The Lord God cursed the serpent saying, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) “Enmity” in Hebrew is “eba” (a transliteration). It means hostility and hatred. A continual spiritual battle is going on. Hebrews 11:13 says the righteous are spiritual strangers and aliens to the world. The hate of sin, a constant threat is planted in God’s children’s hearts. The wicked hate the righteous as Cain hated Able and as Saul hated David. This is the nature of the ever-active spiritual battle.
“Gnash their teeth” here and in 35:16 is done in malice. (also Lamentations 2:16) The contentment the ungodly have for the righteous is no light matter. It is real and it is often. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them.
However, the Lord Jesus does not let his children alone. He is with them. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) He knows exactly what is happening. He knows the plots of the ungodly against his children.
The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath. (2:4-5) Strikingly, the psalmist nowhere in the psalm directly speaks of God’s active involvement in bringing the wicked down, though he hints at it in verse 22, “…those he curses will be cut off.” The certainty that the life of the wicked “will be cut off” is frequently asserted (9, 22, 28, 34, 38) and the Lord also knows it, but God’s positive action is here reserved for his care for and protection of the righteous. The life choices of the wicked bring enough destruction into the life of the wicked. The choice of life in Christ brings protection into the life of the righteous.
