It is more a scandal than a temptation when the believer sees the wicked succeed in everything: the violent, the unscrupulous, those who have money and can corrupt, masters of deceit. “Wait for the end,” says the psalmist.
① 1Surely God is good to Israel,
I mean, to the clean of heart.
2But, as for me, I almost stumbled,
I nearly lost my foothold,
3for I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the wicked prosper.
4For they suffer no pain;
they are strong and sound of body,
5free from troubles common to mortals;
they are not stricken by human ills.
6That is why pride becomes their necklace,
and violence the robe that covers them.
7Evil comes from their callous hearts,
boundless evil from their corrupt minds.
8They scoff and speak with malice,
and they threaten arrogantly.
9Their mouths defy the heavens
and their tongues dictate on earth.
10People, therefore, look up to them
because they are well-watered.
11“Does God see?” they say.
“Has the Most High some knowledge of this?
12Such are the wicked – always carefree
while they rake in riches.
13In vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence
14if all day long I am stricken
and punished every morning.”
15Had I spoken like this,
I would not be acting as one of your children.
16Although I tried to understand this,
it was difficult for me,
17until I entered the secrets of God.
Then I perceived their approaching doom.
18You place them on slippery ground
and make them fall into the pit.
19How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely swept away in terror!
20As one awakes from a nightmare,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you shake them off like a dream.
21When my heart was embittered,
and my spirit distraught
22it was folly, not wisdom;
I did not know you better than the beasts.
23Yet I am always with you;
you hold my right hand,
24you guide me on the way you chose
and your Glory brings me along.
25I have no one in heaven but you;
on earth I desire nothing but you.
26My flesh and my heart waste away
for you, O God, O my rock,
you are mine forever.
27Those who abandon you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28But as for me, my joy is to be near God;
I have made the Lord my refuge,
and I will proclaim all his works.
- “Why have I been honest?” asks the father of a family who finds it difficult to live and feels insulted by the luxury of the dishonest rich.
How suddenly they are destroyed the wicked disappear while God leads his friends to share his glory.
Yet I am always with you. At this point the psalm comes to what is essential. It is not enough to say that the dishonest rich will have to pay and it is not always true. The experience of the presence of God here below compensates for whatever trials there are, and the psalmist, even if he dares not affirm that there is another life, is convinced that God, for his part, will
