For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
The power of the wicked to harm will be taken away so that they perish completely and their place is left empty, while the Lord himself holds up the righteous as their strength, refuge and hope. It belongs to the contrast between the present but temporary prosperity of the wicked who are finally overthrown and cut off, and the righteous whom God sustains. The righteous will be preserved to inherit the land as their eternal home on the renewed earth, not merely blessings in this present life. After the final judgment the wicked receive their reward on this very earth where they did their deeds and are consumed, and immediately afterward the righteous are given the earth for an inheritance, so there is no separate place apart from this earth where the wicked live on forever in misery, but the persistent sinner ends in death and extinction of life. It is therefore a promise and assurance that the strength of those accepted through Christ's merits and made partakers of his Spirit will not fail, giving ground for trusting God through affliction and calm amid injustice.
Words and Setting
The verse stands in David's contrast between the wicked and the righteous, with the wicked enjoying only a temporary prosperity before they are finally overthrown and cut off, while the righteous are sustained by the Lord and receive the earth as a future inheritance. That inheritance is the joys of the earth made new, not merely blessings in this present life, and the present distribution of prosperity does not fulfill the promise.
The arms of the wicked are their power and strength to harm, and their being broken means that power fails and is destroyed. They perish completely and shall not be, so that in a little while their place is left empty. Like the enemies of the Lord they are consumed as the fat of lambs into smoke until they are gone, by being burned up, swiftly, within an hour. To be upheld by the Lord is to be sustained and held up by Him, for He Himself is the strength of His people and their refuge, hope and trust. Through His might their enemies are put to flight, for all striving against His power is vain.
In its setting the verse gives encouragement and assurance of divine help and eventual deliverance from persecutors, as to Hebrew captives. It belongs to a psalm showing that affliction or poverty cannot be used as a reliable measure of character. Hardship may teach lessons and lead a person to God for rest and relief, while the power of the wicked is broken and the righteous are sustained.
Future Inheritance and End
The verse belongs to the repeated promise that the righteous will be preserved and will inherit the land, with the wicked losing their power and being cut off while the Lord sustains the righteous. That inheritance is the future joys of the earth made new as the eternal home of the saints, not merely blessings in this present life. The present distribution of prosperity does not fulfill the promise, for the psalm places the meek inheriting the renewed earth in the future when the wicked are ultimately cut off and the righteous remain. The righteous who receive that home are Christ's people, who receive him as Saviour and King.
The new heavens and new earth are a renewed heaven and earth, not a system made of new materials, just as the new creature in Christ is a renewed man. After the wicked are destroyed and the earth is purified, it becomes the everlasting, peaceful, happy home of God's people. There the righteous live in God's everlasting kingdom as those who have received Christ.
The wicked come to their end and receive their reward on this earth where they did their deeds, and the righteous are upheld and rewarded on this earth and see the wicked cut off. The meek inherit the earth when the wicked can no longer trouble them, with the eternal kingdom of the righteous to follow. There is therefore no separate place apart from this earth called hell where the wicked are in misery forever. Their arms are broken by being burned up and consumed on the earth, while immediately afterward the Lord upholds the righteous by giving them the inheritance of the earth.
That breaking happens after the final judgment for those who obey not God, showing the reward that shall be given to both the righteous and the wicked, with the power of the wicked taken away and the righteous held up by the Lord. To have the arms broken means to perish completely and shall not be, so that in a little while their place will be empty, and like the enemies of the Lord they will be consumed as the fat of lambs into smoke until they are gone. In this way the persecution and suffering of the godly give way to a change, when the wicked lose their power and the righteous are sustained and gathered to their peaceful, happy home. The verse thus sets the future life of God's children against the destruction of those who finally reject salvation and are finally impenitent. It proves that the persistent, irreclaimable sinner ends in death and extinction of life rather than an endless continuation of sin.
Babylon with all her walls, wealth, palaces and temples must pass away and only the righteous-by-choice shall exist forever. Only love incarnate is fitted to reign forever, because in the way of righteousness is life and in its pathway there is no death, while idolatry, selfishness and sin alloy, canker and destroy a kingdom. The work of the Gospel is to restore man to God's righteousness, preached to Nebuchadnezzar and through him to all generations, so Babylon's continued reign depended on individuals accepting God's righteousness, and rejection of the Gospel meant that kingdom should be superseded by another.
Comfort and Righteous Living
The verse is a promise and assurance to the righteous that the Lord upholds them, while the strength of the wicked will fail and their own strength will not fail. The afflicted and the suffering should dwell upon the psalm as ground for trusting God through affliction, assured that the wicked will lose their strength while the Lord sustains the righteous. When a murderer is acquitted by a faulty jury and then publicly celebrated in triumph to the disgrace of society, the righteous can stay calm because God supports those who do right while the power of the wicked will be broken.
The righteous whom the Lord upholds are those accepted through Christ's merits as they partake of His Spirit and bear its fruits. Those fruits are feelings and actions in harmony with God's law, and they are necessary for the atonement to avail for them. The work of the Gospel is to restore man to God's righteousness. Babylon with all her walls, wealth, palaces and temples must pass away and only the righteous-by-choice shall exist forever, for only love incarnate is fitted to reign forever. In the way of righteousness is life and in its pathway there is no death, while idolatry, selfishness and sin alloy, canker and destroy a kingdom.
