May the Spirit of God graciously apply this Psalm to our hearts, comforting us as no one else can! Is he not the Comforter, and what better cordial has he for our spirits than his own Word?
Psalms 37:1-2. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Evil cannot last. It is a feeble plant, like the grass and weeds which the mower's scythe soon cuts down, and leaves to wither in the blazing sunshine.
Psalms 37:3-4. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
This is a most precious verse, its sweetness who can tell? Do not think first of the desires of thy heart, but think first of delighting thyself in thy God. If thou hast accepted him as thy Lord, he is thine; so delight in him, and then he will give thee the desires of thy heart.
Psalms 37:5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Give it over into God's hands, and then confide in him as completely as a little child confides in its mother. «He shall bring it to pass.» It is quite certain that you cannot «bring it to pass,» so you will be wise if you leave it with him who can do what you cannot.
Psalms 37:6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Thou canst not make the light and the noonday; that is a work that is far beyond thy power; but thy God can give thee both light and noonday. He can clear thy character from any slander that may have befouled it, and he can crown thee with honour and glory in place of the contempt that is now cast upon thee.
Psalms 37:7. Rest in the LORD,-
That is the sweetest word of all: «Rest.» Go no further. Fret no more. Bear thy burdens no longer. Make this day a Sabbath to thy soul: «Rest in the Lord,»-And wait patiently for him:-Do not be in a hurry. The Lord has infinite leisure, so partake of it as far as thou canst: «Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:»-
Psalms 37:7-8. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger,-
You cannot do that unless you «rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.» Angry passions fail upon the fire of fretfulness; therefore, «cease from anger,»-
Psalms 37:8-9. And forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Their turn will come in due time. It comes last, but then it comes to last, for there is nothing to come after the last.
Psalms 37:10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
The house in which he lived, or the place that was called by his name, is often destroyed.
Psalms 37:11-12 , But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ‘The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.-
That has been the style of things from the beginning, and the old serpent's seed will be like the old serpent, and he «was more subtle than any beast of the field.» «The wicked plotteth against the just,»-He plots against the Lord's people, but--
Psalms 37:13-18. The Lord shall laugh at him,»For he seeth that his day is coming. 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. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdest the righteous. The LORD knoweth the day of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
He gives them an eternal portion by an everlasting covenant.
Psalms 37:19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
There is nothing that they can get, but God will give them what they cannot get themselves. He will ransack heaven and earth to find food for his people: «In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.»
Psalms 37:20-23. 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. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:-Even his «steps»-the little movements of his life,-not only his «rest plans and his ambitious projects, but «the steps of a good man are ordered by Jehovah;»-
Psalms 37:23. And he delighteth in his way.
He loves to see him walk, even as parents delight to watch the first tottering steps of their little children, so that he, who «taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man,» taketh pleasure in the ways of his people.
Psalms 37:24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:-
For a while, it may seem as if he had been finally defeated; things may seem to go altogether wrong with him; but, «though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;»-
Psalms 37:24-25. For the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
And we also can still speak of the faithfulness of Jehovah. He who took care of his people in David's day has not changed since then. We have not seen the righteous forsaken.
Psalms 37:26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
God has a special regard for the children of believers. Grace does not run in the blood, but it often runs side by side with it. The God of Abraham is the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and the God of Joseph, and the God of Manasseh and Ephraim.
Psalms 37:27-29. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 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. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
I have frequently remarked to you that, although the wolf is very strong and fierce, and the sheep is very weak and timid, yet there are more sheep in the world than there are wolves; and the day will come when the last wolf will be dead, and then the sheep shall cover the plains and feed upon the hills. Weak as the righteous often are, they «shall inherit the land» when the wicked shall have been out off from the earth.
Psalms 37:30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
That which is down in the heart will come up into the mouth, and you may rest assured that men are fairly judged by the common current of their conversation.
Psalms 37:31-33. The law of his God is in his heart, none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
How dreadful it would be for the godly man if the Lord were to leave him in the hand of the wicked! You remember how David sought to avoid that calamity when he had to choose famine, pestilence, or the sword of his enemies. «Let me fall,» said he «into the hand of the Lord, for very great are his mercies; but let me not fall into the hand of man.» Let us thank God that, even if we should get into the hand of the ungodly, the Lord will not leave us there, nor condemn us when we are judged.
Psalms 37:34-37. 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. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
There is no end to that man, for he is to endure world without end. In any sense in which there is an end to him, his end is everlasting peace
Psalms 37:38-39. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
Have you not proved it so, dear brethren and sisters in Christ? I know that you have had times of trouble, but has not God been your strength in a very peculiar way in all such times?
Psalms 37:40. And the LORD shall help them,-
He is and he shall ever be their Helper: «The Lord shall help them,»-
Psalms 37:40. And deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
That is the point,-not because of any merit of theirs, nor because of any skill of theirs, but «he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.» So, Lord, help us to trust in thee! Amen