“The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.” -Psalm 37:12–13
To plot is to scheme or devise evil against someone and to gnash the teeth is to grate or grit one’s teeth in contempt. The wicked will spare no opportunity to injure, destroy, ruin, or even kill those toward which they carry so much animosity. The imago Dei is too much of a reminder of the real enemy of the wicked, their creator and authority.
But the Lord is no taken in or moved by their contempt. He is not fearful or concerned that their schemes will succeed. In fact, he laughs at their foolishness because the Omniscient One has already seen the day of their demise and fall. He knows the outcome on their day of judgment—and he knows their Judge.
But so do we. So let us humble ourselves and seek his face (PSalm 18:27 cf. 1 Corinthians 11:31), let the Lord search our hearts and see if their be any wicked way in us (Psalm 139:23-24). Having repented of our sins, let us rest in the same confidence expressed in the Lord’s laugh, seeing their day is coming.