Psalm 37 - part 2

Wisdom for life

Intro

√ The wisdom of the aged…

Ps. 27:25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

This psalm shares the wisdom of an old man who had walked with the Lord a long time.

David had battled with evil men and knew firsthand the frustration of seeing the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer.

As he looks back on his life he gives us some wise counsel to keep us from fretting (worrying and complaining) when things are not going the way that we want them to.

Ap. Ask for and listen to Godly counsel!

Ex. Teens and young people

Somehow operate under the false impression that they are the first person in the history of the world to deal with some issue in life. J

The hopes of the wicked (vs. 9-11)

√ The hopes of the wicked

In these verses David uses a series of proverbial expressions to demonstrate that the wicked will be judged for all the trouble they've caused & that their hopes come to nothing.

Note the contrasts used - a proverbial form often employed in Hebrew poetry.

Ps. 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

Ps. 37:10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

Ps. 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

David points us to the future, the end of the "game" of life, that he might show us the consequences of the choices people make in life.

In short…

The bad guys die, lose everything & are never remembered.

the good guys live forever, get everything the wicked worked so hard to accumulate, and are remembered for all of eternity!

How can that be!? Because God is the One Who ultimately determines which investments pay off and those that don't.

√ Investing in the eternal

Our sinful nature is at war with God. From the beginning men have sought to be remembered and to make a name for themselves without God.

However, only that which is done for Christ will be remembered!

Ex. To be remembered - building a memorial

Memorial 1 - a memorial that will be forgotten

Gen. 11:3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

Gen. 11:4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Note their motivation…

"let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth"

…so they set about to build a tower to heaven and to make a name for themselves so that they would not be forgotten.

Memorial 2 - a memorial that lasts

The only sure foundation for eternity is Jesus Christ. To build on the Rock of God's provision with a life that is invested in His kingdom.

Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,

Acts 10:2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

Acts 10:3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

Acts 10:4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

One memorial God honors, the other He destroys.

Ap. Where are you building your memorial - in heaven or on earth?

Remember, the hopes of the wicked will come to nothing; but the hopes of the righteous will be established forever!

The schemes of the wicked (vs. 12-13)

Ps. 37:12 The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

Ps. 37:13 The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.

Can't you see the humor in this? The wicked meet together believing that they are so smart and so careful to conceal their plans to destroy God's people…

…yet, God is watching and listening the whole time and has already put in place His plans to thwart the plans of the wicked!

Ex. Elisha and the king of Syria

2Ki. 6:8 Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”

2Ki. 6:9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”

2Ki. 6:10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.

2Ki. 6:11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

2Ki. 6:12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

Ap. Don't fret over the latest conspiracy theory!

On a regular basis I receive e-mail alerts warning me against some new enemy of the Christian faith.

Ex. Madelyn Murray O'Hare

Supposedly going before the FCC to have "touched by an angel" removed from TV programming - even though she's been dead for 10 years!

Regardless of whether there is or is not some shadowy group of people plotting against Christian, the truth is that you and I will probably never know about.

But, God knows! He can be trusted to work against the wicked even when we don't know they're plotting our demise!

So, don't fret about the schemes of the wicked - God sees their plans and will have the last laugh!

The weapons of the wicked (vs. 14-15)

Ps. 37:14 The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct.

Ps. 37:15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.

√ Poetic justice

If you study the Bible you'll find that God seems to like poetic justice.

Ex. Evil Haman hung on his own gallows

David echo's that thought here as he tells us that the very weapons which the wicked have forged for use against the righteous…

…will in turn be used on them!

Ex. School prayer outlawed

Christians in California used the precedent set by the US Supreme court regarding school sponsored prayer to get TM and other Eastern religious programs tossed out of school!

Ap. The promise of God to you

Isa 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.

Why then do we fret about the weapons of the wicked?

Terrorists bombs

Lawsuits of the ungodly

Slander

Threats

David reminds us that every weapon forged by the wicked in the fires of hate will one day be turned upon back upon the wicked!

Ex. David cut Goliath's head off with Goliath's own sword!

So, don't fret about the weapons of the wicked - remember God loves poetic justice!

The wealth of the wicked (vs. 16-20)

Ps. 37:16 A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

Ps. 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous.

Ps. 37:18 The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.

Ps. 37:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Ps. 37:20 But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

√ The wealth of the wicked

The wicked wrongly believe that they can find security in life by amassing wealth.

