“The wicked plots against the righteous,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To take down the afflicted and the needy,
To kill off those who are upright in conduct.
Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
~~Psalm 37:12-15~~

When I first read this passage, it didn’t really reach out and grab me.  But since I committed to study through Psalm 37 and these verses are in there, I stuck with it.  As I read through the passage a few times, what came to me was that God was addressing the bullies out there, and He was always addressing those being bullied.  Let’s look at some definitions to get started.

The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes at him with his teeth

• Wicked <rasa> morally wrong; an actively bad person
• Plots <zamam> to plan, usually in a bad sense; consider, devise, think evil
• Righteous <sadiq> just, lawful, righteous man
• Gnashes <haraq> to grate the teeth; to grind the teeth in rage against

PAUSE TO PONDER that plotting and gnashing are “inside” jobs stemming from emotions, but they lead to the actions.  In James 1 the Word explains how a person is tempted by wrong thoughts, and when that person dwells on those thoughts, he is enticed into taking action, which leads to sin.  In verse 14 of our study passage, it shows the actions that occurred from the plotting and gnashing.  Check it out.  

The wicked have drawn their sword and bent their boy to take down the afflicted and the needy, to kill off those who are upright in conduct.  

• The phrase “drawn their sword” indicates taking a knife or sword out of its sheath and being ready to carve.  Think of the phrase, “That comment cut like a knife”.  
• “Bent their bow” indicated how you would step on a piece of wood in order to attach a string to it, making it a bow to shoot an arrow.  Think about a snide comment “hitting its mark”.  

PAUSE TO PONDER.  These actions don’t just happen.  Unsheathing their sword and bending their bow were both intentional and purposeful actions.  As purposefully hurtful and damaging these people were in the “now”, God saw their future.  

The Lord laughs at him for He sees that his day is coming.

• The Lord <Adonay> Yahweh; the Lord, used as a proper name of God only
• Laughs <sahaq> to laugh, usually in contempt (lack of respect or reverence for something) or derision (the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt).
• His day is coming <bo’> to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy)

Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken.

So the wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow to take down the poor and needy, to kill off those who are upright in conduct, BUT their sword will enter their own heart and their bows will be broken.  

Think of a boomerang being thrown by these bullies circling right back and clobbering them.  That’s what God is saying here.  We can take heart, God sees their future because He’s already there!  He knows that the wicked’s day is coming.