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July 11, 2019
The word Sabbath means to cease. So as Dr. Brooks is away on sabbatical, we will be using his original devotionals from 2009 on the book of Psalms. He will resume The Bible Project devotionals upon his return. Thank you for reading with us and praying for him as he replenishes his soul for the next seven years of ministry.
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Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
New International Version (NIV)
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Habbakkuk wondered why. Do you? Why do the evil prosper and the good suffer? Of course this presumes that the line of good and evil is that easy to discern. Still, it is hard not to wonder at how the worst in our world seem to succeed. David decided not to fret about it. In fact, in this Psalm he has five positive things we can do in our relationship with the Lord, instead of worrying about evil. Let's try them on.
Trust in the Lord and do good (verse 3). Christians do not passively trust. While we believe in God we do good and enjoy his protection.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (verse 4). At first this sounds like a formula which forces God's hand: "I'll delight and you deliver, God." What if we really delighted in God? Wouldn't that change our desires as he changed our hearts?
Commit your way to the Lord (verse 5). Listen to the promise in verse 6: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Doesn't this sound more promising than our fragile and futile efforts to highlight our own goodness?
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (verse 7). This is getting harder isn't it. Of course the reward is worth the risk. Imagine getting ahead of God and trying to force his hand. Even if we can't be still on our own, we can be still in the presence of the Lord as we wait for his promise. Ultimately the meek not only inherit heaven, but we inherit the earth. C. S. Lewis famously explained, "Shoot for heaven and you get earth thrown in. Shoot for earth and you miss both." An older David reflects in verse 25, "I was young and now I am old; yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." God will not forsake us.
Wait for the Lord and keep his way (verse 34). Evil is temporary, but righteousness is eternal. Isn't this a better life pattern than worrying about the evil. Come on then, we have work to do. As the poet put it:
Only one life, 'twill soon be past
Only what's done for Christ will last.
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| This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan. Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download
the app at readscripture.org. Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully,
Duane
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