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. Psalm 37
I wrote on Psalm 37 in a couple of recent blogs and said it was one of my favourite psalms. Last night Johnny Enlow shared in depth from this psalm on Elijah Streams and interestingly he said that he believed the Lord was saying it would be a good psalm to memorise. It’s an acrostic psalm, the first word of each of the 22 stanzas, begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. He said he also felt that believers would benefit from getting the words of the psalm directly into their blood stream, like an intravenous injection. The broadcast was titled Psalm 37 I.V.
Psalm 37 is speaking to the times in which we are alive. The wicked are not going to rule God’s people and this earth indefinitely, as it says in verse 2 above, ‘they will soon wither and soon die away’. We don’t know how long ‘soon’ will be in Earth time, but ‘the times they are a changing’ as Bob Dylan sang back in 1964.
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. Psalm 37
At the same time as judgement comes upon the wicked God promises blessings will come to the righteous, ‘those who trust in Him and do good’.
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 (the justice of your cause) like the noonday sun. Psalm 37
I believe that the righteous are literally going to shine, manifest the Glory of God, in the times ahead. It will be an era of increasing light for God’s people and increasing darkness for those who oppose Him and His Kingdom.
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. Psalm 37
Believers must take a stand for righteousness and for the Lord in these days. The enemy is fighting to keep people enslaved under his domination, but the Lord is on the battlefield now and his grip is weakening. No matter what struggles lie ahead, God is moving on behalf of His people.
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. Psalm 37
This psalm repeats that GOD’S CHILDREN WILL INHERIT and when Israel came into their inheritance they drove out false worship. God also told Abraham, the father of all who believe, that the sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its fullness. Genesis 15:16 Sin is reaching and has reached new levels on the earth today, a sure sign that God is soon to intervene. God is very patient but He won’t be mocked and there always comes a time when He says enough.
You may not or may not choose to memorise Psalm 37, but you can read it and lay hold of some of the great promises in it. This is written for our time and it will surely come to pass.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.