Trust in the LORD
Psalm 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40. January 27, 2023 - Friday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm that aims to teach us how to live in a world where the wicked seem to prosper and the just are being persecuted. The usual reaction to this reality is anger. Many of us got angry seeing the wicked people getting away with their acts of injustice. But anger is not a solution to such a problem. Saint James wrote that “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:20). Moreover, we all know the harmful effects of anger. Thus, the psalmist tells us to refrain from anger (Ps 37:8) because it cannot solve anything.
The other reaction is envy. Seeing the wicked doing well in this life, many succumb to the temptation of following them. Once upon a time, the West was a beacon of Christian values, “a city built on a hill”. Now, Christianity has been replaced with atheism or neo-paganism and sin is being advertised and promoted by extremely influential groups in society. And so, we see more and more people abandoning the practice of faith and rejecting the moral teaching of the Church. But, the psalmist warns against envy and the imitation of the wicked. In view of the psalmist, they have no future (see Ps 37:28; 35).
If neither anger nor envy is the right reaction to the world where the wicked thrive and the just are being humiliated and persecuted what then should our reaction be? For the psalmist there is only one way: “trust in the LORD and do good” (Ps 37:3). There is a concept in our faith known as the providence of God. What is it? It is the governance of God over all he created that guide God’s creation towards an ultimate state of perfection (CCC, 302). The truth about God’s providence is rooted in the Bible and the psalmist calls our attention to this attribute of God. Instead of getting angry at the wicked or envying them, we should focus our attention on God who acts on our behalf. He saves us from the hands of the wicked, sustains us when we fall, and makes us righteous in his eyes.
The word “trust” used in our psalm has the meaning “to cling”, and “to put confidence”. The Greek Old Testament rendered this verb as “hope”. In this way, we are reminded of the famous verse of Paul describing the trust of Abraham as hoping against all hope (Rom 4:18). The impossible happened. Abraham and Sarah had a son in their old age. Such trust and hope should permeate our entire life. The wicked may look invincible but they will vanish the way the smoke vanishes (Ps 37:20). In this world the righteous people suffer but this world is not permanent either. “We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13) and those who cling to the Lord and put their confidence in Him will inherit it.