(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Psalm 37:1-40) Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Do not be envious of wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And decay like the green plants.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not get upset because of one who is successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To take down the afflicted and the needy,
To kill off those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be eliminated.
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
So that you will dwell forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice
And does not abandon His godly ones;
They are protected forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
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 spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the blameless person, and look at the upright;
For the person of peace will have a future.
38 But wrongdoers will altogether be destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be eliminated.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Do not be envious of wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And decay like the green plants.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not get upset because of one who is successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To take down the afflicted and the needy,
To kill off those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be eliminated.
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
So that you will dwell forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice
And does not abandon His godly ones;
They are protected forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
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 spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the blameless person, and look at the upright;
For the person of peace will have a future.
38 But wrongdoers will altogether be destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be eliminated.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
When we see evil, we can react in several different ways which are pointed out in this psalm. We can let it frazzle us, or we can become jealous of their seemingly cavalier or "successful" lifestyle, or we can be complacent and accept it, or we can be fearful and run for the hills thinking we can protect ourselves, or we can do what God wants us to do... trust in Him and do good.
To fight evil with evil only adds more evil to the world. To be jealous will only amp up the temptation to join in evil activities. Just trusting God is good, but that would be more of a complacent stance. We are consider what we are doing. It requires more trust when we step up and do God's will.
To trust God AND do good... will actually help. Not that God needs us, but God wants us to help, which will help others and ourselves. Verse 3 is very clear - that we should not run away and hide, but we should live IN the land and be a shining example of how to live in God's will, in God's love, peace and confidence.
The command to commit our way to the Lord evokes a very strong picture of us taking a stand with Him - not in our own strength - but in His strength! Verse 6 is very clear that God will do this FOR us. And God is faithful.
Verse 24 lets us know that when believers fall, God still protects us. And as verse 28 says, our salvation is secure. Verses 32-33 say that believers will not be condemned when we are judged. Everyone will be judged. Unbelievers will be judged for their sin. Believers will be judged and rewarded for doing good deeds with the right motives. The key is, that no matter what is happening around us, we need to allow God to work in and through us.
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