The power of the wicked to harm will be taken away so that they perish completely and their place is left empty, while the Lord himself holds up the righteous as their strength, refuge and hope. It belongs to the contrast between the present but temporary prosperity of the wicked who are finally overthrown and cut off, and the righteous whom God sustains. The righteous will be preserved to inherit the land as their eternal home on the renewed earth, not merely blessings in this present life. After the final judgment the wicked receive their reward on this very earth where they did their deeds and are consumed, and immediately afterward the righteous are given the earth for an inheritance, so there is no separate place apart from this earth where the wicked live on forever in misery, but the persistent sinner ends in death and extinction of life. It is therefore a promise and assurance that the strength of those accepted through Christ's merits and made partakers of his Spirit will not fail, giving ground for trusting God through affliction and calm amid injustice.
Words and Setting
The verse stands in David's contrast between the wicked and the righteous, with the wicked enjoying only a temporary prosperity before they are finally overthrown and cut off, while the righteous are sustained by the Lord and receive the earth as a future inheritance. That inheritance is the joys of the earth made new, not merely blessings in this present life, and the present distribution of prosperity does not fulfill the promise.
The arms of the wicked are their power and strength to harm, and their being broken means that power fails and is destroyed. They perish completely and shall not be, so that in a little while their place is left empty. Like the enemies of the Lord they are consumed as the fat of lambs into smoke until they are gone, by being burned up, swiftly, within an hour. To be upheld by the Lord is to be sustained and held up by Him, for He Himself is the strength of His people and their refuge, hope and trust. Through His might their enemies are put to flight, for all striving against His power is vain.
In its setting the verse gives encouragement and assurance of divine help and eventual deliverance from persecutors, as to Hebrew captives. It belongs to a psalm showing that affliction or poverty cannot be used as a reliable measure of character. Hardship may teach lessons and lead a person to God for rest and relief, while the power of the wicked is broken and the righteous are sustained.
Future Inheritance and End
The verse belongs to the repeated promise that the righteous will be preserved and will inherit the land, with the wicked losing their power and being cut off while the Lord sustains the righteous. That inheritance is the future joys of the earth made new as the eternal home of the saints, not merely blessings in this present life. The present distribution of prosperity does not fulfill the promise, for the psalm places the meek inheriting the renewed earth in the future when the wicked are ultimately cut off and the righteous remain. The righteous who receive that home are Christ's people, who receive him as Saviour and King.
The new heavens and new earth are a renewed heaven and earth, not a system made of new materials, just as the new creature in Christ is a renewed man. After the wicked are destroyed and the earth is purified, it becomes the everlasting, peaceful, happy home of God's people. There the righteous live in God's everlasting kingdom as those who have received Christ.
The wicked come to their end and receive their reward on this earth where they did their deeds, and the righteous are upheld and rewarded on this earth and see the wicked cut off. The meek inherit the earth when the wicked can no longer trouble them, with the eternal kingdom of the righteous to follow. There is therefore no separate place apart from this earth called hell where the wicked are in misery forever. Their arms are broken by being burned up and consumed on the earth, while immediately afterward the Lord upholds the righteous by giving them the inheritance of the earth.
That breaking happens after the final judgment for those who obey not God, showing the reward that shall be given to both the righteous and the wicked, with the power of the wicked taken away and the righteous held up by the Lord. To have the arms broken means to perish completely and shall not be, so that in a little while their place will be empty, and like the enemies of the Lord they will be consumed as the fat of lambs into smoke until they are gone. In this way the persecution and suffering of the godly give way to a change, when the wicked lose their power and the righteous are sustained and gathered to their peaceful, happy home. The verse thus sets the future life of God's children against the destruction of those who finally reject salvation and are finally impenitent. It proves that the persistent, irreclaimable sinner ends in death and extinction of life rather than an endless continuation of sin.
Babylon with all her walls, wealth, palaces and temples must pass away and only the righteous-by-choice shall exist forever. Only love incarnate is fitted to reign forever, because in the way of righteousness is life and in its pathway there is no death, while idolatry, selfishness and sin alloy, canker and destroy a kingdom. The work of the Gospel is to restore man to God's righteousness, preached to Nebuchadnezzar and through him to all generations, so Babylon's continued reign depended on individuals accepting God's righteousness, and rejection of the Gospel meant that kingdom should be superseded by another.
Comfort and Righteous Living
The verse is a promise and assurance to the righteous that the Lord upholds them, while the strength of the wicked will fail and their own strength will not fail. The afflicted and the suffering should dwell upon the psalm as ground for trusting God through affliction, assured that the wicked will lose their strength while the Lord sustains the righteous. When a murderer is acquitted by a faulty jury and then publicly celebrated in triumph to the disgrace of society, the righteous can stay calm because God supports those who do right while the power of the wicked will be broken.
The righteous whom the Lord upholds are those accepted through Christ's merits as they partake of His Spirit and bear its fruits. Those fruits are feelings and actions in harmony with God's law, and they are necessary for the atonement to avail for them. The work of the Gospel is to restore man to God's righteousness. Babylon with all her walls, wealth, palaces and temples must pass away and only the righteous-by-choice shall exist forever, for only love incarnate is fitted to reign forever. In the way of righteousness is life and in its pathway there is no death, while idolatry, selfishness and sin alloy, canker and destroy a kingdom.