Psalm 37 - Wisdom Over Worry

[Music] making our way through the book of psalms we now come to psalm 37 and if i were to give my own title to psalm 37 to describe the theme of it i would describe it this way wisdom over worry and as i record this psalm that has special relevance because psalm 37 i do believe speaks to this idea of having wisdom over worry And the world right now is involved with a lot of worry there's something called the corona virus happening very much in the world today it's dominating the news at the time i

record this and of course i have no idea of knowing when you're going to watch or listen to this it's possible that the whole coronavirus crisis is over by the time you watch this or Listen to it or it's possible that it's much worse in the world either way we need god's wisdom to help us with whatever it might be that would come in our life that would cause us worry or concern now this psalm is titled very simply a psalm of david and we have a little bit of information in the psalm particularly in

verse 25 telling us That david wrote this in his older years and so he's giving wisdom to us in the pattern of a song this is what david lived this is what he experienced and this psalm is different because it's really not dedicated to god so much david doesn't speak to god in this psalm he speaks to us he speaks to man he's giving us wisdom teaching us After the manner of the book of proverbs and so it makes it a wonderful psalm there's something else interesting about psalm 37 is that it is one of

the psalms that is roughly acrostic in its arrangement the lines of psalm 37 are arranged with hebrew sentences that begin with successive letters of the hebrew alphabet the first line begins with the letter a the second line with the letter b if We were to use the analogy to the english alphabet a b c d and so forth this was done not only for the beauty of the arrangement but so that it could be memorized more easily and this whole idea that we come to in psalm 37 of having wisdom over worry this wisdom psalm

is for us today so let's take a look at this wonderful psalm beginning Now in verses 1 and 2 where we read do not fret because of evil doers nor be envious of the workers of iniquity for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb i love that opening line of verse one do not fret because of evil doers how often it is true for us that we fret we worry we become anxious We become fretful because of evildoers because of evil in the world and because of evil

doers now it is a common thing for the righteous to be anxious or to fret over the evildoers of this world or to be as it says in the second line envious of the workers of iniquity this was the same problem that bothered asaph in psalm 73 he wondered why the wicked Often experienced so much prosperity in the world and psalm 37 deals with the same question i like what james montgomery boyce said about this in his commentary he said that those words do not fret literally in the hebrew mean do not get heeded that

that's almost how we might express it in our modern day and age we might say don't get all worked up about it or Stay cool about this how about that stay cool because of evil-doers don't be envious of the workers of iniquity why why take a look at the what it declares for us in verse 2 it says for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb you know when we understand this it says why be anxious about them why fret it's foolish for us to be envious Or

for us to be anxious over the prosperity of others i like what adam clarke said about this he said it is as foolish as it is wicked to complain or be envious at the prosperity of others whether they are godly or ungodly it is god who is the dispenser of the bounty they enjoy and most assuredly he has a right to do what he will with his own To be envious in such a case is to complain against the plan of god well this we shouldn't complain against the plan of god but instead see that

whenever we complain about the prosperity or the seeming advantages of the wicked we need to consider this in light of eternity that's why it says in verse 2 they shall soon be cut down like the grass See here in psalm 37 david gives the same answer that asaph came to in psalm 73 he understood that any prosperity that the in workers of iniquity experience in this life it's only temporary grass is green for a season and so is the herb but they both wither very quickly now the climate of southern california where i live and

where i'm recording this for you right now is the climate of southern california is very similar to The climate of israel both ancient and modern and in southern california during the winter and early in the spring where the temperatures are cooler and where there's rains that come through the area it's often common to see the hills covered with green grass sometimes you almost think if it's especially rainy that you live in ireland you see these wonderfully Grass-covered hills it seems like there's green everywhere let me tell you something that grass is only green for a

season because as soon as it dries out and as soon as the heat begins to rise that grass turns brown very quickly and if somebody's goodness if somebody's prosperity if somebody's blessing in this life is only green as the grass Then it doesn't last very long as a matter of fact just as david says in verse 2 they shall soon be cut down like the grass because what they would do is when that grass turned brown they would cut it down and use it as feed or whatever it would be for their flocks or for

their cattle or whatever and so we need to put these things in perspective I want you to think of this picture in front of you think of a wicked man eating a magnificent dinner matter of fact add to the picture there is a wicked man eating a magnificent dinner while a godly man is going hungry now it's easy to look at that scene and get very angry and protest that the wicked man is enjoying his wonderful meal there he is he eats anything and Everything he wants his table is loaded with steak and lobster and

wonderful vegetables and beautiful grains and all the rest of it he has it all right in front of him as he enjoys his meal now you could get angry at that and say it's not right then the camera pans back and you see the bigger picture you see that that wicked man is indeed enjoying a magnificent dinner but he's in a jail cell he's in prison Matter of fact he's on death row and he's enjoying that as his last meal before he's executed now when you think of that picture now you have a larger perspective

