Psalm 37

[Al Moak]

Psalm 37

Many classes of people came to the morning worship at the tabernacle (and later the temple).  Some were poor and some rich, some were oppressed by others, and some were the oppressors, some were working-class people, and some were aristocracy.  It was a good time for worship leaders to warn the aristocracy and to encourage the poor - to remind them all of their covenant relationship with God and how it should work itself out in the practicalities of daily life and human relationships.

This psalm is that kind of reminder.  It's a song of encouragement and advice for the poor and downtrodden who trust in the Lord, and it's a song of warning to any who would oppress them ("the wicked").  Hopefully, singing a song like this would prepare them to deal with people in the day that was before them.

The first thing it does is to advise the godly not to become upset concerning those who don't care about the Lord, because, just as the green herb soon becomes brown and dies, these wicked will soon come to an end.  But then, after hearing that, the faithful are encouraged to, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."  In other words they  should thankfully receive what He gives them, while leaving their problems to Him.  The point is that if they're delighting themselves in God, then their desires will be good in His sight - and those desires will be realized!

Simply put, GOD will take care of them and all their affairs – and they won't have to!  Justice WILL happen for them, and everyone will know it - it'll be as obvious as the light of the noonday sun!  All they have to do is to be patient, wait for the Lord to take care of things, and not focus on how the ungodly seems to be prospering.  Don't fret, he says, for "it only causes harm!"

The encouragement goes like this: "evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth!" The key to such encouragement is "waiting."  Such waiting just amounts to awareness that there's an eternal plan that's been made in the unseen heaven, a plan in which God is laughing at the evildoer - whose weapons against the poor will finally be the means of self destruction!  The worshippers sing, "the sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken."

So those who wait on the Lord need to remember that, "a little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked," because God is in control and will care for them, and "their inheritance shall be forever." The wicked, on the other hand, "shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish - into smoke they shall vanish away!"

The daily lives of the godly and of the wicked present a great contrast: "the wicked borrows and doesn't repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives." And the results?  "Those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off!"  The Lord never forgets the godly, but is always close at hand.  It's always true that, "though he (the godly) fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand."

As an added incentive to wait on the Lord, the song continues, "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.  He is ever merciful, and lends, and his descendants are blessed!"  These righteous need only remember to "depart from evil, and do good . . . for the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever  . . . the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever!"

Of course the wicked don't believe it, but a righteous lifestyle is really the wisest way to live.  The psalmist sings of such wisdom when he says, "the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide."

The people sing the conclusion to these thoughts when they say,  "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land."  Though the wicked are sometimes "in great power . . . spreading themselves like a native green tree," yet they're coming to their end because such self-made prosperity can't last under God's administration.   The conclusion is that "the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord (not from themselves). The Lord shall help and deliver them . . . because they trust in Him."

We too need this admonition.  You and I need to be reminded that there's an unseen Hand in this world, an unseen but almighty Hand, the Hand of One Who laughs at the foolishness of the wicked, but a Hand Whose love upholds forever the one who trusts in Him.  What we see with earthly eyes is not all there is.  May God give us patient trust.

[Iain]

Al - one of my favourite Psalms and you handled it with perfection. My soul was greatly encouraged through your exposition.

Thanks bro.

[Jenny]

U.K.3.10p.m.

Thank-you Pastor Al.

I am enjoying your exposition of the Psalms and this afternoon I needed an uplift and chose this one.

My son has suffered much harrassment from a person who should know better and I find this waiting for the Lord so hard. However, I have been young and now am older and I know  through experience that "though he falls , he shall not be utterly cast down , for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him" (v24)

He does deliver and He does save but He wants to teach us to wait and be expectant in all things and He wants us to roll our load onto Him  and to trust Him with the final outcome.

I am older and can trust Him but I see my son going through a dark valley.  We've all been there and know Jesus always brings us out into the sunlight......I can only pray and look on feeling powerless...surely this is when God acts.

My son is blameless and this Psalm tells me there is a happy ending for him. (v37)  I will believe this!

[Al Moak]

Jenny - can you believe it?  It is this very shadow through which your son is going that will produce wonderful spiritual fruit (James 1:3, 4)!  Samuel Rutherford, that great Puritan devine, said, "Wants are my greatest riches, for I have these supplied by Christ!"  This present tribulation will be used of God to move him to call on Him, and Christ will be right there!

[Jenny]

U.K. 5.15pm.

Dear Al.
Thankyou Pastor for your ministry to me at this time.
We agree together about Chris.  Amen!

"But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work , so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed, with no defects, lacking in nothing" James 1:4.

NOW I SEE IT. NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY THE WAITING..........A THOROUGH WORK MUST BE DONE TO GROW HIM UP IN THE LORD.

This is food to my soul also...Thank- God for Pastor Al.

[Marilyn]

As I read through this Psalm again and again over the last 4 days, I see so much more each time of the promises of God. I also found a date that I had placed on verse34 " Wait for the Lord's help and follow him. He will honor you and give you the land..." The date was 2/8/04.
I have been standing on these promises in regard to finding another home, that I have been praying for daily for over 1 year.

Verses 3-8 are also highlighted as well as Verses 7,8,21b,26,39, & 40. All containing promises. f course those promises are contingent on being obedient to God.

I was young and now I am old, but the promises of God remain the same, I do forget and need to be reminded from time to time to trust in the ord and wait on him.