January 30
“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.” Psalm 37:12-14.
Imagine this: An upright person is determined to live a life that is pleasing to God, and takes issue with the plotting and planning of the ungodly and wicked people. Of course, that does not sit well with the ungodly. What the child of God does and says is a thorn in the flesh and pricks the conscience of the ungodly. It is as aggravating to the ungodly person as smoke in the eyes. Therefore, the ungodly person gnashes at the child of God with his teeth. This portrays the ungodly person as saying, “I’ll get you!” The ungodly person draws his sword and aims to shoot with his bow at the child of God.
In view of such a threatening scene, what should a child of God do? Run and hide? Try to figure out a way to get even? What does the psalmist say? We should remember that God is in charge. He is the Ruler of the whole universe. As the Lord looks down from heaven upon the plotting of the ungodly against the children of God, “The Lord laughs at him” – that is, He laughs at what the wicked are attempting to do.
There are two other places in the Book of Psalms that speak of the Lord laughing. In Psalm 2:4, we read, “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision.” This also speaks of the ungodly who want to break themselves loose from God’s Commandments and who reject the Redeemer. Psalm 2 is quoted in the Book of Acts 4:24-28 as being fulfilled by Pilate and Herod and by the Gentiles and all the Jewish people who condemned Jesus. The other reference to the Lord laughing is Psalm 59:8.
Today, there still are those who reject the Lord Jesus as the Son of God and our only Savior, and who seek to silence the voice of Christians and the Christian Church. What should we do as we face all of this evil in the world? Remember that God is in charge! He’s got the whole world in His hands! The day is coming – that is, the Day of Judgment at the end of time in this world – when the Lord Jesus will visibly return to earth. All of the dead will be raised. The believers in Christ still living and those who died in the faith will be taken with Jesus into the halls of heaven. For the unbelievers who rejected Jesus during their lifetime as God’s Son and their Savior, it will mean everlasting condemnation in hell!
Until that day comes, you and I who believe in God’s forgiveness through Christ should open our mouths and shout from the housetops, calling sinners to repentance and faith. Let us witness in our dark and dying world, before it is too late! We pray:
“Send Thou, O Lord, to ev’ry place
Swift messengers before Thy face,
The heralds of Thy wondrous grace,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.
Send men whose eyes have seen the King,
Men in whose ears His sweet words ring,
Send such Thy lost ones home to bring;
Send them where Thou wilt come,
To bring Good News to souls in sin,
The bruised and broken hearts to win;
In ev’ry place, to bring them in,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.
Raise up, O Lord, the Holy Ghost,
From this broad land a mighty host;
Their war cry, ‘We will seek the lost,
Where Thou, O Christ, wilt come.’” Amen.