don't you and the godly man doesn't envy that man enjoying that sumptuous meal that godly man doesn't worry about the wicked man because he realized god knows how to take care of them as g Campbell morgan said he said this quote the test is found in time all the apparent prosperity of the wicked is transient it passes and perishes as do the wicked themselves therefore this should be our response look at verses three and four again here we're in psalm 37 we read this trust in the lord and do good dwell in the land and

feed on his faithfulness Delight yourself also in the lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart you see that should be our response when we feel that the wicked or prospering or things are unfair in the world what do we do we trust in the lord and we do good instead of worrying and fretting and envying david gives us wise counsel he tells us instead of doing those things simply Trust god and do good for his glory you know it's remarkable how quickly we can get distracted from the simple work of trusting

god and doing good when we look at the seeming prosperity of the wicked it's often a way that we're distracted from those simple duties look i'll say it again trust god and do good charles spurgeon said this He said faith cures fretting sight is cross-eyed and views things only as they seem therefore she envies faith has clearer vision to behold things as they really are that's why she has peace so what do we do well we do just what it says there in verse 3 trust in the lord and do good dwell in the land

and feed on his faithfulness this is What david counsels the man or the woman of god leave aside your worry leave aside your envy simply enjoy the blessings god gives to you for example he provided israel a land to enjoy and his faithfulness was like food for them every day listen it's true that you may not have as much material blessings or blessings of comfort or even Blessings of health as other people do you look around there other people seem to be wealthier and more comfortable and have better health and i understand you look at

them but don't you have blessings from god don't you have faithfulness from god that you can feed upon feed upon what god has given you dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness and then he continues on into verse 4 to say this Delight yourself also in the lord you see david advised the man or the woman of god to replace worry and envy with a conscious delight in the lord what does that mean to delight in the lord it means to cheer one's heart and mind by considering the multiple blessings of god and

by faith receiving the multiple blessings of god Think about them and receive them delight yourself also lord and this will cheer your heart i think that's such an important idea there in verse 4 delight yourself also in the lord that i want to relate to what several different bible commentators have said about this for example adam clarke adam clark's commentary throughout the whole bible in his commentary through the book of psalms specifically On psalm 37 he says this quote to delight yourself means to expect all your happiness from him and to seek it in him

that's what adam clarke said about delight yourself in the lord in his commentary then there's another commentator i really enjoy through the book of psalms his name is derek kidner derek kidner in his excellent commentary on the psalms Psalm 37 he defines delighting yourself in the lord like this he said it includes a deliberate redirection of one's emotions such as paul and silas in prison singing as well as praying man i like that definition from derek kidner but because he takes us back over to paul and silas in prison in that philippian jail And there

they were they were miserable they had been beaten their arms were imprisoned in stocks they were in chains and yet they deliberately decided to redirect their emotions off of their present circumstances and to delight themselves and lord they started singing songs of praise in the midst of the prison that's joy fb meyer said this He said we cannot delight thus without effort we must withdraw our eager desires from the things of the earth fastening and fixing them upon him that's what it means to delight yourself charles spurgeon in his great commentary on the book of

psalms what's known as the treasury of david charles spurgeon said this in his great commentary on psalm 37 he said in a certain sense imitate the wicked they delight in their portion Take care to delight in yours and so far from envying you will pity them isn't that a great way to think of it you know the the wicked of this world they delight in their own things they delight in their immorality they delight in their intoxications well they're going to delight in their portion why don't you delight in your portion and your portion dear

believer is the Lord and then james montgomery boyce in his commentary said this he said the reason many apparent christians do not delight in god is that they do not know him very well and the reason they do not know him very well is that they do not spend time with him well that's true isn't it i think what boyce said there is true the simple Reason is this is that is that it's hard to delight in something if you don't know anything about it but if you know a lot about something you find it

easy to delight in them and that's why we need to know our god so that we have the ability to delight in him in a powerful and purposeful way so we don't first think of the desires of our heart look at the way this is Said delight yourself also in the lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart we don't start with the desires of our heart saying oh i desire this how do i get it oh i'll delight myself in the lord and then i'll get it no we first think of

delighting ourselves in god and then when we delight ourselves truly in him he will give us the desires of our heart Now this takes some explaining because i think there are some people who have misunderstood this principle and they misunderstood it in a transactional sense what do i mean by that well again they start with the desires of their heart they say well what do i want well i want this out of life and i want that out of life and i want a third thing out of life and they think okay If i want

these things the way for me to get it is to delight myself and god and then if i delight myself and god this way then god owes them to me it's sort of a transaction listen that's not what it's saying here you see we understand that this is actually a wonderful and you might even say safe promise from god if we delight ourselves in the lord he will give us the desires of our heart Because the one who truly delights in the lord will find his heart and his desires changed those desires of the heart

