Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The Big Picture
As I read this passage, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day come to mind. They seemed to think of themselves as righteous. They certainly acted like they thought they were God’s gift to humanity. Yet, what they did in conspiring against Jesus was very wicked.
Among all the righteous men who have ever lived, Jesus is by far the most righteous of all. Being without sin, he defines what it means to be righteous. It might be unfair to compare these people to this verse, but it might also open the door to understanding something about God’s perspective.
The psalmist does not declare that everything goes against the wicked, or that they find judgment in this life. History shows us a picture of wicked people plotting against Jesus to take his life. God does not step into the scene to stop it. Up until Jesus is crucified, it looks like the wicked are winning. But from God’s perspective winning and losing is all about a person’s relationship with Him after this life is over. After the crucifixion, Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 12: 2) After this life, we who believe in Jesus will be with him in Paradise. (John 3: 16) The wicked end up someplace else…
Application: Finding peace in this life has a lot to do with seeing things from God’s perspective. God looks at the big picture including all eternity. We should, too.
Food for Thought: If the wicked were not allowed to be wicked in this life, would they actually be wicked?
I believe we are all wicked by nature – at least if we define wicked as a sinful nature. We need to realize our great need. We need to realize that we are poor in spirit and need the righteousness only God can provide through Jesus. When we do that we join the ranks of the righteous. His righteousness is applied to us. When we choose Jesus we choose righteousness. Then we can choose to walk in the Spirit and live in a way that pleases Him. Even before the Incarnation, we were righteous by faith in the Lord. This the godly choice is God Himself.
Rich,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply! You are absolutely right that there is a wicked seed in all of us. (See, “A Monster Named Desire.”) I am left wondering, though, if Scripture uses the term “wicked” in a more restricted way? The godly choice, as you point out, is God Himself. What about those who do not choose God?
Here, of course, I am falling into the judgment trap. It is not my place to judge someone’s life before it is over. Only God has that perspective. And so the “wicked” become a description of people from God’s perspective only.
To the ‘Food for Thought’ question and to your comment, perhaps allowing wickedness in this life is God’s way of allowing people time to find redemption in Christ.
Yes. And I do not think there can be love without choice. I think love requires choice and He gives us the choice. In so doing, He also allows people the choice to do evil. Without allowing the choice for wickedness we do not have the decision to love. There has to be an alternative to love for there to be a choice.
I see the question of the day as backward. If the righteous were not allowed to be righteous, they would not be righteous. Our sinful nature makes us wicked (see Isaiah 64:6.) Our only hope of righteousness is through Jesus. See also John 3:18. Man needs to do nothing to be wicked and condemned. Without God’s redemption, those who strive to do right or even to not do wrong still stand condemned. It is true that all have opportunity to turn to Christ until physical death. God either sees the righteousness of his Son or our unforgivien sins when He looks at us. There is no “in between.” In context to the Israelites in the promised land, however, there is a comparison made here between following Jehovah and the heathen nations that served false gods. That’s my short answer 🤔😊
Hmmm….
The ol’ “Turn the question on its head trick,” eh?
Nicely done! You make a great point, too: The passage in Psalms is referencing an Old Testament perspective. This leads us into the question of whether or not man is capable of righteousness outside of Mosaic Law or Christ’s gift of imputed righteousness. The answer that comes to my mind is Job. Neither a Jew or a Christian in the strict sense of the word, Job’s righteousness still caught the eye of God. That said, I strongly agree that whatever righteousness man can muster on his own is always going to be inadequate as the sole justification for salvation.
Good comments Jeff and JEC. I forgot to sign my name above and was not intentionally anonymous. I like the comments here. Well said JEC. I concur and you said it about as well as it could be said. I appreciate Jeff’s perspective when including OT saints. Of course, even they had their righteousness given to them through faith applied through Christ’s work on the cross (Romans 3:23-26; John 8:56-58).
👍🏻