Sermon Series: A SUMMER IN THE PSALMS

PSALM 37

THE HERITAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON

"Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret--it only causes harm.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
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.
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.
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.
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 wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.

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And the Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree, yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
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.
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."

Message:
"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread"(v.25).
This verse establishes the psalm as a psalm of mature wisdom. If it was written by David, as the title says it was, it was apparently composed by him in his old age after a lifetime of reflection on the ways of the righteous and the wicked and of God’s dealings with each.
This is an acrostic psalm. The acrostic itself is almost perfect, but not quite. Most of the letters in this acrostic are developed in four lines to each successive letter of the alphabet. However, the fourth letter (verse 7), the eleventh letter (v.20), and the nineteenth letter (verse 34) have only three lines each.
David divides his subject into four parts, elaborating each one at considerable length.
We could entitle the first eleven verses...PROSPECTS THAT ARE FOREIGN TO THE WICKED. These verses look at things from the point of view of the righteous man. David strikes the right note at once for the righteous man has certain prospects that are absolutely outside the realm of experience of the wicked man. These prospects are rooted both in the character and continuance of God’s throne, things which are spiritual and unseen rather than seen and temporal. The righteous man has a dimension of life altogether different from that of the sinner.
Our psalm begins with these words of admonition: "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." The words "do not fret" literally mean "do not get heated," which is also how we might express it...or, we might say, "Don’t get all worked up." The fretting or anger that is warned against comes from envy toward "the workers of iniquity" because of their apparent success in this world. As the psalmist later says, "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree" (v.35). Nevertheless, this should not cause the righteous anxiety. Whatever power the "evildoers" now have, it will be gone in a moment. They will be "cut down" like mowed grass" and "wither as the green herb" dies in the hot summer sun. The "evildoers" are simply among those with no anchor in eternity, with no ground beyond themselves.

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In the end the evil man's harvest is not something to be envied. He is to be pitied for his little day does not last very long.
What is the secret of not fretting? Verses 3 through 11 gives two answers...we are to look up, and we are to look ahead. The most important answer is to get our eyes off the wicked and even off ourselves and on the Lord. More than that, we are to trust Him and commit our way to Him. I suppose there is hardly a place in all the Bible better suited than these verses to teach us how to live godly lives and grow in the love and knowledge of God, which is what the godly life is about.
Verse 3 says: "Trust in the Lord." Trust is faith. It is the proper starting point for a right relationship with God. Yet as always, faith is not merely passive but active too, and not merely God-related but related to others. That is why the verse adds the words "and do good." It means that the person who is quietly trusting God will experience the life and power of God in his or her life and that this new life will express itself by doing good to others. Although we are not saved by works but rather are saved by the grace of God through faith, faith will inevitably express itself in right conduct.
Faith (trust) has three elements: NOTITIA or "content," ASSENSUS, which is personal "consent to" or "agreement with" that content, and FIDUCIA or "trust." The last point involves personal commitment to God, just as marriage involves a personal commitment of each marriage partner to the other.
God has committed Himself to us. We must commit ourselves to Him if we are to be Christians.
Verse 4 says: "Delight...in the Lord." The verb for "delight" means to be of dainty habit, to take exquisite delight. As the righteous "delight" in Yahweh, the "desires" of their hearts will be given to them. This does not mean that our selfish desires will be granted, although God promises to care materially for His people. It does mean that as we delight in the Lord He will change us and the desires of our hearts will be in conformity to His will. So Jesus promises, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7)
Not only are the righteous to "delight" in the Lord, they are also to walk in His ways. So the psalmist continues, "Commit your way to the Lord or, literally, "Roll your way upon Yahweh." As the righteous walk they are to "trust also in Him." The promise then follows: "And He shall bring it to pass" or, literally, "He will do it." Our job then is to surrender. God will "bring forth [their] righteousness as the light, and [their] justice as the noonday" and we will shine with His character. Luther, commenting on this thought, says that when we come to Christ we are married to Him by faith. Like a bride we give Him all we have, namely, all our sin—and He gives us all He has, namely, all His righteousness.
Verse 5 is a summary of how to live life as a believer! First, there is the decision: "Commit!" Then there is faith: "Trust also in Him." Finally, there is the Lord's work: all that we do is what He does in us. "He shall bring it to pass." This text, like John 3:16, is undamaged when it is lifted from its context. Yet, the context is illuminating.