will steadily align more and more with god's own good desires for the life and thus we see that finding delight in god is actually a key to a happy satisfied life let me use a silly illustration and i apologize because i know it's a bit Silly but maybe it'll get the point across we just simply say this let's say that i desired a top of the line ferrari sports car you know man i want it and i want that top-of-the-line ferrari because i want to be able to drive in this glamorous exciting thrilling sports car

and i'm sure such cars are thrilling and exciting and all the rest Says okay this is the desire of my heart how do i get that well i get that by delighting in the lord okay so i'm gonna delight in the lord but really i'm only delighting in the lord so as to get that top of the line ferrari listen that is a transactional relationship with god and that's not delighting in the lord at all it's really delighting in a ferrari It's delighting in my own desire but instead to put the focus on god and

god alone and we see that as we do that then um god starts working on my heart god said saying david do you really want or need that ferrari is that really is it really a good use of resources on and on and pretty soon the more i put my focus on the lord the more i realize lord i don't really desire that all what I desire is you and then when god does bring wonderful blessings now he hasn't brought me the blessing of a ferrari of any type much less a top of the line

one but god has blessed me in many ways many material ways god has blessed me and i find that these are wonderful gifts from god but my true delight is in him now i believe that god intends to fulfill the heart desires of the redeemed Man or woman now i want you to understand it's possible for our heart desires to be clouded by sin or by selfishness yet even when those desires are so clouded there's almost always a godly core or root to those desires and that godly core is often entirely in the will of

god that the man or the woman of god should find Their rest in this and leave aside the worry and the envy you know they said of martin luther as they walk the streets i'm quoting here from charles spurgeon he said they said of martin luther as he walked the streets there comes a man that can have anything of god that he likes you ask the reason of it because luther delighted himself in his god yes brothers and sisters This is what we need to do we need to delight ourselves in the lord and realize

that god will bring us to the place of life fulfillment that we want and need actually now this principle of psalm 37 4 delight yourself in the lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart this is the foundation for a principle that is sometimes called christian hedonism now normally we think of hedonism As the idolatry of pleasure it's someone who lives for pleasure that's the hedonist but the term christian hedonist has been used to describe a righteous pursuit of satisfaction and pleasure that righteous pursuit of satisfaction and pleasure that is rooted in a

delighted focus upon god most of i want you to understand this that when we delight Ourselves in the lord he gives us our delight if he is our delight then he gives us more of himself and that is the best situation of all now before we move on to verse five i know we've spoken about verses three and four for a long time but i think these are important verses these are verses that are oftentimes quoted and sometimes misunderstood i want to say one more thing about verse Four notice where it says delight yourself also

in the lord that word also at least as it appears in my new king james translation i think it's an important word because also implies that there are other legitimate um delights that we can have in this world we should not act or think as if our spiritual relationship with god is the only legitimate delight that we have now it may be true that in certain times and Circumstances that's the only delight that we have that is that is made available to us but there's nothing wrong with thinking and acting that god gives us many

wonderful delights in this world the delight in him should be paramount that enlighten him is the one that can never be taken away but god gives us other good things to enjoy in this world and we should not be feel guilty About enjoying them if we can do so in a godly and a god-honoring way okay now continuing on to verses 5 and 6. he's continuing on very much with the same thought he says this verse 5 commit your way to the lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass now verse

6 he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the Noon day did you see that in verse 5 commit your way to the lord trust also in him david here is explaining what it means to delight one's self in the lord as he described in the previous verse it means to commit your way to him and to truly trust in the lord that is the person who is truly delighting in the lord they've committed their way to god and They are trusting in him it means to find peace and protection

and satisfaction in a surrendered focus upon god and what will god do god will bring it to pass the one who has this delighted focus upon god will seem him bring these promises to pass listen fame and fortune are not promised to us in god but the true and deep desires of the heart Find their fulfillment when we commit our ways holy to the lord now what's the promise there verse 6 that he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light as god fulfills these desires of our heart the righteousness of the man or woman

of god is revealed it shines forth in light like the noon day Sun and it's a beautiful thing he'll bring forth your righteousness so that you are vindicated before others so that in the measure of either time or eternity or both god sees that your righteousness your light is exposed for all to see now in verses 7 and 8 he tells us to find rest in the god who deals with the wicked look at this starting at verse 7 now we Read rest in the lord and wait patiently for him do not fret because of

him who prospers in his way because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass cease from anger and forsake wrath do not fret it only causes harm you see because god has promised to faithfully take care of those who put their trust in him we can do what verse 7 says we can rest In the lord and we can wait patiently for him instead of fretting and fearing that god has forgotten us or that god intends evil for us no resting in the lord speaks of a particular kind of rest it is the rest

