Read Psalm
36-37 & Acts
23:1-11
To discover:
As you read note the various
reasons the believer can be comforted as they ponder the wicked.
To ponder:
Psalm
36 outlines the nature of the wicked that God provides refuge from. Contrasting
the righteous in Psalm 34, they have “no fear of God” to their mind’s eye and
so lack wisdom and goodness. Rather their “eyes” are set on their own flattery,
thinking so well of themselves that they don’t see their own sin. And as with
the righteous, their speech as well as their action needs consideration: Their
words are “wicked and deceitful,” and they are so committed to evil that they
plot it whilst lying in bed (36v1-4). If we see such traits in ourselves, we
need to repent.
In contemplating such people,
David’s meditation turns to the excellencies of God, using metaphor after
metaphor to stress the immensity of his love, faithfulness, righteousness and
justice. These things are displayed in his preserving care for men and animals,
and in the refuge he readily provides to all who seek it – whether considered
high or low among men (36v5-9). The “shadow” of God’s “wings” refers to him
being like the bird protecting her chicks (as Jesus, Mat 23v37). And consider
what this means for those who seek him: The plentiful feast may refer to God’s
daily provision in the promised land, the “river of delights” to his refreshing
fountain of life-giving sustenance, and his light, probably his enabling of his
people to understand and live by the light of his word. Although it had
immediate reference, it is the language of Eden
that is literally fulfilled in the new creation (Rev 21v22-22v5). However
partial the refuge God may give now (as 34v19), it will be total then. Even
though the wicked may seem to prosper, our trust in God is well placed.
On the basis of God’s character
then, David prays God would continue to love and act rightly for the upright,
and keep the proud and wicked away from him. His declaration that the evil
already lie fallen is probably a way of affirming how certain their end will
be.
Psalm 37 continues where Psalm 36
ends. It is realistic in accepting the wicked often prosper, commending patient
faith that awaits their judgement and one’s own vindication as righteous. It
therefore opens with a call not to worry about evil men or be envious of them,
because they will soon die (37v1-2). Rather, the upright are urged to do four
things (37v3-9): First, to “trust” God by doing good and taking delight in
knowing him. This is the disposition of faith, and pictures the believer
content to just enjoy life without anxiety over evil or temptation to it (1
Thess 4v11-12). The promise of God giving “the desires of your heart” isn’t
necessarily a promise of receiving whatever is wanted, but is probably
qualified by v3-6. Such desires for the believer are to live a godly life in
all righteousness. Second, they are therefore to entrust their way to God,
knowing he will enable people to see that they are doing what is right and
just. Third, the upright are to “be still,” waiting patiently for justice when
evil people succeed. Fourth, they are to keep from anger against these people,
who plot against them (37v8-15). And they are able to do this by maintaining a
correct perspective: God will one day cut off the wicked, causing their deeds
to bring their own downfall (37v15). Indeed, knowing their day is coming he is
able to “laugh” at them, rather than fret (37v13). By contrast, those who hope
in him will “inherit the land” and enjoy “great peace” (37v9-11).
There was a sense in which, if the
law was administered rightly, the wicked would have got their comeuppance in Israel,
enabling the righteous to thrive. The psalm may also speak of how God
eventually acts providentially against the wicked and for the righteous. However,
the final judgement is also alluded to, when “the meek” will “inherit the
earth” (Matt 5v5). David can
therefore declare that it is better to be righteous and have little, than
wealthy and wicked (37v16-17), as God knows the deeds of the righteous and so
“upholds” them. 37v18-29 refer to God’s covenant blessings and curses (37v22,
see Deut 28v4-6) in which he promised to give the righteous descendents (and so
an enduring inheritance, 37v18, 28) and provision even amidst disaster or
famine (37v19, 25). These promises are not given in the same sense to
Christians today, many of whom do not experience such blessing. But, as with
the covenant in general, they do pattern the eternal realities of the gospel.
And so David’s call to turn from evil to good applies to all (37v27-28), as the
LORD loves and so will protect the just and faithful. How they contrast the
wicked is therefore to be considered (37v30-33), and they are to “wait for the
LORD,” knowing they have a future whereas the wicked will be destroyed (37v34-38).
Yet again, this is all because God delivers those who take refuge in him
(37v39-40).
Praying it
home:
Praise God for his loving
commitment to those who love him. Pray that you would maintain a right
perspective about the future, and so not worry over the wicked or be envious of
them.
Thinking
further: The wicked and the righteous
Throughout Job
and the Psalms (and often the prophets too) we have seen that all people can be
split between these two categories. Although having met Christ, we are used to
rightly stating that no-one is truly righteous, we need to understand that
these categories are often used as generalizations, neither referring to people
as entirely wicked or entirely righteous. In the most basic sense, the former
are those who “do not fear God” and so do not love him or want to obey his
word, whereas the latter are those who do. So “the righteous” are not nice
people of whatever religion. They are true believers in the God of Israel who
is now known through Christ. And so Paul, who knew himself to be far from
perfect, could say he and his friends were “holy, righteous and blameless” (1
Thess 2v10) in the sense that their love and obedience of Christ was evident in
being genuinely upright in this general sense.
We should also understand that the
fates of the wicked and righteous within Israel
are often stated with respect to God’s covenant, in which he promised specific
curses for wickedness and blessings for righteousness (Deut 27-30). This is why
at times we struggle to see how certain assumptions we find in Old Testament
literature apply to God’s people today in any immediate sense (as Ps 37v25).
God’s covenant with Israel
reflected the pattern of Eden in
which wickedness met with hardship and ultimately death, whereas righteousness
would have meant fruitfulness and long life. So its primary future referent is
not people as they live in the world today, but the eternal death or life that
will result from the final judgement. Having said that, the experience of Eden
is also a paradigm for that of wider humanity in the present; and so we have
seen that outside of Israel God did sometimes judge those who were particularly
wicked with disaster (Gen 19) and enable those who were more righteous to
thrive (Job 42v12-17). What is important is that we are not surprised when he
doesn’t do this, but recognise that it was only in his covenant with Israel
that he promised to do so during this life.
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