Psalm 104 · a question people ask
"Let sinners be consumed out of the earth" (104:35). Why does the psalm end like this?
The psalm doesn't explain it. It asks it in one line, just before its last words: "Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!" (104:35). The line asks; it doesn't say the psalmist will do anything. It comes after the psalm has asked, "Let the LORD rejoice in his works" (104:31), and said, "I will rejoice in the LORD" (104:34). Another psalm says the same of the wicked as what will happen: "For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more" (Psalm 37:10). Psalm 104 is not the only psalm that asks for an end to the wicked, and Christians read such prayers in more than one way. The chapter on Psalm 109 sets out the main readings, each resting on its verses, and chooses none. These notes don't choose either.
The verses
“Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD rejoice in his works.”
“Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!”
“For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.”
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. God of my praise, don’t remain silent, for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”