When we think of wickedness, we think of it in black and white terms. There are good people, there are bad people. There are ones who seek kindness and love and still make mistakes, but they are trying. The bad people on the other hand lie, are greedy and work to serve themselves. We think of evil and wicked people as easy to spot. And they definitely aren’t us. Yet in this psalm where God is portrayed as judge of all the earth, we see wickedness in a different light (Ps 50:16-20).
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
Did you see it? The wicked:
- Recite His statues
- Take His covenant in his lips
These are not people who are not in synagogue, they instead are people who are “church-goers.” They are the ones who know God’s decrees and statues and profess covenant.
Then he goes on to say that they are friends with thieves and associate with adulterers. He isn’t saying, that like Jesus, they are “friends of sinners,” but rather that they join them and agree with them in their actions.
You can just hear them now:
Stealing – Well, they don’t deserve it anyway. You gotta take what you need
Adultery – Boys will be boys
And then it goes on. Mostly that they speak and slander others. Even their own brothers and sisters. But God says this (Ps 50:21):
These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
It’s disturbing actually. Again, because we think of “evil” or “wickedness” as what others do, not us. Even wicked people think that.
But how many of us have spoken against someone else? How many of us have made excuses for our sin and/our sinful thoughts? Justified ourselves?
I’m doing a study right now on the book of James, and it seems like Ps 50 is James all over again. But it’s a scary thing. That the “wicked” of Ps 50 are the people who claim to be Christians but live like the world. It’s not the person who chooses to go left or right but the one who stands in the middle. It should redefine our understanding of wickedness. And bring provocation in our own lives to deal with our sin.
