RR Psalm 68:3,4 Part 2

Shalom,

Psalm 68:3 As smoke is blown away, may You blow them away. As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. 4 But let the righteous be glad. Let them exult before God. Let them rejoice with gladness.

Let’s start today with two Hebrew words.  They are similar, but distinctively different.  I believe they are a poetic device used to draw a rhyming contrast.  In verse 3, we have “MiP’nay Aysh” meaning “FROM before (the face) of the fire.”  Then in verse 4 we find, “Lif’nay Elohim” meaning “before (TO the face) of God.”  So together they form the thought, “From before the face of the fire, to the face of God.”  The wicked perish, while the righteous celebrate in the presence of God.

When the Bible repeats a theme, it is done intentionally to focus our attention.  Don’t miss this, verses 3 and 4 are a compare and contrast.  What happens to the wicked (“perish before God”) is dramatically different from what happens to the righteous (“exult before God”).  This is not the message we hear from universalists who say, “We’re all going to end up in the same place, because there is no such thing as hell.  After all, God knows we’re all sinners.”  The evidence against this is enormous.

Yeshua spoke about it on many occasions.  Let me start with the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.”  There is so much more.  John 5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29 and come out! Those who have done good will come to a resurrection of life, and those who have done evil will come to a resurrection of judgment.”  

This doesn’t erase grace, it embraces it.  Grace is not a license to sin.  Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound?  Grace (properly understood) is the God-given desire to DO the will of God.  Jacob 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.  And, because God loves us, and would never intentionally frustrate us, therefore; “grace” also includes the ability to do the works of righteousness.

It is easy to see the theme of our subject verses, the wicked perish while the righteous rejoice.  So many of the Psalms (as well as other Scriptures) build on this.  The Psalm for the Sabbath Day is only one such example.  Psalm 92:8 Though the wicked spring up like grass, and all evildoers flourish, it is only to be ruined forever…. 13 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

And, we must remember that righteousness is only possible through Yeshua.  Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God. And finally, Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always—again I will say, rejoice!  Shalom shalom.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Wed    21-Oct-2026              10th of Cheshvan, 5787
Ge 14:1-20                 Jos 18              Ps 17               Mt 13:31–58  (1 Jn 3)