of silence it's ceasing from words of self-defense the idea here is simply that we will not speak to vindicate ourselves We're going to trust in god to protect us so what do we do verse 8 we cease from anger we forsake wrath and we do not fret i love it as david says here in this psalm it only causes harm david here is advising us to give up anger to give up wrath and to give up worry that's what he means by do not fret You see all those things the anger the wrath the worry

all they do is accomplish harm they don't accomplish any good they are the opposite of delighting oneself in the lord and patiently waiting upon him especially we need to cease from anger in verse 8 when it comes to any anger or frustration that we might have about god's arrangements for our lives listen sometimes we get jealous about What god has given to other people the gifts the talents the blessings that he's given to them and say lord why have you given it to them and not to me listen cease from that anger it's crazy to

be anger in that way god knows what we need and what we should have and i don't say that to say that we shouldn't be people of trying to achieve more and gain more and do what we can to Improve our state in this world no not at all but we need to cease from any anger against god that he has not given us what we thought we should have and now in verses 9 10 and 11 he's going to tell us how we should trust that god will take care of evildoers and reward the

meek look at this verse 9 for evildoers shall be cut off but those who wait on the lord they Shall inherit the earth for yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more indeed you will look carefully for his place but it shall be no more but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace that's verses 9 10 and 11. but did you see what he said in verse 9 those who wait on the lord they shall Inherit the earth you see this is another reason for

our delight in and rest upon the lord we can trust his promise that he is going to take care of his own and he'll take care of his own not only in this world but in the world to come in contrast evildoers shall be cut off you know charles spurgeon said something really wonderful about this this idea about Those who wait on the lord and how the meek and how god will take care of them listen to this quote from spurgeon he said this quote i have frequently remarked to you that although the wolf is

very strong and fierce and the sheep is very weak and timid yet there are more sheep in the world than there are wolves and the day will come when the last wolf will be dead And then the sheep shall cover the plains and feed upon the hills weak as the righteous often are they shall inherit the land when the wicked shall have been cut off from the earth i think that's a true word from charles spurgeon one that i never really considered before you see the fact of the matter is as spurgeon explains in his

commentary he says the fact of the matter simply is this is that the wolf is strong and Fierce wolves are scary creatures but listen even though the sheep is weak and timid there's a lot more sheep in the world than there are wolves and the sheep are going to win out in the end that's our confidence because god is taking care of us matter of fact in the scale of time and eternity look at what he says in verse 10 he says for yet a little while and the Wicked shall be no more you see

the evil doers have their day of prosperity but it's short-lived soon the wicked who are famous and praised in the world they will be of no notice at all of no standing at all matter of fact it says in verse 10 you will look carefully for his place but it shall be no more now i know what you might be saying and saying but david it seems Like the wicked prosper for so long i look around me and it seems like that there's wicked people around me that have been prospering for one year two years

five years 10 years whatever it'll be but no remember what it says in verse 10 for yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more you say well david it hasn't been a little while it's been a long time no no measure Time in relation to eternity don't you see dear brother sister that it is but a little while it's not long and ultimately what's going to happen look at verse 11 but the meek shall inherit the earth you see for emphasis david repeats this idea of god's care for the meek and reward

to the meek they not the evildoers of this world shall as it says in verse 11 Delight themselves in the abundance of peace you see these are the meek the one who trust in god and look for his resolution of things now continuing on into verse 12 david's going to speak of the triumph of the godly and the passing of the wicked look here at verse 12 we see the wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth the lord Laughs at him for he sees that his day is coming the wicked

have drawn the sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy to slay those who are of upright conduct their sword shall enter their own heart and their bows shall be broken what a beautiful statement of the triumph of the godly over the wicked And god does it all with a laugh did you see that in verse 12 he says the wicked plot against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth can't you just see that in your mind here's the fate of the righteous with the fate of the wicked

the invitable conflict is going to be between the righteous and the wicked and without reason the wicked are going to plot against the just and the gnashing of Their teeth shows just how deep their anger and hatred is and what's the lord's response look at verse 13 the lord laughs at him for he sees that his day is coming you see for all the plotting and gnashing of teeth that the wicked have they are going to accomplish nothing against the lord and his people What is god going to do he's going to simply laugh at

them knowing their end if god's gonna laugh at the wicked why are you so worked up over them can't you just at least stop being worried and fretful about the wicked matter of fact look at why the lord laughs at them this is sober in verse 13 the lord laughs at him again that's the wicked For he sees that his day is coming god sees the coming day of judgment the coming day of resolution of all things god sees that day now the wicked man may not see it maybe the wicked person doesn't care about

it or maybe we don't see it and maybe that's what makes us fret and worry but i'm telling you god sees it as a matter of fact even though it says in verse 14 that the Wicked have drawn their sword can't you see the sword in the hand of the wicked man and verse 14 says and a bent their bow can't you see the the bow in the hands of the wicked man there's the bow and arrow ready to shoot that the wicked they are plodding and gnashing their teeth they don't stop with that though

