The Righteous versus the Wicked in the Psalms
Contrasting the way of the wicked and the righteous is a very common theme in the Old Testament.
- The wicked are sinners who have turned away from God and set their sights on what this world has to offer. They rebel against God. With greed and arrogance, they act unjustly to take what they want.
- The righteous are sinners who seek to follow the Lord. They try to live within the will of God. They do not seek profit at the expense of others. They pursue justice and wait on God.
- The wicked actively despise the righteous precisely because the righteous take God seriously.
- In the end, God will bless the righteous and cast down the wicked.
Here are a few Psalms where we find this theme.
Psalm 1 – Righteous versus the Wicked
- Psa 1:1- Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
- Psa 1:4- The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
- Psa 1:5- Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
- Psa 1:6- for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 5
- Psa 5:5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
- Psa 5:6 You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
- Psa 5:12- For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Psalm 7
- Psa 7:9- Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
- Psa 7:11- God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
- Psa 7:14- Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
Psalm 10
- Psa 10:2- In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
- Psa 10:3- For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
- Psa 10:4- In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
- Psa 10:13- Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
- Psa 10:15- Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
Psalm 11
- Psa 11:2- for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
- Psa 11:3- if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
- Psa 11:5- The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
- Psa 11:6- Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
- Psa 11:7- For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.
Psalm 14
- Psa 14:1- The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
- Psa 14:5- There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
Psalm 31-32
- Psa 31:17- O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.
- Psa 31:18- Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
- Psa 32:10- Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
- Psa 32:11- Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Psalm 34
- Psa 34:15- The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
- Psa 34:17- When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
- Psa 34:19- Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
- Psa 34:21- Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
Psalm 37
- Psa 37:10- In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
- Psa 37:12- The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,
- Psa 37:13- but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
- Psa 37:14- The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;
- Psa 37:16- Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
- Psa 37:17- For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- Psa 37:20- But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
- Psa 37:21- The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;
- Psa 37:25- I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
- Psa 37:28- For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
- Psa 37:29- The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
- Psa 37:30- The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
- Psa 37:32- The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.
- Psa 37:34- Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
- Psa 37:35- I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
- Psa 37:38- But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
- Psa 37:39- The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
- Psa 37:40- The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 52
- Psa 52:5 But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.
- Psa 52:6- The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,
Psalm 58
- Psa 58:3- The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
- Psa 58:10- The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Psa 58:11- Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Psalm 73
- Psa 73:3- For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Psa 73:12- Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
Psalm 75
- Psa 75:10- All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
- Psa 75:4- I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
- Psa 75:10- All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Psalm 92
- Psa 92:7- that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever;
- Psa 92:12- The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psalm 94
- Psa 94:3- O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
- Psa 94:13- to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
- Psa 94:15- for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
- Psa 94:16- Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
- Psa 94:20- Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?
- Psa 94:21- They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
Psalm 112
- Psa 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
- Psa 112:10- The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!
- Psa 112:4- Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
- Psa 112:6- For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
Psalm 119
- Psa 119:106- I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.
- Psa 119:110- The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.
- Psa 119:119- All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.
- Psa 119:155- Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
- Psa 119:53- Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.
- Psa 119:61- Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law.
- Psa 119:95- The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.
Psalm 145, 146, 147
- Psa 145:20- The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
- Psa 146:8- the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
- Psa 146:9- The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
- Psa 147:6- The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.
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