From the Pastor’s Pen

Final thoughts on Psalm 37:12-22

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.                        NKJV

The Bible tells us emphatically that the wicked hate the just (I Jn. 3:13).  The just are those who have been justified through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 2:20-23, Rom. 5:1, Gal. 2:16, Phil. 3:9, Rom. 3:28, Gal. 3:11), whose righteousness has been charged to their accounts (Gal. 3:6-9).

The wicked hate the just, who are Christ’s ambassadors and messengers (II Cor. 5:20), because they hate the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 15:18-20).  Since they can do nothing to Christ, they will attack his ambassadors (II Tim. 3:12).  When laws prevent them from physically attacking the just, the wicked show by their gestures what they would do to the righteous (v. 12).  If they cannot gnaw, they will gnash.  If they cannot bite, they will bark.

The Lord however is not disturbed or concerned by the plotting of the wicked and will bring judgment against them (vs. 13, 20, 22).  The day of recompense is coming (v.15, Gal. 6:7, Prov. 26:27) and the Lord will ultimately cast the wicked into hell (Psa. 9:7, Mat. 13:50, I Thess. 1:9, Rev. 20:15, Mat. 16:26).

As Christians, we should never fret because of the deeds and temporal success of the wicked because we have a far better heritage than do they (vs. 17-18).  We have a glorious and eternal heritage (Rom. 8:18; I Cor. 2:9; Jn. 3:16, 36; Jn. 5:24; Rom. 6:23, I Jn. 5:13, Rev. 22:3-5).  Those who have been justified through faith in Christ will never fall under the Lord’s condemnation (v. 19, Jn. 3:18, 5:24).  The righteous will inherit the earth (vs. 21-22, Mat. 5:5) and will reign over the nations with the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming (I Cor. 6:2; Rev. 2:26-27, 5:10, 22:5).

Is your heritage that of the just?  Or will you spend eternity in the lake of fire because you refused to repent of your sins and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?  The choice is yours.