The Lord lets even unbelievers profit from the blessings of the godly people in their midst. When this proverb speaks of the “blessing of the upright,” we can think of the prayers that godly people pray for their city, country, or people. God hears his people and he often answers them with blessing for many.
We find many examples of this in the Old Testament. Israel was at her wealthiest and happiest when she was governed by the God-fearing kings David and Solomon. Later, when kings Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah ruled, God also made his people recover from the years of misery that they underwent under godless kings. Think of Joseph and Daniel, who brought great blessing to the strange lands where they were living. In all of these cases, God blessed the “city” (or country or people) not because all people in it served him, but because there were some people in it who served him.
However, a city (or country or people) is destroyed by the mouth of the wicked. Think of false religion, false ideas, and false principles that are not only preached outside the church but also inside the church! When wicked people (especially wicked “Christians”) spread their ideas, the church and society are weakened. God can even cause it to be destroyed.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.