Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 37:1-2 and following. Indeed, Psalm 37 is not, like most of the previous ones, a prayer of the faithful about the wicked who torment him. On the contrary, it is the answer from above that reaches him. It does not yet bring him the expected deliverance, but the precious resources and instructions necessary to face the evil that surrounds him. And how many times we do this experience! In response to our prayer, instead of taking away our trial, the Lord gives us what it takes to get through it. According to the promise in Psalm 32:8-9, “I will teach you, and I will teach you; … I will advise you… “, we recognize the voice of the tender Master. He Himself has put into practice the instructions He gives here. And, knowing our poor hearts, He knows well that the sight of evil around us can produce two unfortunate feelings: irritation and jealousy (Pr 24:1-2, 19-20). Hence these exhortations that we should read often: Do not irritate yourself; confide in yourself; practices good; put your way back on the Lord; quiet residence, … Rich promises too, which are linked to it! “He will give you the requests of your heart…; He will act. Let Him act alone! Soon the God of peace will break Satan under our feet (Rom 16:20).
« By the Lord the steps of man are strengthened. » Independence characterizes us by nature: Recognizing that we need God for every step of our daily lives is a matter of course that we do not always admit. Let’s not wait until we have made many falls to be convinced of this and to accept the Lord’s help. For this psalm is about the righteous (or the righteous). The child of God today has the right to bear the same title (Rom 5:19-21). How does a righteous person get recognized? He uses grace and gives (Ps 37:1-22). His mouth professes wisdom, and his tongue speaks righteousness; the law of his God is in his heart. Love, wisdom, truth, attachment to the Word, can all these traits be noticed in our daily walk? In return, let us count on God’s strength, help, and deliverance. That the just should be abandoned is indeed inconceivable. And yet we know that this must be the case with “he who is perfectly righteous” (Job 34:16-17; Ps 22:1-4).
Here is the meditation of a believer, or a worshipper, who contemplates the moral scene that surrounds him, the one that the apostle calls the “train of this world,” in the light offered to him by faith and hope. And with the serenity and certainty that comes to him from this light, he gives a particularly consoling message. He speaks of the future day when everything will be definitively settled between righteous and wicked, although for a time it does not seem to be so: The wicked are cut off from the earth, and the inheritance is given to the debonairs, this is the theme of this psalm which could have as its epigraph these words of Isaiah: “Say exactly that good will happen to him… Woe to the bad guy! evil will come unto him” (Isaiah 3:10-11). The psalmist relates his experience to us in a way as the seal of this truth. Having known many men and many circumstances, he could say that he had never seen either the righteous finally abandoned, nor the wicked, although stretching for a time like a green tree, finally prosperous. That is why he desires that the righteous take courage, despite the many afflictions of all kinds that they are currently experiencing. Their end will be peace when the wicked are entrenched. They will receive the inheritance and enjoy it forever, when the day (i.e. judgment) of the ungodly comes.
For debonairness, which must thus inherit the earth (see Mat 5:5), seems to be that inner disposition that makes us accept to be nothing until the promised inheritance comes. The Lord Jesus (in whom all perfection was) fully manifested this character. Although Lord of all things, he agreed to have nothing; and the kingdom is a reward for his debonairness (Mat 21:5). Presently the saints in their measure are the debonairs, as will be in their day the faithful of the residue (Zep 2:3). Thus we can all make the words of this psalm our own; for the experience of all of God’s chosen people is, in its nature, the same as that which we have here. But it’s the residue that will most intensely feel the need for such consolations when, in the last days, it will be closely tightened by the victorious confederations of the wicked. Verse 11 and the passage in Matt 5:5 show that there is a great moral resemblance between the disciples of the Lord Jesus and the residue of the last days. Let the righteous, therefore, not torment and not despair, but trust in Jehovah and do good; let them have their delights in Him, for their desires will be fulfilled; they will enjoy prosperity; let them put their way back on The Lord, he will justify them; let them rest in Him and wait patiently for Him, for he will intervene, cut off the bad guys and give the country as a legacy to the debonairs!
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Don’t get irritated by the success of the bad guys:
· Envy, forbidden
Ps 37:1 of David. Do not irritate yourself against the wicked, Do not envy those who do evil. Pr 3:31 Do not envy the violent man, and do not choose any of his ways. Pr 14:30 A calm heart is the life of the body, but envy is the decay of bones. Pr 23:17 Let your heart not envy sinners, but always have the fear of the Lord; 1 Cor 13:4 Charity is patient, it is full of goodness; charity is not envious; charity does not boast, it does not swell with pride; Gal 5:26 Let us not seek vain glory, provoking one another, envious of one another.
· The Wicked die before time
Jb 22:16 They were swept away before time, They had the duration of a torrent that flows. Ps 37:22 For those whom the Lord blesses possess the land, and those whom he curses are entrenched. Pr 10:27 The fear of Jehovah increases the days, but the years of the wicked are shortened. Ec 7:17 Do not be overly wicked, and be foolish: why would you die before your time? Esa 40:24 They are not even planted, not even sown, Their trunk does not even have a root in the ground: It blows on them, and they dry out, And a whirlwind carries them away like thatch.
· Divine Promises to Believers
-Food for the body Ps 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and practice good; Have the country for abode and fidelity for pasture.
-Boundless blessings Mk 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can!… Everything is possible to the one who believes.
Answering prayer Mk 11:24 That is why I say to you: Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and you will see it fulfilled.
-Disappearance of obstacles Lk 17:6 And the Lord said: If you had faith like a grain of seneve, you would say to this sycamore: Uproot yourself, and plant yourself in the sea; and he would obey you.
-Divine adoption Jn 1:12 But to all who have received her, to those who believe in her name, she has given the power to become children of God, who are born,
-Eternal Life John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Spiritual fullness John 6:35 Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
Spiritual Light Jn 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that whoever believes in me will not dwell in darkness.
-Power for service Jn 14:12 Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes in me will also do the works I do, and he will do greater ones, because I go to the Father;
-Salvation Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is a power of God for the salvation of whoever believes, first of the Jew, then of the Greek,
· Earthly inheritance of the righteous
Ps 37:11-12 The wretched possess the land, and they enjoy peace abundantly. 12 The wicked form plans against the righteous, and he cringes against him. Isaiah 57:13 When you cry out, will the crowd of your idols deliver you? The wind will carry them all, a breath will take them away. But he who trusts in me will inherit the country, and possess my holy mountain. Mt 5:5 Blessed are the debonairs, for they will inherit the earth! Rom 4:13 Indeed, it was not by law that the inheritance of the world was promised to Abraham or his posterity, it was by the righteousness of faith.
From all of the above, we note the righteous man character that appears from verse 12. For the Lord does not forget his saints; he keeps them; the righteous will own the land. What they are especially exhorted to, after all, is to expect Jehovah and keep His way. The righteous suffer, but they are not forgotten; the wicked enjoy great prosperity, but for a while, and their place no longer recognizes them! How much all that we read here, touching on the righteous, shows us the depth of the sufferings of the One who was forsaken, while being the perfection of justice. Thus, in this psalm, the Spirit of God wants to teach us to expect nothing less than the resurrection and the kingdom – and that only those are wise according to God who “consider their end.” This is a simple, serious and holy lesson, a blessed lesson for those who are for God strangers and fairgrounds here on earth. “For the world is leaving, and its lust; but he who does God’s will remains eternally.” For Ps. 37 is of great interest: it addresses the residue, and with it every soul, to exhort him to expect God and not to let himself be troubled in his mind by the wicked; for they will suddenly be mowed down like grass! For there is a resemblance between the disciples and the remnant (Mat 5:5); but he also shows us the difference between them: the Son was with the disciples; they could suffer for his name; and this introduced heaven (Mat 5:12). In the same way Jesus could reveal the Father to them, and establish them as the light of the world (Mat 5:14) and the salt of the earth (Mat 5:13). All this, together with the revelation of the Father who acts in grace, on behalf of those who obey God. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the warning against the vanity of earthly riches. »
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.