Evil Will Not Prevail - Psalms 36-38

Psalms 36:3-4 (ESV)

The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

He plots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

Psalm 36 is a contrast between the righteous and the wicked.   This is a prayer of David’s and it seems to read as though he has a group of people in mind.   The theme of chapter 36 overflows to chapter 37, as well.  Chapter 37 starts out:

Psalms 37:1-2 (ESV)

OF DAVID.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.

David writes to tell us that wicked, though they appear to be strong, will eventually be nothing and be gone. 

We might do well to compare this in Psalm 15 which is a song written about the righteous man who will never be moved.  

A key peace of knowledge we gain from the above verses about the wicked, is that he does not reject evil.   But Jesus came to give us joy and power over the evil one:

John 17:13-14 (ESV)

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

We are in the world and the world is evil.   We can, if not careful, be caught up in the success and ease that the wicked appear to have in their lives.   If we are not thinking correctly, we can falsely believe their carefree, but evil life, is missed by God.  Asaph, another song writer of the Psalms was in that spot.  He looked at the wicked and saw no pain in their lives.   But then he comes to his senses and writes this:

Psalms 73:16-17 (ESV)

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

When we see injustice done in this world it is easy for us to become completely discouraged.   But those who act with wickedness in their hearts and do not reject evil, but rather seem to invent it, will be dealt with by God, eventually.  Here is how David ends this song:

Psalms 36:10-12 (ESV)

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, unable to rise.

The wicked will not prevail!