“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Ps. 1:4)
There is a world of encouragement contained in that little word “chaff.” Indeed, latent within it is an entire theology of wickedness that has the potential once digested to upend all our dismal ruminations and flood our hearts with inexorable joy.
Simply consider what is implied by the word: lightness, airiness, dust, vapour. “Chaff” speaks of something worthless and disposable, something that carries in itself no weight or significance or value or consequence. This, Scripture says, is the true character of “the wicked.” They don’t portray themselves this way, of course—and in fact on many occasions seem to be quite the opposite. But this text reminds us that their true condition cannot be long disguised: for all their boasting, the wicked are no more than a husk that the wind drives away.
The righteous, by contrast, are of an entirely different quality, being described as a fruitful and stately tree “firmly planted” by streams of water (v. 3 LSB). Thus, while the wicked are transient, impermanent, and ultimately fragile, the righteous are rooted, solid, and fertile. Their roots go deep, gripping the earth (Jer. 17:8). Their fruit is abundant, fed by constant streams (Ps. 1:3). Their leaf does not wither, and in whatever they do, they prosper (v. 3), upheld at every point by the grace of the living God and strengthened perpetually by His reviving, cleansing Law (v. 2).
The Impermanence of Evil
This distinction between the righteous and the wicked runs all through the Psalms. Indeed, it is fundamental to a truly Christian outlook on the world. Consider a small sampling of texts:
“The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever” (Ps. 37:29); the wicked “will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” (v. 2)
“The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever” (v. 18); the wicked “will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.” (v. 20)
In short, we might say rather glibly that evil has an expiration date. No matter how sprawling, entrenched, immovable, or mighty it may appear (think of the ruthless man “spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil”)—evil is in the end only a “small and passing thing.” Tolkien was right after all. For all its hideous strength, evil is merely an illusion, a facade on par with the strutting of the peacock or the dying coal’s fleeting glow.1
“But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.” (Ps. 73:16-20)
Death and Resurrection
Of course, none of this means that evil has no bite, or that it can’t oppress the righteous with such horrors as mocking, flogging, chains, or imprisonment (Heb. 11:36). All of these are very real possibilities. Rather, the point here is that even when the wicked do sling their fiery darts and set their hidden snares, God is able to preserve His saints to the uttermost, “For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints” (Ps. 37:28).
Thus, even if our way leads to the blackened hill of Golgotha—even if the very waters of death rush over our heads and plunge us beneath their icy flow—even there, hope is not lost. The story is just beginning. For, as God has shown abundantly in the resurrection of His Son, not even death itself can hinder His grand design. Whatever triumph death may seem to have gained is at the last only flickering and momentary. “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him” (Rom. 6:9). And the same holds true for all who are in Him. When Christ, who is our life, appears, we also will appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:4).
What this ought to produce in us, then, is a joyful, bold, and indestructible hope, a kind of cheerful glint in the eye and bounce in the step that is able to look evil full in the face and simply call its bluff. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, this kind of Spirit-wrought confidence is a “clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God” (1:28). The courage of the righteous is the bane of the wicked, and we ought never let fear steal that weapon from us.
Conclusion
So, Christian, when you see the wicked flaunting their rebellion and boasting in their strength, defying the living God and opposing His gospel, take a moment to remember what the Scripture says about their true condition. They are not as solid as they first appear. Despite their confidence, they are simply chaff that the wind drives away. Early morning mist that vanishes with the sun. Grass that fades. Herbs that wither. In fact, there is nothing permanent about them, since they have set themselves against the living God and thereby consigned themselves to eternal defeat.
This world, in other words, does not belong to the wicked. It belongs to God and to His Christ, and to all who put their trust in Him. The psalm sums it up well, and here we must plant our flag:
“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.” (Ps. 37:10-11)
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Yes, this is a blatant and unashamed allusion to Lewis’ work by the same title.
Good reminder for us. It's easy to be discouraged.