The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked
A Psalm of David.
“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.
For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord,
they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away. The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his 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.
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
Ever wonder WHY do wicked people prosper? WHY doesn’t God just WIPE OUT THE WICKED RIGHT NOW??? Hamas attacks a peaceful music festival and kibbutzim that were doing no harm, slaughtering innocents and taking hostages. Why doesn’t God just send a few lightning bolts and take care of the whole mess? Is it really worth it to live righteously and peacefully? This psalm gives us both answers and encouragement.
“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.”
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Sounds great, right? But what if I DON’T get the desires of my heart? What if everything I desire fails? One of the most common expressions here in Ghana is “Exercise patience.” I mess with three different tribal languages, and each of them has a phrase with this meaning. Part of our problem may be that we want things that are bad for us or for someone else. Many of our desires are selfish, and God can’t bless “me-ism.” A second problem is timing. We want immediate answers while God is working things out on an eternal time line, a much different proposition. Sometimes God needs to work on us until our wants match up with His perfect will.
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.” Let’s face it, fretting and fussing can have serious health consequences-stomach ulcers, angina, heart attacks, palpitations, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and depression. Worrying leads to stress and stress can have terrible physical consequences.
Now there are many other causes for these problems as well, so if you suffer from one of these issues, don’t feel that I am grossly simplifying or dismissing your health challenges by claiming they are all due to your attitude! Most health problems have many causes, and oversimplifications are very hurtful. (Personally, I bear up under fibromyalgia that began when I had typhoid and dengue fever simultaneously many years ago. God has healed me from chronic depression; however, I still must be vigilant to avoid triggers that might send me spiraling downward.)
The rest of this psalm is equally encouraging. “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.”
“A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” Notice the psalm does NOT say that the righteous will dodge either evil times or even famine, only that the righteous will be not be ashamed and that they will be satisfied. There is no mention of the righteous living luxuriously while others starve, for then they would not be righteous.
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Again, notice that a good man might fall, but that such people will not be “utterly cast down.” Bad things happen to good people, and God isn’t promising otherwise; however, God will uphold those who love Him.
At this point, you might well ask, “But what about all the areas where people are starving in refugee camps? What about the carnage unleashed in several parts of Africa? What about the horrors in Ukraine? What about the innocent Israelis and Palestinians caught in the middle of the current war? God is not Santa Claus, and terrible things can happen. But we cannot see how God is working in each of these situations. We do not know human hearts while God does. At the end, as one pastor friend used to say, we are only in advertising; God is in management. Even in the midst of tragedy, God is still working. Only in heaven will we hear the rest of the story.
The final verses of the psalm bring our conclusion: “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” God might save by physical deliverance, but He might also save by allowing the righteous to die and be with Him in heaven forever, free from all pain and suffering.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we don’t understand why righteous and innocent people must suffer. It’s hard for us to believe that You are still working, even in the midst of tragedy. Help us to trust where we cannot see. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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