The Good, Bad, and the Delightful
Pastor
Bad people sometimes seem to do very well in life while good people often have their struggles. This tension in the way things ought to be has always been present. Even three thousand years ago people were thinking about it. Even after all this time, Psalm 37 remains a real world passage. In this Psalm of David, he speaks to the issue of evil people. In the process he reveals things about God that are very helpful to us. What David has written shows us why God delighted in David so much.
1
Do not fret because of evil men 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
Delight yourself 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 righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the
noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret
when men 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 evil men will be cut off, 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 great
peace. 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. The days of the blameless are known
to the LORD, 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: The LORD's enemies will be like
the beauty of the fields, they will vanish-- vanish like 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 cut off. 23 If
the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; 24 though he
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 blessed. 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. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked
will be cut off; 29 the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it
forever. (NIV)
This passage has three themes that I would like to highlight. First, God speaks against the wicked when he indicates their ultimate end. At the same time, he warns God’s people not to act like the wicked. There is instruction here on avoiding the negative. Second, he gives several directions on having spiritual peace within your life. Third, he shows the difference between those who do evil, and the righteous who do good.
Don’t be concerned about those who do wrong. David urges us not to fret about evil people. The second part of verse one captures the heart of the issue when it says not to be envious of them. Obviously, we would not be envious of the sin but of their apparent success even though they do evil. In fact, in verse 7 he says it just like that, “do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” David does not leave evil undefined. In verse 14 he tells us that those who “bring down the poor and needy” are the wicked ones. They are contrasted with the righteous of verse 21 who “give generously.” Now it becomes clear that this is vintage Judaism and Early Christianity. To neglect the needy is to be wicked but to give generously to the needy is to be righteous.
There are two things about evil people. A righteous person should refrain from anger and wrath. James said it plainly in James 1:19b-20 “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
In addition, the righteous person should consider the outcome of the selfish life lived by the wicked. Verse 2 says they “will soon wither.” In verse 9 they will be “cut off.” In verse 10 “they will be no more.” In verse 15 they will find that they evil they have prepared for others will return to them. “Their swords will pierce their own hearts.” In verse 20 they “perish” and in verse 22 they are “cut off.”
Secondly, David is inspired to give several directions on having spiritual peace within your life. First, he says in verse 3 to “trust in the Lord.” Surely this is the inspiration for the American saying, “In God we Trust.”
Verse 5 urges God’s people to “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this.” The idea of is committing your way to the Lord is to take your life, roll in up, and roll it onto Jesus. In 1 Peter 5:7 the Apostle said, “ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Casting your anxiety, rolling your troubles to God, and “committing your way” to the Lord are all the same thing. Jesus preached on this same theme in the Sermon on the Mount. Even though he used different words, the meaning is exactly the same.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?[1]
Not being anxious about what will happen to you is summarized in Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…”
We see the connection with the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Trusting in God rather than in human anger must be the definition of meekness. Inheriting the land or the earth are mentioned predominately in the Sermon of the Mount and here in Psalm 37.
Third, David shows the difference between those who do evil, and the righteous who do good. Those who do evil have schemes for bringing down the poor and needy. In the day of trouble, the selfish person will whither. However, the person who has been giving generously to the needy will find in the time of famine, they will enjoy plenty. As proof, David offers in verse 25 that although he is now old, he has never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. The result of being kind to others in their time of need is that God will be kind to you in your hour of difficulty.
The thing that I love about all this is that it is God who sustains it. These are not spiritual laws. This is a relationship between God and the righteous. There are two verses in this chapter that I think capture the idea of relationship. They are verses 4 and 23-24. These verses share the word “delight.” In verse 4 our side of the relationship is emphasized. “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Delighting yourself in the Lord is a beautiful picture. We are so happy to be with the Lord. He shapes us in his image. We reflect who he is. We honor and respect him. We admire who he is and what he does. It makes us really happy and we are proud of God. I don’t really think the emphasis is on what God gives us, even though he gives us the desires of our heart. All of us have friendships that are beneficial to us. But the friendship is not about the benefits. Friendship is about friendship. Benefits happen naturally.
I hope you delight in the Lord. If not, tell him that is what you want. You want to enjoy God and your relationship with him. You want to be able to love and worship God with all your heart.
There is a sequel to this from God’s viewpoint. Verses 23-24 expresses the counterpart. “If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” This is not us admiring God. This is God admiring us. He looks down at us and says “that’s my guy.” “She’s one of mine.” God takes delight in us. We want him to look at us and be proud of how we think and of what we do.
When God takes delight in our way he helps us. In verse 23 God makes our “steps firm.” God puts us on solid ground. I love how verse 24 continues the thought. “though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” You would think that the righteous person would have no more troubles. I have described this chapter as a “real world” chapter because it recognizes that evil people can do well for a while. At the same time, spirit-led, God-serving people can sometimes stumble. We can make our mistakes. We misread the signs. We don’t quite hear from God 100% correctly. We get into relationships and deals that are not what they should be. As a result, we “stumble.” Like Peter who began to sink into the water, God reaches out and upholds us. He lifts us before we sink. He upholds us before we fall. Because he delights in us and loves us, he will not forsake us.