they want to carry out their plots with a drawn sword and a bent Bow but what will god do verse 15 says their sword shall enter their own heart and their bows shall be broken you see they will be defeated in the same way they thought to bring evil upon the people of god like haman do you remember haman in the book of esther haman commanded that a gallows be built to hang mordecai and who ended up hanging on that gallows It was haman himself a saul wanted to kill david when saul was king and

david had been anointed to be the next king saul wanted to kill david with his sword who fell on his own sword and died it was saul himself no god has a way of doing this of making the plots and the plans of the wicked the occasion of their own destruction But in contrast he'll have blessing upon the righteous look at verses 16 and 17. we read this in psalm 37 a little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked for the arms of the wicked shall be broken but the

lord upholds the righteous i love that phrasing in verse 16 a little that the righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked you see whatever The wicked man has it can't last so the little that the righteous man has is better than all the wicked possessed a god trusting righteous life is the best long-term investment strategy okay so the wicked man may has a lot okay but it won't last it's not going to last from this life to the next no god's blessing can multiply the little that the righteous man has Listen

let me tell you something a little that is blessed by god is better than a lot that is under god's curse and will pass away why verse 17 for the arms of the wicked shall be broken but the lord upholds the righteous you see the reward of the wicked is to have their own arms broken but the reward of the righteous it's to be upheld by the wonderful strong Arms of god listen you know what side of that equation you want to be on you don't want to be a part of the arms of the

wicked that are going to be broken you want to be the one who is upheld by the mighty strong arms of god and here's the lasting good of the upright in verses 18 19 and 20 we read this the lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever They shall not be ashamed in the evil time and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied but the wicked shall perish and the enemies of the lord like the splendor of the meadows shall vanish into smoke they shall vanish away listen verse

18 is a comfort for us the lord knows the days of the upright and their heritage shall be forever the apparent reward of the Wicked is temporary and fleeting but the inheritance of the upright it is eternal again all this is more and more reason to avoid worry or envy of the wicked in their seeming yet temporary prosperity as a matter of fact verse 19 says in the days of famine god will satisfy his righteous he can find ways to provide for his own even when other people have nothing But for the wicked notice this

in verse 20 into smoke they shall vanish away they're like as we mentioned before they're like that green grass on the hillside that when the heat comes up it becomes brown and vanishes and not only that into smoke they shall vanish away the success the fame the prosperity of the wicked it is as temporary as smoke it never Really has any substance just like smoke has no substance and just like smoke soon vanishes away that's what's going to happen with the wicked now look at this this contrast between the blessing and cursing in verses 21

and 22 it says this the wicked borrows and does not repay but the righteous shows mercy and gives for those blessed by him meaning god shall inherit the earth but those cursed By him meaning god shall be cut off you see the wicked one borrows they don't repay but the righteous man no the righteous man is generous he shows mercy and gives david understood that the difference between the wicked and the righteous was not only found in what they believed and in whom they trusted no the difference is also also seen In their conduct the

wicked are takers they borrow and they don't repay but the righteous are givers they are full of mercy you see the difference because the righteous one has confidence in god they can be merciful and giving and those blessed by him those blessed by the lord they shall inherit the earth now this promise of earth inheritance is repeated a third time first in verse 10 Then in verse 11 now in verse 22 god promises an inheritance of the earth for his people the meek ones the ones who trust in him in contrast the wicked find themselves

cursed by the lord and cut off now check out verses 23 and 24 it says the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord and he delights in his way though he fall he shall not be utterly Cast down for the lord upholds him with his hand you see the reward of the righteous is not only in the age to come it says here in verse 23 the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord don't you want the lord to order your steps then seek him trust him let him work

his goodness in your life you see in the present day god guides the steps of a good man of course A good woman as well and as that one seeks the lord and delights in him he will find that his life proves what is the good and acceptable imperfect will of god just as romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 say matter of fact verse 23 says that he will delight in his way that's another great and present benefit for the righteous man or woman It's the knowledge that god delights in him isn't that wonderful

verse 23 when it says and he delights in his way it means that god delights in the way of the godly man or woman what a beautiful promise don't you want god to delight in your way now that is a promise that is especially clear for the believer under the new covenant Under the new covenant we know and we experience a standing in grace a standing in god's favor because we've been justified by faith just as romans chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 say going on here verse 24 says though he fall he shall not

be utterly cast down for the lord upholds him with his hand see david describes another great benefit for the righteous man or woman Who trusts in the lord though he may at times fall in the sense of stumbling he will not fall away that is look at verse 24 he shall not be utterly cast down this is not because of his own internal strength or goodness no it's because the lord upholds him and this is our confidence is it not the confidence that we have that we will not fall away it's not confidence Because we

