The Success of Scoundrels
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
PSALM 37:7
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The Success of Scoundrels
It is as if [the psalmist] were saying: "It will tend to vex you when you encounter misfortune in a righteous cause, while they get along very well in their wickedness and do not disappear, as you wish they would. You see the wicked man succeed so well in all his evil devices that a proverb has been coined about it: 'The greater the scoundrel, the greater his success.' But be wise, dear child, and do not let that get you down. Cling to God, and your heart's desire will come—in abundance! But it is not yet time; the scoundrel's success must pass by and have its appointed time before it is all over. Meanwhile you must commit it to God, take your pleasure in Him, and find satisfaction in His will, so that you do not hinder His will in you or in your enemy. For that is what happens when people will not stop raging; either they ram their cause through headfirst, or they smash it to bits."
From Four Psalms of Comfort, on Psalm 37 (Luther's Works 14:213-14)
May 14
PSALM 37:7
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The Success of Scoundrels
It is as if [the psalmist] were saying: "It will tend to vex you when you encounter misfortune in a righteous cause, while they get along very well in their wickedness and do not disappear, as you wish they would. You see the wicked man succeed so well in all his evil devices that a proverb has been coined about it: 'The greater the scoundrel, the greater his success.' But be wise, dear child, and do not let that get you down. Cling to God, and your heart's desire will come—in abundance! But it is not yet time; the scoundrel's success must pass by and have its appointed time before it is all over. Meanwhile you must commit it to God, take your pleasure in Him, and find satisfaction in His will, so that you do not hinder His will in you or in your enemy. For that is what happens when people will not stop raging; either they ram their cause through headfirst, or they smash it to bits."
From Four Psalms of Comfort, on Psalm 37 (Luther's Works 14:213-14)
May 14
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