Thursday: Lest the Righteous Be Tempted

Daily Lesson for Thursday 1st of February 2024

Read Psalms 37:1,8; Psalms 49:5-7; Psalms 94:3-7; and Psalms 125:3. What struggle does the psalmist face?

These psalms lament the current prosperity of the wicked and the challenge that this fact poses to the righteous. The wicked not only prosper but at times also openly despise God and oppress others. The perplexing issue is that while “the scepter of wickedness” (Psalms 125:3, NKJV) dominates the world, the “scepter of righteousness” (Psalms 45:6, NKJV) seems to be failing. Why not, then, give up and embrace evil as others do?

Read Psalms 73:1-20,27. What brings the psalmist through the crisis? What is the end of those who trust in futile things? See also 1 Peter 1:17.

Image © Darrel Tank at Goodsalt.com

While the psalmist in Psalms 73:1-28 remained focused on the current iniquity in the world, he was unable to see the big picture from God’s point of view. The problem that the prosperity of evil posed to his faith was overwhelming; he believed, also, that his argument about the uselessness of faith was based on reality.

However, Psalms 73:1-28 shows that “these things mock those who ignore the first verse of this psalm, which is the summary of the whole psalm: ‘How good the God of Israel is to those who are upright in heart!’ ”—Johannes Bugenhagen, Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), p. 11.

The psalmist is led to the sanctuary, the place of God’s sovereign rule, and was reminded there that “today” is only one piece of the mosaic, and he should consider the “end,” when the wicked will face God’s judgment. The fact that the psalmist understood this truth in the sanctuary and confessed his previous folly shows that reality can be grasped only by spiritual insight and not by human logic.

How does the promise of God’s judgment upon the world, and upon all its evil, give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished?