Psalm 119:150

We continue working our way through the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Koph and we find the psalmist being approached by those who are up to no good.

Psalms 119:150  They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.

Let’s begin by defining mischief.

Mischief – Evil plight or condition.  Harm or evil considered as the work of an agent or due to a particular cause.

Those who follow after mischief strive to do evil.  For them evil is a goal to be attained.  The Scriptures call them “the wicked.”  Their pursuit of mischief is described in these passages:

Psalms 7:14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

Psalms 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

Proverbs 4:16  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17    For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Proverbs 6:14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

It is plain from these passages that the wicked bring forth mischief like women conceive and bring forth children.  They conceive the idea in their hearts and bring it forth in their actions.  They travail with it like a woman travails in pain until she can give birth.  They hurt until they can perform the evil they purpose.  They are continually plotting mischief, even on their beds at night.  They cannot rest unless they have done evil.  Mischief is their meat and drink.  These people live to do something wrong.  Indeed, they follow after mischief.  In fact, they follow after mischief so intently that their feet are “swift in running to mischief” (Proverbs 6:18).  And being thus, they are obviously far from God’s law, which ever only leads men to do good.  They stay as far away from the Bible as they can.  They want nothing to do with being either commanded or convicted by it.  And the more these kinds of people are in command of our institutions of government, industry, finance, education, media, and entertainment the more mischief we are going to see pouring out of those institutions. 

Now the mischief they do is not just aimed at other wicked people.  No, they draw nigh to those who love God and His word.  They want to do harm to anyone that reproves them for what they are and what they do.  They will try to tempt the godly person to do as they.  If the godly person resists, they will persecute him.  Hence, they drew nigh to our Lord to take Him and destroy Him.  They hounded the apostles of Christ as they went about preaching the gospel.  They have pursued the followers of truth from the time of Cain and Abel, and will do so until the trump of God shall sound and forever remove His children from their reach.  Nowadays with the internet, those who follow after mischief can easily draw nigh.  They are only a click away, a fact which calls for ever greater vigilance on our part.  But our next verse will show us that as the wicked draw nigh to us, they will encounter Someone else Who is near us.