The Christian Response to Injustice
Psalm 37v1-11
Part 2 - Psalm 37v3
9th January 2026
Many evil people do many evil things in the world. Great pain and suffering result. As Christians, we need to know the right way to respond to these injustices. Last week, we read:
Psalm 37v1-2
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
As I observed last week, we don't need to seek revenge because God will ensure that perfect justice is done, either in this life or on the Day of Judgement. Instead, we can live our lives in the peace of God. Rather than growing bitter and unforgiving, we can:
Psalm 37v3
Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Trust in the Lord - trust in YHWH. Trust Him to do perfect justice. Trust Him to vindicate the righteous. Trust Him to shepherd the church, His flock. Trust Him to provide us with everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Trust Him to protect us. As Psalm 56:11 says, "in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?"
Let me take a minute to explain how this promise about land and pasture applies to us. The Old Covenant that God made with Israel is different from the New Covenant in which we now stand.
Under the Old Covenant, God promised Israel that, if they would faithfully obey God's commands, then He would ensure they remained in their land. Sometimes, Israelites broke that covenant, seriously and repeatedly, and they were rejected from the land. But dwelling in the land and enjoying safe pasture was offered to them while they kept the Old Covenant.
The New Covenant which saves you and me is not so much about physical land as about spiritual reality. Jesus said, "my kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Paul said, "our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). God promises us that our citizenship will always be in heaven. Jesus promises, "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." (John 6:37-39) Our security is not based on our own goodness, but on the goodness and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died in our place.
So when, speaking through David, God tells us to dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture, for Christians, it means to dwell in God's presence and His kingdom now and for ever, because He will keep us safe, and we will receive what 1 Peter 1:4-5 calls … An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power…"
Jesus said this about Christians:
John 10:28-29
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
Paul assures us:
Philippians 1:6
… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.
All this means that, although bad people do unkind things to God's children, no-one can rob us of our eternal destiny. God doesn't promise us riches on earth. He promises faithful Christians treasure in heaven.
So rather than fretting about evil people, it's healthier and better to worship God our Father, to rejoice in Christ our Lord, and to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's better to "set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). Let us rejoice in the truth we call "the perseverance of the saints" – once saved, always saved.
Let us Trust in the Lord and do good. Let's be salt and light in the world, as Jesus told us, and let us:
Psalm 37v4a
Take delight in the Lord
We'll consider this mext time.