The Lord loves the just
Psalms 37:28 - David reminds us that God loves justice and those who practice it.
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“For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.”
Psalms 37:28 NIV
Today we’re taking a short journey into another psalm of David, who launches this verse by exclaiming that “the Lord loves the just”. That is a Biblical truth - God loves justice and those who practice it. In Isaiah 61:8, the Lord speaks through the prophet:
“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.”
The Hebrew word for justice — מִשְׁפָּט (mišpāṭ) — reflected the desire of the people of Israel to be fair to all and to structure their society based on God’s standards. Justice was more than a legal concept in ancient Israel; it was mandated by God for both social and religious life.
In the next part of this sentence, we hear that the Lord “will not forsake his faithful ones.” The faithful ones were the חָסִיד (ḥāsîḏ, from which conservative Hasidic Judaism takes its name), those set apart for God. The Lord has always kept His relationship with His people.
In the Old Testament, God constantly demonstrated His love and faithfulness in His people even when Israel was unfaithful to Him! Moses spoke these words in Deuteronomy 31:6, when he told Joshua “the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” In our New Testament times, we have Jesus Christ, Who “is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV - note, Barb will soon be studying this in her continuing series on Hebrews).
The second sentence of the psalm contrasts God’s love and faithfulness to those who belong to Him with the fate of the wicked. Followers of Jesus can put their trust in the promise of eternal life (John 10:28); those who do not believe, repent of their sin, and seek forgiveness will be “completely destroyed”.
In the original ancient Hebrew, the word translated here as “completely destroyed” is כָּרַת (kāraṯ), meaning “to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant”. The unrighteous are cut off from the love of God for eternity. The NIV translation used here adds the threat of their offspring being added to that eternal punishment - “the offspring of the wicked will perish.”
That seems to be a dire warning to the unrighteous to not poison the minds of their children with disbelief. The world does enough of that, so parents who are not believers should let their offspring make their own decision on whether to follow Jesus or not. As believers we cannot coerce the “offspring of the wicked” into belief; we can only do our best to share the Gospel with them and pray that they take it to heart.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You for Your eternal promise of justice and protection. I live in trust of Your love and faithfulness towards Your people. Guide me to live a righteous life and reflect Your character in all I do, and may I always seek justice and be a helping hand for those in need. I have peace in my life knowing that You will never forsake me. Keep me steadfast in my faith and the knowledge that I am preserved in Your grace. AMEN.