To make sense of this wisdom psalm we must first pay heed to hints of its social setting. The wicked have wealth, the righteous little (v. 16). A chief concern is that of “possessing (Hb. yrš, NIV ‘inherit’) the land” (vv. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34). Verse 3b literally reads, “Tent the land and shepherd faithfulness.” This may suggest that the righteous live as pastoralists or semi-nomads, not as settlers. They live in the land but the wicked are its owners. The notions of righteousness and justice (esp. vv. 6, 28 [lit. “Yahweh loves justice”], 30, 33) are not general moral categories but point to particular legal issues of the day, namely that the families who are the rightful owners of land have lost it to the wealthy wicked.

This psalm offers wonderful promises, several of which have been favor…