I’m Lost
If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; Psalm 66:18 NASB
Regard – The Bible is a very scary book. Yes, of course, it speaks about God’s care and concern for His creation, including, fortunately, us. But laced throughout the glowing promises of forgiveness and shalom are verses like this one, verses that scare us to death. Is it really true that God won’t listen to us if we “regard” wickedness in our hearts? You might be inclined to dismiss the personal application of this verse by contending that it applies only to those who are perverse, performing evil acts on a continuous basis. But a little investigation of the Hebrew verb here may cause some quaking.
The verb is rāʾâ, commonly translated “to see.” Notice the remark by Culver:
The extended and metaphorical senses in the Qal include to regard, perceive, feel, understand, learn, enjoy; Niphal, to be seen or to reveal oneself; Paul, to be seen; Hiphil, to cause to see, show, make to feel or know or enjoy; Hophal, to be made to see, to be shown; Hithpael, to look at one another.[1]
What do you think now? Have you ever felt, understood, enjoyed, seen, shown, or looked at wickedness? Oh, by the way, the word for “wickedness” is ʾāwen, also with a rather condemning range of meanings:
ʾāwen is tied to thoughts and words in Prov 17:4; Isa 32:6; Ezk 11:2; Hos 12:12 and possibly Hos 6:8 (see LXX). From this base ʾāwen becomes a label for idolatry in Isa 66:3 and the phrase “Beth-aven,” probably a name of shame for Bethel (Hos 5:8; 10:5, 8; cf. Amos 1:5; Ezk 30:17). Also the word describes idols in Isa 41:29, and seems to denote non-existence in Amos 5:5.
This trend of meaning in ʾāwen is reinforced by its proximity to standard Hebrew words for deception, fraud, and falseness in Prov 6:12, 18; 19:28; 22:8; Isa 29:20; Zech 10:2. It may be that this strand of meaning comes from a possible early kinship to ʾāyin, which means “nothing.”
In by far the greater numbers of instances, the versions prefer to translate ʾāwen as “evil,” “iniquity,” or “wicked.”[2]
Finally notice that the Psalmist doesn’t require these damaging meanings to be external. All that is necessary to precipitate God’s silence is entertaining any of these things “in your heart.” So, I ask again. Who among us can survive this examination? If the Psalmist is right, it’s a miracle that God speaks to any human being. And I’m pretty sure the Psalmist is right.
Where does that leave us? Can I suggest that the fact that God listens at all is a divine blessing of the first magnitude? This verse isn’t a condemnation of the wicked. It’s a condemnation of everyone! At some point we have all regarded disobedience if only in our hearts. We are, as Paul so aptly puts it, dead in our trespasses and sins.
What’s the conclusion? It can only be this: “Thank God His mercy outweighs His justice.” And while you’re at it, thank Him that He heard you despite what you regarded.
Topical Index: regard, rāʾâ, see, wickedness, ʾāwen, miracle, Psalm 66:18
[1] Culver, R. D. (1999). 2095 רָאָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 823). Chicago: Moody Press.
LXX The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament in Greek
[2] Livingston, G. H. (1999). 48 און. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 23). Chicago: Moody Press.
