The Scales of Reality: A Little Blessed vs. A Lot Cursed Text: Psalm 37:16-17
Introduction: The Envy Trap
We live in an age of manufactured discontent. The entire machinery of our culture, from the advertising industry to the political class, is geared toward making you look at what your neighbor has and either covet it or resent it. This is the engine of both consumerism and revolution. And Christians are by no means immune to this temptation. We are told not to fret because of evildoers, not to be envious of the workers of iniquity, but our eyes betray us. We look out at the world, and it appears for all the world that the wicked are winning. They have the microphone, they have the money, they have the cultural high ground. Their houses are large, their portfolios are fat, and their laughter is loud.
And so the temptation for the righteous is to look at their own circumstances, which are often modest by comparison, and to feel the bitter pang of envy. We are tempted to think that God's accounting system is somehow broken. We are tempted to believe the snapshot instead of the video. The snapshot shows the wicked flourishing like a green bay tree. The video, which is what this Psalm directs us to watch, shows that same tree cut down, withered, and thrown into the fire.
Psalm 37 is a bucket of cold, clear water thrown on the feverish brow of the envious saint. It is a series of proverbs, an acrostic poem designed to recalibrate our thinking according to God's economy, not man's. It is a call to take the long view. The wicked may appear to have it all, but their prosperity is a greasy pole over a bonfire. They are slick with success, but their end is destruction. The righteous, on the other hand, may have little, but that little is held in the hand of God. And that makes all the difference in the world, and in the world to come.
The two verses before us today get right to the heart of this great contrast. They present us with a divine calculation, a spiritual mathematics that turns the world's balance sheet completely upside down. It is a truth that must be learned, and then relearned, and then driven into our hearts until it governs how we see everything.
The Text
Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But Yahweh sustains the righteous.
(Psalm 37:16-17)
Divine Mathematics (v. 16)
We begin with the central axiom of godly contentment in verse 16:
"Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked." (Psalm 37:16)
This is a direct, frontal assault on the materialism that resides in every human heart. Our default setting is to measure by quantity. More is better. Abundance is the goal. A little is, well, a little. But God's metrics are entirely different. He does not measure, He weighs. He is not concerned with the amount, but with the nature of the thing. And the crucial variable in this equation is not the size of the estate, but the character of the owner.
A little bit, with the blessing of God upon it, is infinitely better than a great deal with His curse resting upon it. A crust of bread eaten in fellowship with Christ is a feast, while a stalled ox served with resentment, fear, and guilt is ashes in the mouth. The "little" of the righteous is never truly little, because it is connected to the infinite resources of God. It is a seed that contains a forest. It is a down payment on an eternal inheritance. The "abundance" of the wicked is never truly abundant, because it is all they will ever have. It is a pile of chips in a casino that is about to be demolished. It is a treasure chest on the deck of a sinking ship.
Why is the little of the righteous better? Because it comes with things that money cannot buy and abundance cannot secure. It comes with a clean conscience. It comes with peace in the home. It comes with the favor of God, which is life. It comes with a future and a hope. The wealth of the wicked, on the other hand, comes with a host of troubles. It is acquired through vanity, and it will be diminished. It is gathered with strife. It is held with anxiety. It is used for further rebellion. As Proverbs says, "In the house of the righteous is much treasure: But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble" (Proverbs 15:6). Notice that. The trouble is in the revenues. The curse is baked into the cake.
So when you are tempted to look at the ungodly and their prosperity, you must learn to see with sanctified eyes. You are not seeing wealth; you are seeing a snare. You are not seeing success; you are seeing a well-baited trap. You are not seeing abundance; you are seeing a fattened calf being led to the slaughter. A little bit blessed is far better than a great deal cursed.
The Great Reversal (v. 17)
Verse 17 provides the reason for this divine mathematics. It explains the mechanism behind the principle. It is not just a pious sentiment; it is a statement of impending reality.
"For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But Yahweh sustains the righteous." (Psalm 37:17)
Here we see the two destinies laid bare. The contrast could not be more stark. The wicked trust in their own strength, their own cleverness, their own ability to scheme and grasp and take. The Bible pictures this strength as their "arms." Their arms are what they use to build their empires, to oppress the poor, to fight off their rivals, and to seize what they want. Their arms are the instruments of their power and the symbols of their self-reliance.
And God says He is going to break them. This is not an accident. It is a deliberate act of judgment. The very source of their pride and power will be shattered. God will render them impotent. All their frantic activity, all their plotting and striving, will come to nothing. Their swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken (v. 15). Their capacity to do harm, to build their own Babel, will be decisively removed. To pray for God to break the arms of the wicked is not some un-Christian desire for petty revenge. It is a prayer for justice. It is a prayer for God to remove the wicked man's ability to continue his wickedness, while graciously leaving him alive and able to repent.
But while the arms of the wicked are being broken, what is happening to the righteous? The contrast is absolute. "But Yahweh sustains the righteous." The word for sustain here means to uphold, to support, to hold up. While the wicked are collapsing under the weight of their own sin and God's judgment, the righteous are being held up by God Himself. They do not stand in their own strength. Their trust is not in their own arms. They are sustained by the Lord.
This is why their "little" is so secure. It is not propped up by their own ingenuity, which can fail. It is upheld by the omnipotent hand of the living God, who cannot fail. This is why the righteous are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance (v. 19). Their supply chain runs directly to the throne of Heaven. The wicked rely on their arms; the righteous rely on God's arms. And in the end, one will be broken, and the other will prove to be everlasting.
Living on the Right Side of the "But"
These two verses pivot on that great word, "For." The principle of verse 16 is true because the reality of verse 17 is coming. This is not wishful thinking. This is the bedrock of cosmic justice. This is how God runs His world. And because it is true, it ought to change how we live right now.
First, it must kill our envy. To envy the wicked is to want to be on the receiving end of God's arm-breaking judgment. It is to see a man drinking poison and to wish you had a bigger glass. It is insanity. We must repent of our world-bound, short-sighted covetousness and ask God to give us His eternal perspective.
Second, it must cultivate our contentment. If you are a righteous man, and you have but little, you have everything. You have the sustaining hand of God. You have a secure future. Your little is blessed. Therefore, learn to give thanks for it. Do not despise the day of small things, because in the economy of God, it is the day of great things. Your little, offered in faith, is more precious to Him than all the gaudy treasures of the wicked.
Finally, it must fuel our faith. We are to trust in the Lord and do good (v. 3). We are to commit our way to Him. This is not a passive resignation. It is an active, robust confidence in the character and promises of God. We know how the story ends. We know that God laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming (v. 13). And because He sees it, we can see it too, by faith. The arms of the wicked will be broken. Yahweh sustains the righteous. This is the grammar of reality. Live in it. Rest in it. And you will find that your little is more than enough.