Psalms 125:4

On the ground of the strong faith in Psa 125:1. and of the confident hope in Psa 125:3, the petition now arises that Jahve would speedily bestow the earnestly desired blessing of freedom upon the faithful ones, and on the other hand remove the cowardly lit. those afraid to confess God and those who have fellowship with apostasy, together with the declared wicked ones, out of the way. For such is the meaning of Psa 125:4. טובים (in Proverbs alternating with the "righteous," Pro 2:20, the opposite being the "wicked," רשׁעים, Pro 14:19) are here those who truly believe and rightly act in accordance with the good will of God, (Note: The Midrash here calls to mind a Talmudic riddle: There came a good one (Moses, Exo 2:2) and received a good thing (the Tra, Pro 4:2) from the good One (God, Psa 145:9) for the good ones (Israel, Psa 125:4).) or, as the parallel member of the verse explains (where לישׁרים did not require the article on account of the addition), those who in the bottom of their heart are uprightly disposed, as God desires to have it. The poet supplicates good for them, viz., preservation against denying God and deliverance out of slavery; for those, on the contrary, who bend (הטּה) their crooked paths, i.e., turn aside their paths in a crooked direction from the right way (עקלקלּותם, cf. Jdg 5:6, no less than in Amo 2:7; Pro 17:23, an accusative of the object, which is more natural than that it is the accusative of the direction, after Num 22:23 extrem., cf. Job 23:11; Isa 30:11) - for these he wishes that Jahve would clear them away (הוליך like Arab. ahlk, perire facere = perdere) together with the workers of evil, i.e., the open, manifest sinners, to whom these lukewarm and sly, false and equivocal ones are in no way inferior as a source of danger to the church…

Here is, 1. The prayer the psalmist puts up for the happiness of those that are sincere and constant (Psa 125:4): Do good, O Lord! unto those that are good. This teaches us to pray for all good people, to make supplication for all saints; and we may pray in faith for them, being assured that those who do well shall certainly be well dealt with. Those that are as they should be shall be as they would be, provided they be upright in heart, that they be really as good as they seem to be. With the upright God will show himself upright. He does not say, Do good, O Lord! to those that are perfect, that are sinless and spotless, but to those that are sincere and honest. God's promises should quicken our prayers. It is comfortable wishing well to those for whom God has engaged to do well. 2. The prospect he has of the ruin of hypocrites and deserters; he does not pray for it (I have not desired the woeful day, thou knowest), but he predicts it: As for those, who having known the way of righteousness, for fear of the rod of the wicked, basely turn aside out of it to their wicked ways, use indirect ways to prevent trouble or extricate themselves out of it, or those who, instead of reforming, grow worse and worse and are more obstinate and daring in their impieties, God shall send them away, cast them out, and lead them forth with the workers of iniquity, that is, he will appoint them their portion with the worst of sinners. Note, (1.) Sinful ways are crooked ways; sin is the perverting of that which is right. (2.) The doom of those who turn aside to those crooked ways out of the right way will be the same with theirs who have all along walked in them, nay, and more grievous, for if any place in hell be hotter than another that shall be the portion of hypocrites and apostates. God…

125:4-5 People who reject the straight path of the upright are fools (Prov 2:12-15). God pours out his goodness on the godly (see Ps 122:6-9).