist paints a contrasting picture of the righteous and the wicked throughout this psalm in repeated parallel statements detailing their actions and destiny. It’s not always simple in our day to discern between the righteous and the wicked, so I’ll leave that up to God. My responsibility is to trust in Him and align my life with his ways. I cannot judge those who don’t seem to do that from my perspective, but I can point them to a better way, to a life that is well-lived, and I can be a person of integrity who strives to be a peacemaker, reconciling others to their Creator. There are many things that I cannot do, broken things in this world that I cannot fix, but I can share the gospel and I can be an instrument of peace and I can demonstrate the power of a life well-lived. By your grace, may I do so.