Overcoming Evil With Good

Psalm 57:6-11

6My enemies have set a trap for me.

I am weary from distress.

They have dug a deep pit in my path,

but they themselves have fallen into it.

Interlude

7My heart is confident in you, O God;

no wonder I can sing your praises!

8Wake up, my soul!

Wake up, O harp and lyre!

I will waken the dawn with my song.

9I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people.

I will sing your praises among the nations.

10For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.

Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.

May your glory shine over all the earth.

Prime Minister Haman wanted everyone to bow as he passed. He demanded to be the center of attention. After all, he was the main man in Persia, second only to King Xerxes.

Mordecai refused to bow when Haman walked by, and this outraged the prime minister. When Haman learned that Mordecai was Jewish, he decided to take vengeance, not only on Mordecai, but on his whole race. He planned a massive extermination, and he built a special platform for Mordecai’s execution. But Esther, Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter, had become the queen that year, and she boldly approached King Xerxes and told him of the plot against her people. As a result, Haman was arrested and hanged on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai. You can read the whole story for yourself in the book of Esther.

People dig pits for God’s people all the time (see verse 6), but often they themselves fall into them. They may plot and scheme against the righteous, but eventually their evil will roll back on them (see Proverbs 26:27). Sometimes we see that happen in this life, but if not, we can be certain that it will happen in the next. So we need not be concerned that we always get justice in this life. Instead, we can focus on overcoming evil with good, just as the Lord has commanded us (Romans 12:17-21).

My heart is fixed on thee, my God!

I rest my hope on thee alone,

I’ll spread thy sacred truths abroad,

To all mankind thy love made known.

WRANGHAM

Fascinating Fact

In his poem “L’Allegro,” John Milton used the same imagery as verse 8 as he spoke of listening to something “cheerly rouse the slumbering morn.”

Bible Networking

For more on waking the dawn with a song (verse 8), read Psalm 108:1-3.

Notable Quotable

“Evil is a stream which one day flows back to its source.”

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON