Psalm 37
Psalm 37
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrong doers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noon day.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret - it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place,
they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
The wicked plot against the righteous,
and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to kill those who walk uprightly;
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
Better is a little that the righteous person has
than the abundance 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 blameless,
and their heritage will abide forever;
they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.
But the wicked perish,
and the enemies of the Lord are like
the glory of the pastures;
they vanish - like smoke they vanish away.
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Our steps are made firm by the Lord,
when he delights in our way;
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
for the Lord holds us by the hand.
I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
and their children become a blessing.
Depart from evil and do good;
so you shall abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
I have seen the wicked oppressing and towering
like a cedar of Lebanon.
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
the Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
It is so easy to be angry right now. It is easy to be consumed by the injustices and hardships surrounding us. It is easy to be hurt by leaders that put economics before health. And its maddening to think about how all of this could have been prevented.
But if I become angry. If I get bitter, they win. If I become consumed by my rage then their wickedness supersedes His peace. If all I am thinking about is their mistakes and my fears, then I lose out on the genuine love and hope of Christ.
When I commit to the Lord, I can rest assured that He will act. When I turn my gaze to His righteousness, I will not be overtaken by thoughts of dread. I will not be overcome with fear or anger. I will be blessed abundantly in His love. The past four weeks or more have demonstrated His abundant blessings. I have been blessed with health, safety, jobs and food. But if I am too busy thinking about what's going wrong - I forget to dwell on His blessings in my own life.
When I look to Him I will be able to look past this world and its present suffering. I will cling to the One that promises me everything. And when I rest in these promises, when I rest in His love, I can share this love and be led by His plans for me. Instead of raging in anger or bitterness, I can be consumed by love and share that love with others that desperately need it right now.
If I am tuned into Him; if I am truly taking delight in Him, then He will make my paths straight and show me a way to give back to others and act in love.
However, if I am consumed by my fears and worries and anger, I miss out on the chance to love others as He loves me. I miss the opportunity to shine His light when I refuse to be still and wait patiently for Him.
It will not be easy. And some feelings of injustice are alright; they stir us into action. But let us not be overtaken by anger and rage. Because if we are consumed by everything going wrong right now - we lose sight of those things that are going right. When we are consumed by the terrors in this world we lose sight of the redemption He promises us in the next. It is our sacred responsibility as believers to rest in His promises and share His hope with the world. We simply cannot do that if we first focus on our own feelings of anger and fear.
We need Him. We always have, but now we especially need Him to remind us that He is in control. That all the horrors that surround us are only temporary. That we can stand up for those in need, but we cannot stand on the rage and anger we feel towards others. Truly, we can only help others if we take a stand in His love. That is the only way.
He promises to make our steps firm when we delight and trust in Him. So let us reach out in faith and trust that all the pain in this world is not all there is. Let us trust that He will pursue justice as outlined in this Psalm. But let's leave that justice to Him. Let's instead seek to love and help those in need. Let us turn our gaze to Him and be consumed by His love and joy and peace. Instead of anger, let us choose to be still in Him. In this stillness, let us care for others by sharing His hope; by sharing His love - this love that consumes and frees us from the pain of this world.
He promises justice; let us be still and rest in His love instead of our anger.
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrong doers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noon day.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret - it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place,
they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
The wicked plot against the righteous,
and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to kill those who walk uprightly;
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
Better is a little that the righteous person has
than the abundance 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 blameless,
and their heritage will abide forever;
they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.
But the wicked perish,
and the enemies of the Lord are like
the glory of the pastures;
they vanish - like smoke they vanish away.
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Our steps are made firm by the Lord,
when he delights in our way;
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
for the Lord holds us by the hand.
I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
and their children become a blessing.
Depart from evil and do good;
so you shall abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
I have seen the wicked oppressing and towering
like a cedar of Lebanon.
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
the Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
It is so easy to be angry right now. It is easy to be consumed by the injustices and hardships surrounding us. It is easy to be hurt by leaders that put economics before health. And its maddening to think about how all of this could have been prevented.
But if I become angry. If I get bitter, they win. If I become consumed by my rage then their wickedness supersedes His peace. If all I am thinking about is their mistakes and my fears, then I lose out on the genuine love and hope of Christ.
When I commit to the Lord, I can rest assured that He will act. When I turn my gaze to His righteousness, I will not be overtaken by thoughts of dread. I will not be overcome with fear or anger. I will be blessed abundantly in His love. The past four weeks or more have demonstrated His abundant blessings. I have been blessed with health, safety, jobs and food. But if I am too busy thinking about what's going wrong - I forget to dwell on His blessings in my own life.
When I look to Him I will be able to look past this world and its present suffering. I will cling to the One that promises me everything. And when I rest in these promises, when I rest in His love, I can share this love and be led by His plans for me. Instead of raging in anger or bitterness, I can be consumed by love and share that love with others that desperately need it right now.
If I am tuned into Him; if I am truly taking delight in Him, then He will make my paths straight and show me a way to give back to others and act in love.
However, if I am consumed by my fears and worries and anger, I miss out on the chance to love others as He loves me. I miss the opportunity to shine His light when I refuse to be still and wait patiently for Him.
It will not be easy. And some feelings of injustice are alright; they stir us into action. But let us not be overtaken by anger and rage. Because if we are consumed by everything going wrong right now - we lose sight of those things that are going right. When we are consumed by the terrors in this world we lose sight of the redemption He promises us in the next. It is our sacred responsibility as believers to rest in His promises and share His hope with the world. We simply cannot do that if we first focus on our own feelings of anger and fear.
We need Him. We always have, but now we especially need Him to remind us that He is in control. That all the horrors that surround us are only temporary. That we can stand up for those in need, but we cannot stand on the rage and anger we feel towards others. Truly, we can only help others if we take a stand in His love. That is the only way.
He promises to make our steps firm when we delight and trust in Him. So let us reach out in faith and trust that all the pain in this world is not all there is. Let us trust that He will pursue justice as outlined in this Psalm. But let's leave that justice to Him. Let's instead seek to love and help those in need. Let us turn our gaze to Him and be consumed by His love and joy and peace. Instead of anger, let us choose to be still in Him. In this stillness, let us care for others by sharing His hope; by sharing His love - this love that consumes and frees us from the pain of this world.
He promises justice; let us be still and rest in His love instead of our anger.
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