think that we're so wonderful it's because we serve a god who upholds us and keeps us along the way now david is going to continue to give us wisdom look at verses 25 and 26 we see here a testimony of god's blessing and care for the righteous i love these verses from psalm 37 verses 25 and 26 right now 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 i think that's an interesting statement

there in verse 25 he says david's testimony i have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants begging bread david here is giving a testimony from his Own experience he noted that god cared for those who trusted in him and who walked in his righteousness they were not forsaken and their descendants were also blessed they were not begging bread and this was david's testimony after many years did you see the phrase in verse 25 i have been young and now i am old you see seeing god's faithfulness to his People over many years david wanted

a younger generation to also trust in him to learn from david's wisdom and we just say thank you david for imparting this wisdom to us here's david gathering around people around me says listen let me tell you i have been young now i'm old god has always been faithful to his people i've never seen the righteous forsaken Nor his descendants his children begging bread you know david remembered that there were some among his ancestors who left israel because they were fearful in a time of famine you can find that in ruth chapter one i think

it was david's great great grandparents and when they returned after several Disastrous years in moab after leaving israel after leaving bethlehem because there was a famine there when they came back to the village of bethlehem they found that there were still people there in bethlehem and god had provided for those people david heard those stories and he remembered that this showed that god knows how to take care of those who trust in him in times of famine And he's done so many times since then now one way that god does provide for the righteous and

his descendants is through the work ethic of hard work that belongs to the redeemed you see there is an ethic of hard work that belongs to those who follow god who know that all things should be done heartily as unto the lord including working for a living so this blessing that comes to the righteous This uh not seeing the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread one of the ways that that comes is through the hard work of god's people but yet he says here in verse 25 i have not seen the righteous forsaken nor

his descendants begging bread i've got to be honest with you that statement of david in verse 25 Of psalm 37 that has been a troublesome statement to some people because they say that they have seen or experienced circumstances where godly men or women or their offspring have been in famine extreme poverty or reduced to begging there have been times in history where famine has been a instrument of the government to persecute people and what are we going to say then That there have never been a godly person who has suffered great hunger that there's never

been a godly person who has died from famine how do we deal with this well let me give you the best explanation i can number one we note that this psalm is a wisdom psalm and it's very much like the book of proverbs and in the bible's wisdom literature general principles are often presented In the absolute when they are intended to be understood as general or maybe even overwhelmingly true principles but not absolutely true there can be exceptions and so that could be the sense of it but more so i just want you to understand

that when david says in verse 25 i have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his offspring begging bread i want you to understand that this was David writing of his experience david did not say that this is an absolute principle but it's simply his own observation david says i've never seen it he doesn't say that it has never happened or never would happen but he just simply gives us his testimony i want you to know that i have never seen the righteous forsaken nor His descendants begging bread now some people like adam clarke again here

have had the same experience and observation adam clark said this quote i believe this to be literally true in all cases i am now grey-headed myself i have traveled in different countries and have had many opportunities of seeing and conversing with religious People in all situations in life and i have not to my knowledge seen one instance to the contrary i have seen no righteous man forsaken nor any children of the righteous begging their bread god puts this honor upon all that fear him and thus careful is he of them and of their posterity well

that was adam clark's experience as he explains in his commentary but there were other people Like charles spurgeon who wrote in his treasury of david his commentary upon the psalms he wrote speaking on this issue he said that he did not have the same experience and observation this is what spurgeon says quote it is not my observation just as it stands for i have relieved the children of undoubtedly good men who have appealed to me as Common beggars but this does not cast a doubt on the observation of david and i think that's true listen

whatever you want to say that whether it was a universal statement or just david's observation we certainly have a principle here that even when the righteous suffer god has a way of taking care of them even in the midst of their present Suffering matter of fact that's the idea here of verse 26 where it says he is ever merciful in lens you see in times of great scarcity the righteous one not only receives god's provision but with a generous and merciful heart he'll even lend to other people in need the righteous person is not stingy

nor are they covetous now we continue on Into verse 27 of psalm 37 we read here verses 27 28-29 depart from evil and do good and dwell forevermore for the lord loves justice and does not forsake his saints they are preserved forever but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever you see here's the wise word to the righteous man or Woman in verse 27 depart from evil and do good you see the righteous man or woman trusts in god but also receives and

values moral instruction god's care for that righteous man or woman does not make them careless but it makes him careful in pleasing god and he says why because in verse 28 for the lord loves justice and does not forsake his Sense sin forsake his saints let me say and since god loves justice so should his people god is faithful to them and he does not forsake them but as it says in verse 28 the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off and then did you see that in verse 29 it's for the fourth time

we read a line like this The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever once again for the fourth time in this psalm david describes the blessing appointed to the righteous in the coming age they will inherit the land they will find a secure place and inheritance in the world to come now verses 30 and 31. the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom And his tongue talks of justice the law of god is in his heart none of his steps shall slide you see david again turns to the conduct of god's righteous man

