The Seeker's Network

He Harms Others

5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.


The character of the proud and wicked person continues to be the subject of our psalm. This time the psalmist focuses on his lifestyle in general. "His ways" are not the ways of the godly person nor are they favored by God. His lifestyle is structured so as to give himself pleasure, comfort, fame, wealth and power.

Such is the lifestyle of many who consider themselves to be followers of Christ. They want to be blessed with His gift of eternal life but have never been born again as a slave in the household of God. Instead they have remained slaves to sin, bound by the desires of their own flesh, chasing after the imaginations of their own hearts, which are always wicked. Paul, even after his conversion struggled with the will of the flesh, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18) The wicked man, however does not struggle as Paul did. No, he embraces the desires of the flesh without any thought toward the will of God. His entire lifestyle is lived to please the flesh.

What happens to the people who surround this wicked person? Our scripture verse tells us that his ways are "always grievous." The Hebrew word chuwl comes from a root that means, "to bore a hole," and then by extension, "to twist in such a way as to cause pain." We might say that, "His ways are always twisted, causing pain to everyone around him."

The wicked person is addicted to his own pleasure. The passage makes me think about some of the alcoholics or drug addicts to whom I minister. When they go off on their drugs, they never think about their families or their employers. When the flesh calls, they go. They do not call or give notice and they have no sense of the hurt they are causing or the financial catastrophe that the family will suffer through. They just leave, and their only concern is the fulfillment of their own pleasure. One man told me that he will go for months, high on his crack cocaine, without even thinking about taking a bath. His wife and children have no idea where he is or when he will return.

Not all proud and wicked people are drug addicts or alcoholics, but their lifestyles are just as harmful to others. Some are addicted to success, to expensive things, to partying, to shopping networks on T.V. or to simply building up their own ego. They think nothing of other people, especially when doing so would hinder the achievement of their own desires.

Since he does not seek after God or even retain Him in his thoughts, God's judgments are so high that the wicked person cannot see them. "For my thoughts (are) not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) And, for the wicked man, they will remain that way unless, by the grace of God, he comes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's judgments are often carried out far in the future and, without an understanding of His ways and His thoughts, are completely hidden from the sinner's eyes. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) So the sinner has no fear of God, no fear of ever having to stand before the judgment seat of heaven, and no thought for what eternity might hold for him.

It is only natural that such a person will have many enemies, and those enemies will fare no better than his family or friends. He will not take them seriously. He puffs at them, as though they were so inferior to himself that he could easily just blow them away with a single breath. He trusts in his own cunning and evil schemes to handle anyone who would be bold enough to resist him.

The problem is that such a person resides within you and I. Yes, we have put on the new man, old things are past and all things have become new, but we still have to contend with the flesh in which we live. Each of us must keep in mind what Paul wrote concerning his own struggles. "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin." (Romans 7:14) Yet, we are the redeemed of God. His ways are not hidden from us. His judgments are not too high for us to see. We have been given the Holy Spirit of promise and we have the power to be free from the bondage that sin has on the rest of the world. Our lifestyles should always reflect the heart of Christ.

Before The Throne:

Confess every occasion when you have served your own desires without any consideration for the people around you. If you are honest with yourself and God, there will be many of those times. Accept the goodness of His forgiveness and grace. Pray for those poor souls whom you know are being hurt by someone close to them... a child with abusive parents, a mother whose husband has abandoned her, a drug addict's family, a successful person who has no time for his children, etc. Pray for the words and the boldness to share the gospel with every lost soul with whom you come into contact.

For Further Study:

(v.5) ** His. Gen 6:12; Prov 1:19; 2:13, 15; Isa 10:1; Hos 9:9; Rom 3:16; ** thy judgments. Psa 92:5-6; Prov 15:24; 24:1; Isa 5:12; 26:11; 28:15; 42:25; Hos 14:9; ** he puffeth. Psa 12:5; Judg 9:27, 38; 2Sam 5:6; 1Kgs 20:10-11, 13;