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The author is an old man (v.25). From the vantage point of a lifetime of experience he meditates on the fate of the wicked and the righteous. While he has seen the wicked in great power (35), he has also seen them pass away. The righteous, however, are secure because they are held in the hand of God (vv. 23-24). Since the destruction of the wicked is sure (vv. 34-35), the righteous are not to fret over their fate (vv. 1, 7, 8).
Verse 7 says: "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." Our attitude is to be one of patience before God. One of my favorite quotes is from Blaise Pascal who said that the basic thing that is wrong with the world is that man "does not know how to stay quietly in his own room." It is a good thought, expressed in humorous and therefore memorable language. But this fourth step in the life of godly trust in God goes beyond simply sitting quietly. It tells us to be still "before the Lord, that is, to "wait patiently for Him." Mere stillness is not enough. What is needed is a quiet waiting upon God. We must wait in silent patience or confidence for His interposition; or, in other words, of leaving the whole matter with Him without being anxious as to the result" He may seem to delay long; it may appear strange that He does not interpose; you may wonder that He should suffer an innocent man to be thus accused and calumniated; but you are not to be anxious and troubled. God does not always interpose in behalf of the innocent at once; and there may be valuable ends to accomplish in reference to yourself,--in the discipline of your own spirit; in bringing out in your case the graces of gentleness, patience, and forgiveness; and in leading you to examine yourself and to understand your own character--which may make it proper that He should not interpose immediately. Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." (Psalm 40:1-3)
Verse 8 says: "REFRAIN FROM ANGER." P.C. Craigie says that "most certainly" this is anger against God! In harboring anger the righteous may become rebels against the Lord. Do not allow your mind to be excited with envious, fretful, wrathful, or murmuring feelings against God because He bears patiently with the wicked...because of their seemingly prosperous ways. Be calm, whatever may be the wickedness of the world. God is in charge! Do not allow your mind to become so excited that you will indulge in harsh or malignant remarks; or so as to lead you to do wrong to any man, however wicked he may be. Remember! "For evildoers shall be cut off; BUT THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD, THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
Consider what this psalm has to say about the wicked and their sin. "For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more" (v.10). "The wicked have drawn the sword...their sword shall enter their own heart" (v. 14,15). "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken...but the wicked shall perish." But it is entirely different story for the righteous person!
"The righteous shall inherit the earth." What does that mean?

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Notice verse 11: "But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
We need to pause here for a moment for this is one of those verses of the Old Testament which shed a flood of light on our Lord’s teaching. The reason Jesus "spoke with authority and not as the scribes" was because He based His teaching solidly on the Scriptures whereas the scribes based theirs on the traditions of the elders. Jesus simply taught the Bible. His soul was so saturated with the Scriptures that they flowed out of His mouth and nearly all His teaching comes right out of the Old Testament. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus quoted this verse..."Blessed are the meek."
Meekness does not mean submissive and spinelessness subservience. It is the Greek word...PRAUS. It can mean the happy medium between too much and too little, or it is a word that can be used to describe an animal which has been trained to obey the word of command, or it can be used to describe a man who is completely God-controlled (only in His service do we find our perfect freedom, and doing His will our peace). There is still a third possible side to this word which may be the closest to the meaning of the word MEEK that Jesus used in His sermon. The Greeks always contrasted the quality which they called PRAOTES, and which the Authorized Version translates MEEKNESS, with the quality which they called HUPSELOKARDIA, which means lofty-heartedness. In PROATOES there is the true humility which banishes all pride. Without humility a man cannot learn, for the first step to learning is the realization of our own ignorance. Man reaches only true manhood when he is always conscious that he is the creature and that God is the Creator, and that without God he can do nothing! No man can lead others until he has mastered himself; no man can serve others until he has subjected himself; no man can be in control of others until he has learned to control himself. But the man who gives himself into the complete control of God will gain this meekness which will indeed enable him to inherit the earth! The righteous person is that person who will someday rule and reign with Christ.
There is another blessing that is enjoyed by the righteous person..."and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ah! What a glorious aspect of our heritage as a person who strives for righteousness. "There is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked." (Isaiah 48:22) "The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind that is controlled by the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6). "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
"The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace." (Psalm 29:11) "Thou will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trust in You." (Isaiah 26:3) "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27).
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).
Our psalm gives us another benefit that comes to the righteous person. Verse 18 says: The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever."

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For the righteous, the Lord sees their whole course of life; and His eyes are upon our ways. Nothing will be able to touch them that is not ordained by God! And when the earthly journey is finished according to His divine timetable, the eternal inheritance is assured. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)"
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Cor. 5:1)
"In My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you." (John 14:1)
Notice in verse 19, the psalmist gives us another benefit that comes to the righteous..."and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied." And we commenced our lesson with verse 25..."I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19)
But there is truth we can't overlook here! The righteous person is one who is ever merciful and lends (v.26), thus God honors those who are generous and giving. And I believe that our giving begins with giving to God in our tithes and our offerings. "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, "In what way have we robbed You?" In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 3:8-11) "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine" (Proverbs 3:9-10)
Notice that our psalm concludes with one more benefit listed that the righteous person receives..."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." (v. 39-40) The righteous person has the protection, the divine assistance, the resources of Omnipotence...always available when the world starts falling apart around him!
The godly man has something that the ungodly man does not have: he has a vital trust in God that tips the scales firmly in his favor! The very character and continuance of God's throne is ultimately at stake in this issue. God would have to cease to be God, cease to be righteous and just, holy and true if He failed to come through fully, finally, and forever on behalf of the righteous man. That is the point the wicked man has forgotten!