he says the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom they are noted for their wise words and their just words matter of fact verse 31 says that the law of his god is in his heart the righteous man is also noted by his possession of The word of god it's in him he has it and his love for the word of god not only does he have it but he has it in his heart and in a way that would truly be fulfilled by the new covenant the righteous man has the law of god in his

heart just as jeremiah chapter 31 33 describes and because of this knowledge and reliance on god's word none of his steps Shall slide i like what the old puritan commentator said about this he said he has a bible in his head and another in his heart the word of god is both in his head and in his heart verses 32 and 33 here's the character in the response of the wicked to all this it says here verse 32 the wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him the lord will not leave him in his

hand Nor condemn him when he is judged now that's what the wicked one does verse 32 the wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him you know in considering the remarkable blessings that god has appointed to the righteous david did not think that it meant life would be easy no one danger that even the righteous will face is from the wicked who will hate the Righteous without a cause but listen here's the good promise in verse 33 the lord will not leave him in his hand in other words god will not leave the righteous

man or woman at the mercy of the wicked do you see how wonderful that is god will not leave the righteous man or woman at the mercy of the wicked god will protect them especially in the ultimate judgment He will not condemn him when he is judged and so now here in verses 34 35 and 36 we have an exhortation to trust ready for this david says this and think of david gathering us around his chair his throne and here he is exhorting us he tells us wait on the lord that's verse 34 wait on

the lord and keep his way he shall exalt you to inherit the land When the wicked are cut off you shall see it i have seen the wicked and great power and spreading himself like a native green tree yet he has passed away and behold he was no more indeed i sought him but he could not be found you see that exhortation from david it's for you it's for me he tells us wait on the lord serve him Look to him keep his way and what will he do he will exalt you to inherit the

land for the fifth time in this psalm david promised the people of god that they would inherit the land and as the king of israel david had a concern for the territory of the people of god but he could also extend that thought in the age to come god's people have their place even a land of some sort In the coming age what does that mean i don't exactly know are we going to have acres in heaven are we going to have a mansion that has a lot of property i don't know but god has

a way to fulfill his promise and his people will inherit the land that he has for them but that's not the only reward look at this in verse 34 as well it says when the wicked are cut off you shall see it I find it fascinating for the fifth time in the psalm verse 34 says that the meek or the righteous will inherit the land now in verse 34 for the fifth time in the psalm david promises that the wicked would be cut off or cut down in some sense their coming doom is just as

certain as the coming blessing and security of the righteous And to be an illustration of the wicked this is interesting at least to me in verse 35 he uses the green tree as a picture of the wicked in their prosperity and what i find interesting about that is if you go back to psalm 1 someone uses the picture of a flourishing tree as a picture of the righteous but here is a picture of a green tree as a picture of the Wicked in their prosperity why because it's green today but tomorrow it's brown tomorrow it's

going to lose all its leaves and in the same way david says i have seen the wicked in great power this is david's testimony i have seen the wicked in great power yet he says in verse 36 yet they have passed away they are no more it's like a tree that's green today and Tomorrow loses all its leaves so now david is going to invite us to gain the same testimony that he has that's why he says in verses 37 and 38 mark the blameless man and observe the upright for the future of that man

is peace but the transgressors shall be destroyed together the future of the wicked shall be cut off david says if you pay attention you'll have the Same testimony i have that the righteous men and women of this world god will guard them god will protect them and in the age to come god will bless them you see the righteous men and women of this world get little attention but david says that we should mark the blameless man that we should observe the upright you know the culture of our time is much more interested in the

Godless much more interested in the wicked yet david counseled us to notice these blameless and upright of the world because the future of that man is peace but verse 38 the future of the wicked shall be cut off for the sixth there you go six for the sixth and final time in this psalm david reminds us that the future of the Wicked is no future to be desired again if you go back to the very beginning of the psalm you remember what david was saying at the very beginning he says do not fret because of

evil doers nor be anxious of the workers of iniquity why and he tells us again again and again the future of the wicked is nothing to desire it's a bad future It's been said and i suppose it's true that for the wicked what they have on this earth whether it's good bad or whatever what they have on this earth is the best they will ever have it in all of their existence because what the wicked go to in eternity isn't good but for the godly what they have in this world good bad whatever it is

it is the worst they shall ever have it because at the very best that we can Experience in this life what god has for his people in the life beyond is unspeakably blessed so let's wrap this up the last two verses of this great psalm psalm 37 verses 39 and 40 we read this but the salvation of the righteous is from the lord he is their strength in the time of trouble and the lord shall help them and deliver them He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him this

is a beautiful and helpful thought at the end of this psalm in david's praise and encouragement of righteous men and women it's possible that someone might think that those righteous men and women were saved by their own righteousness that's why i love it what he says there In verse 39 he says the salvation of the righteous is from the lord he is their strength in the time of trouble listen it's not because of them it's from the lord and so yes we see the righteous man or if you want to say the righteous woman throughout

