PM July 11th Psa 37

July 11^th            Psalm 37

A Psalm of David

The Good and the bad

1: Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2: For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3: Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4: Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5: Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6: And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8: Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9: For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10: For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11: But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12: The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13: The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 14: The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15: Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16: A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17: For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18: The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 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 shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 21: The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 22: For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23: The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24: Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. 25: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26: He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27: Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28: For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29: The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30: The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31: The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. 32: The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33: The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. 34: Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 35: I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36: Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37: Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 38: But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39: But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40: And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

 

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David, to bring to rememberance.

A man in pain in prayer

1: O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2: For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. 3: There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4: For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5: My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. 6: I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7: For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8: I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. 9: Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. 10: My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. 11: My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. 12: They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 13: But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14: Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15: For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. 16: For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. 17: For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18: For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. 19: But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20: They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. 21: Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. 22: Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

To the chief musician even to Jeduthun,

We are reading two Psalms today, Psalm 37 & 38, the first being a famous Psalm, No 37. Both are Psalms of David. This Psalm is a classic of OT theology. It’s in the form of a song of course and contains simple, pithy, godly sentiments. It expresses the simple concept that the Lord sees the righteous living of the godly and hears their prayer for justice. It is a song based on the old Covenant and therefore the exhortations are to righteous living under the Mosaic laws. David begins saying do not fret yourself about those who live evil lives and do not envy those who do bad things. They will be cut down like the morning grass and wither like a herb in a dry pot. Instead put your trust in the Lord and do good things and the Lord will see to it that you will remain in the land of Israel and there you will have enough to eat. Find your delight in the Lord and he will give you all the things that you long for. Commit your daily path to the Lord and he will bring you to your destination. He will reveal your right path he will make your path as clear as the noon day sun. Take your rest in the Lords arms and wait for him to act on your behalf and do not get upset because others seem to be getting on ok when you don’t seem to. Because sometimes those who are getting on are doing it by the wrong methods. Calm down and don’t get cross and don’t get your own back. Those who do really bad things will be destroyed by the Lord but those that wait for the Lord to act will find that they will inherit the whole earth. Very soon the wicked will be cut off. The Lord just smiles and giggles at their silly attempts to harm you because he knows that they don’t have much time left. The wicked set themselves in battle formation against the righteous to try to destroy them but their weapons will be turned on themselves. The little possessions that a righteous man has is better than the wealth of many evil men. The arms of the wicked will be broken but the Lord will gather the righteous in his arms. And so David continues on and on describing blessing of God on the righteous and judgment on the wicked. Of course this is all about righteous living under the Mosaic Law. Those who feared the Lord and lived to please God by their keeping the commandments of the Lord are the righteous in this Psalm. Christians live righteously too but not to obtain the blessing of the Lord but because they have already received it by faith in Christ. The good man finds that the Lord orders his steps and he finds it a delight to follow the Lord. Even if he falls by the wayside he is not totally cast down. Because the Lord will lift him up again. From my earliest days to my old age l have never seen the righteous begging in the street for need of food or his little children.  The Lord is merciful and he lends to the poor and blesses his children. So then turn away from all evil and do good things and the Lord will bless you forever. The Lord loves justice and never forsakes his saints and they will be preserved forever. The righteous talk of the justice of the Lord and the Mosaic Law is in his heart therefore he will not backslide. If you wait patiently for the Lord and keep his life style then he will lift you up and when he destroys the wicked you will see it happening. I have seen great wicked men but they died and were forgotten. So watch carefully the righteous man and watch how he lives because that man will end his days in peace. But the wicked will all be destroyed together. The Lord will deliver the righteous and he will strengthen them in the day of trouble. In the next Psalm David speaks to the Lord because he is being sore tried. He pleads with the Lord not to crush him in his discipline. David is restless and uncomfortable because he is conscious of sin. He says l am drowning in my sins! And they weigh on me like a very heavy rucksack which is much too heavy for me. He speaks of trouble, wounds, being crushed and mourning all day long. Lord he says look at me! My heart races, and my strength fails and my eyes are darkened. My family desert me. They also wish me dead. I was deaf and dumb to them. But LORD l am hoping in you. I am ready to give up and sadness fills my heart. Because I will confess my sins and I will be sorry for all that I have done. Do not desert me O my God. Come quickly to deliver me O Lord my Deliverer. This Psalm was addressed to the chief musician – Jeduthun.