Meditation Friday, September 13, 2013 Revived by His Word - chapter of the Psalm 37 The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked A Psalm of David. 1 Do anot fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down blike the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 cDelight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your dheart. 5 eCommit 1your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 fHe shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, gand wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who hprospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 iCease from anger, and forsake wrath; jDo not fret—it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be 2cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall kinherit the earth. 10 For lyet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, myou will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 11 nBut the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plots against the just, oAnd gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 pThe Lord laughs at him, For He sees that qhis day is coming. 14 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. 15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. 16 rA little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 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. 21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But sthe righteous shows mercy and gives. 22 tFor those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be 3cut off. 23 uThe steps of a good man are 4ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 vThough he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. 26 wHe is 5ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. 28 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. 29 xThe righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever. 30 yThe mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall 6slide. 32 The wicked zwatches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. 33 The Lord awill not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. 34 bWait 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. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. 36 Yet 7he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. 38 cBut the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength din the time of trouble. 40 And ethe Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, fBecause they trust in Him. Comments When I discovered Psalm 37 during my freshman year at Mount Vernon Academy, a boarding school in Ohio, it made a profound impression on me. I memorized the first eight verses and can repeat them to this day. It’s message can be summarized by the song that became an unofficial anthem in Jamaica after Hurricane Gilbert struck the island in 1988--”Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Over and over Psalm 37 counsels “Don’t worry”-- “Do not fret because of evil doers. . . . Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way . . . . Do not fret--it only causes harm.” I knew no evil doers at the Academy, but I had some fretting to overcome. My parents were not wealthy. I had to work many hours each week to care for my school bill. My dresses were limited and rather plain. I did not envy those students who had nicer clothes than I. It was hard, however I told myself not to fret over the very few who did not have to work and looked the other way from those of us who were not dressed as well as they. Yes, I had a fretting problem that I had to overcome. More significant than the Psalm’s counsel of what NOT TO DO is the counsel of what to DO. The ways Psalm 37 helped me not to fret, were the positive commands that said, “Be happy”-- “Trust in the LORD and do good. . . . Delight yourself also in the LORD. . . . Commit your way to the LORD . . . . Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.” As I meditated on the positive counsels in Psalm 37, the Lord helped me to quit fretting and to be happy. The promises given to those following the Lord’s commands also helped me: “Delight yourself also in the LORD and HE SHALL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART.” I claimed that promise. One of the desires of my heart was to be a good student. In spite of having to work many hours each week, the Lord helped me to learn and make good grades. This continued through college and graduate school. “Those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. . . . And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” The counsels and promises of Psalm 37 that I discovered my freshman year at the Academy can help all of us through every difficulty and fill us with peace now and always. Helen E. Sauls Retired Associate Professor Southern Adventist University revivedbyhisword.org/en/bible/psa/37/
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 07:03:56 +0000
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