Trust in the Lord and Do Good
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Psalm 37 (selected verses)
1. Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! 2. For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. 4. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. 7. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 11. But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18. The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide for ever; 19. they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance. 22. for those blessed by the Lord shall possess the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23. The steps of a man are from the Lord, and he establishes him in whose way he delights; 24. though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord is the stay of his hand. 25. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread. 26. He is ever giving liberally and lending, and his children become a blessing. 27. Depart from evil, and do good; so shall you abide for ever. 28. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. The righteous shall be preserved for ever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell upon it for ever. 30. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. 32. The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. 33. The Lord will not abandon him to his power, or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34. Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 35. I have seen a wicked man overbearing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. 36. Again I passed by, and, lo, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. 37. Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the man of peace. 38. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 39. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 40. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
I didn’t leave out the “missing” verses because I didn’t like them, only because the psalm is quite long for my purposes! Verse 8 tells us to refrain from anger. This anger is what many would call “righteous indignation” of which I have been informed I am “guilty!” But my notes in
The Bible Reader’s Companion, point out that the anger is clearly directed at the right thing (evil of the wrong-doers), but that it is clearly linked with “fretting.” This is “a smoldering anger, a hostile resentment that we nurture and in time dominates our attitude toward wrongdoers.” Guilty as charged!!
“This is the anger we must release, to replace with a perspective shaped by a quiet trust in God.” Okay. I get it. But how do we do that? Trust in the Lord. Do good. Enjoy our blessings. Delight in the Lord. Commit our way to the Lord. Trust in Him. Be still before God. Wait patiently for Him. Individually, these are difficult and challenging! Taken in whole, we realize that this attitude of trusting God, not only with our present, but with our future, takes lots and lots of practice!
Psalm 37 assures us over and over that trusting God and consciously and deliberately choosing the path of love will ensure our future in heaven. So we need to not worry about how the evil doers are flourishing! They may seem to have everything you don’t – and they may seem to have perfect lives, and they may seem to be blessed far more than you in every way—but don’t be fooled! The promises God makes will stand long after the evil doers fall. Our reward is far greater than diamonds or gold. Our hope will never falter. Our future is secure!
The “missing” verses this morning talk about the wrong doers, the evil ones. I need to focus of how to re-direct my righteous indignation, so I read the whole psalm through, but then picked out what I need to do, what I need to read, what I need to put in to practice. And then I need to let God deal with “the others.”
God always manages to “hit me where I live” when I listen for his direction! I didn’t even realize I needed this instruction this morning – but now I recognize that God is lovingly chastising me for my attitude, and “re-directing” me toward the path of good and truth. I like being on that path—even though it may seem that others flourish! I know that God is with me every step of the way, and gently putting His hand on my shoulder and turning me toward Him.
I hope you spend your day taking delight in the Lord, waiting patiently for Him, and rejoicing that the righteous will be preserved forever.
Mary
