Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust
in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit
your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 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.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For
evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 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.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 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.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The
wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 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.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 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.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 A
little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The
Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 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.
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 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.
21 The
wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I
have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart
from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
28 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.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.
And dwell forevermore.
28 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.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.
30 The
mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.
And his tongue talks of justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.
32 The
wicked watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.
And seeks to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 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.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark
the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
For the future of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But
the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.
Do
not fret because of evildoers
The premise of this psalm is a simple one: sometimes it
seems that the wicked prosper, but that only lasts for a moment and the
righteous will receive the blessings of the Lord. Evil happens all the time,
and sometimes we wonder how it is possible that God’s not doing anything about
it. We are told, however, in verse 7 to “wait patiently for Him.” It is true
that unrighteous actions sometimes prosper, but we do not help the situation
when we get angry because “it only causes harm.” It’s a bit presumptuous of us
to think that we know better than God, to think that He should be doing something
now instead of later, to question His timing. Instead, we’re told to not fret
and be patient.
And
He shall give you the desires of your heart
As long as we’re trusting in the Lord and doing good, God
will give us blessings. Verse 6 even tells us that God will make His traits
stand out in us as long as we’re trusting in Him; our righteousness will be
seen as light and our justice will shine out. Not only does God take care of us
and provide for us, but He makes those who serve Him into beacons of Himself
for others.
For
evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
So, if we’re patient and we continue to do good, despite the
fact that evil seems to prosper, we will eventually see order restored. God
will cut off the wicked. Their evil actions will cease, and they will no longer
prosper. We’ve seen before in many of the psalms that evildoers are often
harmed by the consequences of their own actions. Perhaps it just takes longer in
some cases. Not only will the evildoers be put in their rightful place, but
those who trusted in the Lord and did good will inherit the earth. Unlike the
wicked, they are meek, they do not seek power and therefore cannot be corrupted
by it.
The Lord laughs at
him, for He sees that his day is coming
The rest of the psalm goes on to reinforce these same ideas.
Even though the evildoers think that they are in power, it is only a temporary
power. God knows that, and He laughs at their futile attempts at casting down
the poor and needy and those with an upright conduct. God protects the upright,
even “in the days of famine,” but the wicked will perish: “into smoke they
shall vanish away.”
Though
he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with
His hand
The psalmist reminds us that even though the wicked seem to
be prospering everywhere and the righteous are the target of their evildoing,
God will not let us be completely destroyed. He orders our steps. As long as we
strive to continue on the path that He has set before us, He will not let us be
totally pushed off of it. Our own wills may falter because we are imperfect,
but God will not give up on those who trust in Him. The psalmist even says that
he has never seen God let anyone down. He “does not forsake His saints; they
are preserved forever.” And, because “the law of his God is in his heart, none
of his steps shall slide.”
He is their strength in the time of trouble
Sometimes the wicked have great power that seems to spread
uncontrollably. Still, it is only temporary. Their future will be cut off. But,
God never stops protecting those who are upright. Not only does He deliver them
from the hands of evil, but He ensures that the righteous will inherit a
peaceful world.
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