In verses 13-15, the people express doubt in God because the arrogant are happy, the evildoer prospers, and when they put God to the test, nothing bad happens to them. This gets at the age-old question, why do good things happen to bad people? While this sentiment isn’t immediately resolved, the scene cuts, and we see that there is a group of people within the community who revered God and spoke with one another. This presumably isn’t idle chatter but reasoning together about these issues. The Lord took note and listened to these conversations. He then claims these people as His own. They will be to Him a special possession on the day that He does bring about His justice.
What is important to see in this passage is that God takes notice of the community who revered the Lord and thought on His name. The passage doesn’t tell us that this group of people all agreed or even that they weren’t upset about the apparent injustice, but that they gathered in order to discuss the things of God. The questions from the previous section (vv. 13-15) and many more are still asked today, and the gathering of believers is the place for us to dialogue about them. The Lord says that those who revered Him and thought on His name were those that were preserved. May it be an encouragement to us to seek out a community where we can wholeheartedly pursue truth.