“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.” Psalm 37:10-15.
I don’t know where you are in your Christian walk, but perceptions will differ about the world around us depending on whether you are a new Christian or one of many years.
All of us have grown up in a world steeped in godlessness, and we are so used to the wickedness around us that we have no idea how bad it is.
Older Christians are beginning to see the darkness because by living with Christ they have seen what the light should look like, the darkness then becomes exceedingly dark.
Newer Christians on the other hand may take a very long time to see this, if at all, especially if they do not study their Bible.
Christians and all mankind sit, like a frog in a pan of water over the fire, and never realize that the water is starting to boil, so they acclimate and acclimate until it is too late.
The result is complacent worldly Christians who never reach the full measure of a man in Christ Jesus.
We will do little more than offend the world with this kind of milquetoast Christianity that has a form of godliness but has never accessed the power thereof.
If as in verse 10, “the wicked shall be no more”, where will the works of the worldly Christian be, will they be burned up?
Will Christians enter heaven stripped of everything because it was little more than worldly works?
Look at verses twelve and fourteen again.
“The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.” Psalm 37:12.
“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.” Psalm 37:14.
This is so different from the way the world portrays the wicked. People today like to say that there is some good in every person, and in a sense, this is true.
“Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” Ecclesiastes 7:29.
This certainly does not deny the sin nature, but it does confirm what one man said, “God does not make junk”, indeed men are not junk, but they have sought out many schemes.
And others are so driven by their own lusts that they become the enemy of what is good. How well this is borne out when they crucified Jesus.
And before that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (A good deed, wouldn’t you say?), their response was to plot to kill Him from that day on.
“Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.” John 11:53.
Even Pilate knew that Jesus was delivered up by the Jewish leaders to be crucified because of envy.
“Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.” Matthew 27:17-18.
The gospels are full of these testimonies but the one I find the most powerful is the account of the stoning of Stephen in Acts chapters 6 and 7.
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’” Acts 6:8-11.
Thus they were able to bring him before the council to answer these false charges.
“And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.” Acts 6:15.
Stephen then launched into one of the most inspiring sermons that you will ever hear. Their response is as follows.
“When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” Acts 7:54.
“Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.” Acts 7:57-58a.
Governments today tell us how they long for peace and prosperity, and yet they cannot seem to achieve it.
Everything is there, they have the power to change things, money is available, seeds, technology, enough arable land on this earth to feed ten times the current population, and yet millions starve, and countries with great resources are backward, why?
If we say that men are basically good and we need only to pull together we will never come up with the answer, platitudes and mind control will change nothing.
The answer is that the wicked actually actively plot against the just, to the point of gnashing at him with his teeth. The wicked cast down the poor and needy, even slaying those of upright conduct.
But the Lord laughs at them, because He knows their end, their swords will enter their own hearts and their bows will be broken. God’s word is truth and though it is rare when we see retribution happening, history is littered with the wicked dead.
We do not see the entire life of the wicked so we cannot know the misery that they have in the inner parts, nor do we see that they are kicking at the goads (like a cattle prod) that God is poking them with to awaken them to their true sinful state.
The wicked ignore the prods of conscience and continue on the road to their destruction.
“But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” Psalm 37:11.
“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” Psalm 37:16-20.
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” 1 Timothy 6:6-9.
The world today constantly bombards us with temptations; telling us we need a new home, a new car, fancy clothes and so on.
And yes, this is all necessary. We need to wear clothes, good food is essential to our health, a car to get us to work to earn money for all these things.
But the desire to be something we are not presses us on to get more things, everyone wants to belong, to fit in, even to stand out, and the world counts on this.
You have probably heard the saying that, clothes make the man, this by the way is true, and people will treat you differently.
There are others though who think of nothing but clothes and they become a clothes horse.
There is a difference in this, if you work in an office, a suit and tie is necessary to project the image of the firm you are working for, the same with blue collar occupations, neat dress, though maybe not suit and tie, is part of the job.
Pressed and clean shows people that you care about yourself, and in turn you are showing respect for them.
But the clothes horse is focusing on himself and trying to project an image that may not exist.
A lot of this thinking applies to homes and cars. A new car is a good thing and if you can get one without going over your head, do so, unless the one you have is in good reliable condition.
The world system creates discontent simply to get into your pocketbook or in the case of credit cards, they want to enslave you by spending money you don’t have.
The commercial systems of this earth are really demonically inspired and the intent is either to sedate you with riches or plunge you into miserable debt.
Revelation chapter eighteen speaks of the destruction of commercial Babylon at the end of the tribulation period, it may interest you to read it. It does not trace things back too clearly, but today’s systems are based on what was set up in Babylon thousands of years ago.
My point is this, all this stuff will be burned up at the end of the age, and the pretentious society that men and women so desperately desire to fit into will be replaced with a real one where people are not judged or defined by what they wear or what they own.
“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness”, 2 Peter 3:11.
“A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.” Psalm 37:16.
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6.
This passage in Psalm 37:16-20 also tells us.
“The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever.” Psalm 37:18.
“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.” Psalm 37:20.
God cares for us and He wants us to call on Him in the day of trouble. And when you call, the phone will not be off the hook, He will not be on vacation, or too busy, call on Him instantly in good times or bad.
Not so the wicked, for the wicked shall perish. God is righteous, if you sow righteousness you will reap the same, if you sow evil you will reap evil.
“The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him [God] 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” Psalm 37:21-24.
How much do you think it would take for a person to borrow and not repay to become wicked? Does ten thousand dollars seem right, five hundred, a hundred, one dollar?
Did you know that Honest Abe Lincoln really did walk several miles to return a dime?
People today would say you were a fool for walking that far to return a dollar. God does not give a cash limit simply because it is the intention of the heart that He is interested in.
The wicked has no intention of repaying when he borrows to begin with. There is no excuse for this, even if you find that you can’t repay you must make every effort to do so or to work something out.
The rest of this sentence addresses the righteous, “But the righteous shows mercy and gives”. And the next sentence reaffirms that those blessed by God will inherit the earth, but those cursed by God will be cut off.
Consider this carefully, evildoers will either turn to Christ for salvation, or those who reject Him will continue in their evil ways and being cursed by God will spend eternity burning in hell fire.
“A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.” Proverbs 6:12-15.
“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” Proverbs 6:16-19.
“He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1.
It is not God’s will that anyone should perish in lake of fire, but He will not force anyone to accept the Savior.
No one standing before the Lord on judgment day will have anyone to blame but themselves.
“The steps of a good [godly] 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.” Psalm 37:23-24.
I like the New Testament version of this verse.
“Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” Romans 14:4.
There is nothing more comforting than the fact that God is upholding Christians with His hand. We cannot control anything and the world is out of control, yet the very greatest power in all creation is holding us by the hand.
The living God will not lose His grip, you can take that to the bank.
“My sheep hear, My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one [essence].” John 10:27-30.
Justice Over Evil, Part 2 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 7-23-15, updated on 4-4-19.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982
by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.