Thus we find throughout the history of Man that wicked people have waged war, stolen property, and obtained riches by all sorts of evil means.

All in the vain hope that with wealth they would find power and security.

The righteous, on the other hand, do not resort to evil to obtain material goods - and are often the victims of the wicked who rob them of what they do have.

Yet, David reminds us that the only real hope in times of trouble is God. He alone can feed the hungry, protect the righteous and redeem the innocent.

Ex. The siege of Samaria in 2 Kings 7

The besieged end up with all the wealth of the wicked who had come to rob them!

Ap. God is our security!

In times of scarcity and famine we can look to the Lord to provide for our needs.

Ex. Elijah - fed by ravens and a poor widow during the 3 year drought.

So, don't chase after riches as the wicked do - hoping to find security in material goods. Rather, seek first the Kingdom of God and watch the Lord provide your needs!

The end of the wicked (vs. 21-22)

Ps. 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

Ps. 37:22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

√ The end of the line

Perhaps you've seen this bumper sticker…

"The one who dies with the most toys wins!"

We laugh, but the sad truth is that the wicked person really believes it!

They spend their whole life striving to obtain wealth.

They're self centered taking what is not theirs, turning a deaf ear to those in need, all in the hope that in the end they'll have more stuff than the other guy.

But the truth that David reminds us of is that it is God who will distribute the "toys" at the end of the ages.

God will take what the wicked have amassed and give it to those who have invested their lives in the Lord's Kingdom.

Ex. Who owns the earth?

Jesus! (Rev. 5 - the title deed to the earth)

So, when Jesus sets up His Kingdom on earth who gets it? Those to whom He gives it!

To those He has ransomed with His blood!

Jesus is our kinsman redeemer! He has purchased us and our possession (the earth) from the devil to whom it was sold when Adam sinned.

So, when the Lord wraps up human history we're going to be on the winning team and will enjoy all of the inheritance of the Lord!

Close

√ In whom do you trust?

Your own effort, skill, and plans?

Or Jesus, who has promised to care for, and to provide for all eternity, all those who trust in Him?

√ Don't fret over the wicked and their schemes for at the end of time you'll stand with Jesus and enjoy His blessings forever.

And be remembered for the memorial you built in heaven.

√ Remember

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Cor. 5:7

Trust God because He will bring His word to pass!

The righteous will be blessed (vs. 23-31)

Ps. 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.

Ps. 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.

Ps. 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

Ps. 37:26 He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.

Ps. 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore.

Ps. 37:28 For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

Ps. 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

Ps. 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice.

Ps. 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

√ God's promise to the righteous

In contrast to the retribution which the wicked receive for their evil lives…

…the righteous will receive blessings from the Lord!

Note His promise to you:

The Lord establishes and protects you

The Lord provides for our daily needs

The Lord gives us an eternal inheritance

The Lord blesses us with wisdom

The Lord keeps us from falling

The awesome thing about God's promises to those who trust in Him is that they are both for this life and eternity!

√ No Karma thank you!

One thing we need to remember when reading the scripture is that God doesn't implement a "Karma" thing with us.

Scales in heaven weighing out the good and the bad that people have done and rewarding or bringing retribution accordingly.

Rather, God deals with His children on the basis of Grace and Mercy!

I don't want God to deal with me based on my karma - I want God to deal with me based upon His Grace!

So, as we read the benefits that the righteous receive remember that we don't deserve any of it…

…rather, it's a gift of God.

The battle between good and evil (vs. 32-40)

Ps. 37:32 The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him.

Ps. 37:33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.

Ps. 37:34 Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

Ps. 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree.

Ps. 37:36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Ps. 37:37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.

Ps. 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

Ps. 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.

Ps. 37:40 And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

√ Ace in the hole

David brings the psalm to a conclusion by describing the battle between the wicked and the righteous.

The wicked plots against the righteous - the Lord frustrates his plans.

The wicked advances like a weed, the Lord applies spiritual "Round Up".

The wicked have no future, the righteous has a secure future.

The reason is the righteous win - they have the Lord!

Ex. Its not over till its over!

Doesn’t matter how many points the bad guys score, they're going to lose in the final inning and go home without the prize!

√ Trust in the Lord

Note the last phrase…

"Because they trust in Him"

…at the end of the day the righteous find the solution to the dilemma of the wicked by trusting God's Word over what we see with our eyes.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Cor. 5:7

Trust God because He will bring His word to pass!

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