Psalm 37 Part 4
Transcript
This is Holly with Presence Point and welcome to our Psalms for Shepherds series. Today, we’re in Psalm 37. This impactful song—there’s so much wisdom in this song that David wrote. The final eight verses really look at the different ways that God will deal with the righteous and the wicked. I’ll begin with verse 32:
Psalm 37:32-40
32 The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the 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.
There’s so much in these last eight verses of this psalm, again a psalm written to Israel still applicable to us today. I think of these last eight verses, I could see the difference in what God will do in my life as the righteous and the life of the wicked. I pray that as you listen, dear under-shepherd, that you are one of the righteous, that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Verse 34 really got my attention, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way and He will exalt you to inherit the land. You will look on when the wicked are cut off.” It’s almost like David is saying wait for the Father! Keep His instruction. Follow what He said because when the wicked are around you, you’ll want to take charge and take control, just run over everything the way you want to handle it. But waiting patiently, David says a couple of times earlier in this psalm, and here we are again, wait. It seems to be one of the hardest things for me to do, I don’t know about you.
So, today shepherd leader, I encourage you to go back and read all of Psalm 37, all 40 verses, looking at how the Father can be trusted, the counsel for the wise, the reward and the blessing He gives the righteous, and again, these other blessings He gives us toward the end of the chapter. But I pray that you’re challenged to wait on Him, to do good, to commit your way to Him, to be still, and remembering that as we are under-shepherds we are impacting and influencing people every day, at home, at church, at work, in our communities, by the way we follow the Father or not. By the way we obey His commands or not.
I pray Psalm 37 has been as powerful for you as it has for me, and I pray that you will find much richness in this psalm for you as an under-shepherd in today’s world. Bless you.
DIGGING DEEPER QUESTIONS:
- Are you one of the righteous that this passage of Scripture is referring to?
- Recall a time when it was difficult for you to wait? Did you race forward or did you wait, nonetheless?
- Is there someone you’re leading and impacting that needs reminding of these truths today?
