“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 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! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.” Psalm 37:1-20.

What a comforting passage for Christians in these terrible times for our country with the rioters and murders and anarchists marching through our cities sowing destruction against innocent people and property. It is a wonderful truth that these evildoers will soon fade like the grass and wither away. God, in his mercy, will give them an opportunity to repent, but if they do not their destruction is sure. They may hatch wicked plots and gnash their teeth at us but their day is coming – the Lord laughs at them as He sees their ultimate destruction.

We should simply trust in the Lord, do good, delight ourselves in the Lord, commit our way to the Lord, be still, patient and he will act and bring forth ultimate justice. We are not to be angry or wrathful but leave room for God’s wrath (Romans 12:19). Further, we should not fret over the wicked and their evil devices for the meek and humble, God’s people, will ultimately inherit the land and peace. The arms of the wicked shall be broken – they will go poof, and vanish like smoke.

Peaceful times are just ahead for God’s people, if not always in this life then eternally in the next. Our job for the time being is to pray for and love the wicked rioters (Matt 5:44), but not their wicked deeds. We should hope for their repentance, but if they do not know they will face their ultimate judgement in Hell.