Psalm 37:14

Psalm 37:14

The wicked v the poor and needy

Oh dear! Not a nice verse this, is it. Firstly, let’s be clear about who we are talking about here. Once again a contrast is drawn between the wicked and the poor and needy. We have discovered previously (for instance in Psalm 34:6) that the poor and needy are not impoverished, out-of-work, out-of-hope victims of economic decline but those who are poor and needy in spirit. In other words, those who have discovered their own weaknesses and fallibility and have learned to trust wholly in the Lord. They realise they are nothing, they know they are helpless, they do not feed their egos but instead look to God in all things. These folk contrast with men and women who have it all sorted, who are self-dependant, who are arrogant in their own strength and who do not need God’s help. 

The wicked cannot tolerate the righteous who follow the Lord, they see their own weakness reflected but choose not to face it. The best form of defence for them is to attack, attack the righteous. Their method, as we have seen so often now in the Psalms, is verbal warfare. Their sword is a sharp tongue and their arrows are cruel and slanderous darts, fired usually, with the intention of maiming the upright. They hurl criticism and personal abuse and it hurts, their intention is to remove the offending object, the man or women who stands firm in the Lord. Watch out, my dear friends, for if you walk humbly with your God, sooner or later you will meet these people. Fear not, for the Lord will guard you and defend you. Hallelujah! 

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