Their Standing: a) Among People; B) Before God (Verses 5–6)

Verse 5. In the preceding verse the condition of sinners was depicted by a comparison, and moreover as it is in the present age; but in this verse it is depicted directly and chiefly as it will be in the age to come, before the face of God and the saints. The two depictions, however, stand in good accord with one another. Just as dust or chaff, however great a heap it may be gathered and piled into, cannot hold its place when wind or storm strikes—so the ungodly cannot stand for even a moment when the wind of God’s strict sentence of judgment blows upon them, but are at once cast down into the fire of either temporal or eternal punishment. The Hebrew: kum — means to rise up and to stand, that is, either a movement contrary to sitting and lying, a rising up (Ps. 138:2), or the position of one standing upright in his place—a standing; sometimes in a transferred sense it means rising from a fall or from a ruinous calamity (Ps. 40:9; Prov. 24:16; Am. 5:2 and elsewhere). Thus one may translate: they will not rise up and will not stand, they will not hold their ground. Hence come various interpretations of this passage. There were even among the Jews those who maintained, on the basis of this text, that the ungodly perish not only in body but also in soul at the hour of death and will never rise again. The LXX and the Vulgate: they shall not rise up. Others understood it thus: they will have no place in the court of judgment and will not appear to judge and cast their vote—in the assembly of honorable and respected persons. It is therefore better—with Ibn Ezra—to interpret: they will not stand… they will not be able to endure the strictness of God’s judgment (as the word signifies in Josh. 7:12 (the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies) and Mal. 3:2 (who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand at the sight of Him))… They will not be able to present their face as boldly as they are accustomed to do now—but in fear and trembling before God’s judgment, exposed by a pitiless conscience, they will fall… The Chaldean translation: they will not be innocent on the great day. A similar idea about the ungodly is found in Ps. 108:7 (when he is judged, let him go forth condemned — that is, exposed beyond answer and sentenced to punishment). The judgment can be referred both to God’s verdicts on the ungodly in this life, or to temporal punishments (Is. 3:13–14), and to the great final Day of Judgment, when the deeds of all will be brought before the court and eternal punishment will immediately follow upon the verdict (Eccl. 11:9, 12:14). In nothing will the ungodly hold their ground; they will not even be admitted to the assembly of the righteous.

Nor shall sinners stand in the council of the righteous — that is, sinners and the ungodly will not stand in their assembly (the destroyers are also implied, for they too will be cast out to the places of punishment). According to the Hebrew, the word for council here differs from the one used in verse 1 (did not walk in the counsel), being specifically the word: adat—a gathering in general of a multitude, for example a swarm of bees on the carcass of a lion (Judg. 14:8). The assembly of the wicked has surrounded me (Ps. 21:17); the assembly of bulls (Ps. 67:31). The assembly of the sons of Israel, or of the whole people, often signifies the Old Testament Church in the Scriptures (Lev. 8:4; Ex. 12:3, 6, 47 and elsewhere). This assembly is called the assembly of the Lord (Num. 27:17; Josh. 22:16). Thus, when it is said that sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous (here on earth by relative righteousness compared with the ungodly, and in the future age by righteousness perfected)—it is implied that they do not in this age enter into the number of members of the Church and do not partake of the gifts of grace given to the Church Militant, and in the future, being cast out from the assembly of the saved—by the dreadful sentence of God: depart from Me—they are separated from God’s sheep, like goats (Mt. 25), and consigned to the condemned demons.

Verse 6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly will perish.

In the final verse the cause and source of such a condition and lot of the righteous and the wicked is pointed to—in the fact that God knows the way of the righteous, that is, He governs, guards, and oversees it, while the way of the ungodly—their schemes and labors—will perish, leads to ruin. It is evident that the opposition of the two parts of this verse is not strict; and so it is rightly seen here as an ellipsis, with supplementary ideas implied in both parts. God knows the way of the righteous—therefore they will not perish; but the way of the ungodly will perish, because God does not know it—such turns of phrase are common in the Proverbs as well. It is evident that in the words: the Lord knows — the all-knowing of God is not what is meant, for that encompasses all things equally—even the ungodly; rather it is the governance, care, goodwill, and love that bestow prosperity on the righteous—and the absence of these, or the presence of the opposite—God’s displeasure, wrath, abandonment—produces all impoverishment in sinners. (So in Jn. 8:43 (why do you not understand My word — do not accept, do not receive it with goodwill). So in Ex. 1:8 (the new king did not know Joseph — did not wish to know, disregarded his service). In Prov. 12:10 (the righteous man knows, has regard for the lives of his animals). So in 2 Tim. 2:19 (the Lord knows those who are His — He cares for them). Mt. 7:23 (I never knew you… depart) …God governs, provides for, and loves the way of the righteous; therefore they succeed in all things, and their lot is blessed.

And the way of the ungodly will perish.

Their schemes, plans, undertakings, and works God does not know — He does not acknowledge them as His own, does not bestow His goodwill, for God desires not iniquity (Ps. 5:5). Therefore their way will perish—it will come to an unhappy end, vanish like smoke (Ps. 36:20), melt like wax (Ps. 67:3; Ps. 128:6–7; Ps. 9:19; Job 8:13, 20:7; Prov. 10:28, 11:4).