the psalm but please understand they are righteous and they have salvation from the lord not from themselves they Do not save themselves you cannot save yourself you can't save yourself but by the good that you have done in the past by the good you're doing right now or the good you promised to do one day no none of it avails before god it's to by faith receive the salvation that god himself promises to his people and what's more of that God promises for his people that he will be their strength in time of trouble did

you see that line in verse 39 he is their strength in the time of trouble you know it makes me remember what we read in ephesians chapter 6 verse 10 where paul in that great passage upon spiritual warfare he said this he said be strong in the lord and in the power Of his might be strong in the lord and in the power of his might he is their strength in time israel god says i will be your strength and listen some of you who are watching this or listening this maybe you're strong people and

if you're strong god bless you that's great i suppose but can i tell you even at your best your strength is nothing compared to the Strength of god absolutely nothing how better to much better to have god as our strength especially in the time of trouble you see trouble is going to overthrow the wicked but trouble will drive us to our strong helper and god loves to uphold us in those times that's why he says in verse 40 he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him Again because of

their trust because of their faith in him it's not because they're so wonderful but but they have their trust in a wonderful god their place in him is secured in their trusting love of the lord what a beautiful powerful psalm psalm 37 now as we've been making our way through the book of psalms we like to see how each psalm points to jesus and let me give you three ways that i See that this psalm points to jesus and of course there's more than just these three ways but here's three ways that i see first

of all verse 11 reminds us of the words of jesus matter of fact jesus quoted the words of psalm 37 verse 11. do you remember that line in verse 11 of this psalm the meek shall inherit the earth jesus quoted that line in the sermon on the Mount the third beatitude blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth that's in matthew chapter 5 verse 5. matter of fact you could say that psalm 37 is an exposition upon that third beatitude in matthew chapter 5 verse 7. now listen i know it's not actually i

know that david wrote psalm 37 a thousand years before Jesus uttered the sermon on the mount but isn't it amazing to see that psalm 37 is really all about how god will take care of his meek and cause them to inherit the earth that this unfolds as james montgomery boyce said it unfolds the character of the meek or the trusting person in the face of the apparent prosperity of the wicked again That's what james boyce said and i think it's true yes verse 11 of psalm 37 points us to jesus because jesus quoted that line

in the beatitudes of the sermon on the mount then secondly we see jesus in verse 23. what do i mean by that notice this verse 23 says that the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord man if that was true for anybody at any Time it was true of jesus christ was there ever somebody who was a better man the ultimate good man of course is jesus himself and god ordered the steps of jesus in a way that no other man's steps were ordered jesus said i only do those things that please

my father oh yes jesus had his steps ordered by god the father he was the ultimate Good man whose steps were ordered by the lord and then finally i want you to see and i really like this one we'll conclude with this that jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of verse 4 or maybe i say he's the ultimate fulfiller of verse 4 it says delight yourself also in the lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart Was there ever anyone who delighted themselves in the lord more than jesus of nazareth as he walked

this earth and is there anyone who received the desires of his heart in greater glory and measure than jesus himself did think about it isaiah chapter 11 verse 3 speaking prophetically of the messiah says this his delight is in the fear of the lord If there was anybody who delighted himself god it was jesus jesus's whole delight was in the fear of the lord his god and father oh god was his delight he was completely delighted in god his father and then in isaiah chapter 53 verse 11 here's another prophetic passage from isaiah it says

this of jesus messiah he shall see the labor of his soul And be satisfied brother sister do you see that he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied this was the desire of jesus's heart to do his work to live his life to fulfill all obedience to identify with us perfectly and to make atonement in every dimension at the cross as jesus made that that was the labor of his soul and as he Saw it he was satisfied he was satisfied because you if you are a child of god if you are

born again by god's spirit if you truly do belong to jesus christ you were the labor of his soul and he is satisfied when it says and if we apply this to jesus delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart The salvation of jesus's people was the desire of his heart and we can say this on a corporate level but it also comes down to the individual he loves you you were the desire of his heart and he'll watch over you and keep you both now and in eternity

we can be at rest in that that's how special we are to jesus not because we in particular anything special but he is Such a special god that he regards us as weak and as erring as we are this is how he regards us let's pray and thank the lord for that father we thank you for the greatness of a psalm like this and the great assurance that it gives us that we don't have to worry when we see things seemingly spinning out of control in the world Whether it's through crisis or catastrophe or or

seemingly the benefit of the wicked in the world no we can put our trust in you and we can see lord how you will protect your people and give them the ultimate vindication that we can be among those who see desire fulfilled and that we inherit the earth not because we're anything special but Because we serve a god who's very special and thank you lord for desiring us so much that you won our salvation at the cross we believe it and we receive it in jesus name amen [Music] you