PS 37

PS 37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

:5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

:6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm.

:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

: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.

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

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

:13 The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming.

: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.

:15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

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

:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

:18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever.

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

: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.

:21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteou shows mercy and gives.

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

:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He deligths in his way.

:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.

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

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

: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.

:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.

:30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.

:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

:32 The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.

:33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

: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.

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

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

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

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

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

: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.

This is headed as the Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked .

It sorta reads like a chapter in Proverbs. Short wise sayings of how to live or not live for God.

If you want to get the most out of it, underline every command as you read: Do not fret, trust in the Lord, do good, delight yourself also in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him. That is just the first 5 verses! Most of us don't like being told what to do. We didn't like it when we were children and our parents told us what to do, and we don't like it when as children of God, He tells us what to do sometimes. However, we need to take these words to heart if we are going to live successfully in a corrupt and corrupting world.

It seems unfair that ungodly people prosper while some children of God struggle. That's where this psalm helps out. How do we respond when life seems so unfair? Not by fretting over it, and not by getting angry at life's injustices. The proper response is to refuse to play the game the wicked play. What God calls us to do first is to have confidence in Him, trust Him, delight in Him, commit to Him.

Life isn't fair. Sometimes the wicked seem to prosper and the godly suffer. In the end, God will set everything straight. Until then we must live faithfully and trust in God.  

Ps 36

Ps 36:1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes.

:2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
:3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

:4 He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil.

:5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

:6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

:7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

:8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

:9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.

:10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You. And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

:11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

:12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen; they have been cast down and are not able to rise.

The heading on this is Man's Wickedness and God's Perfections.

Our day is full of choices. Whether it is at the grocery, movies, channels on tv, we are overwhelmed with options all day. The bible gives us two choices. Life or death, light or darkness, truth or error, God's way or our way. That's it. No other choice. We can live a life that ignores God, or a life that embraces God. The choice is ours. It isn't a choice we make just once. We make it constantly in the things we choose to do or say. Every choice we make shows where our heart is really.

Ps 35

Ps 35:1 Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; fight against those who fight against me.

:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.

:3 Also draw out the spear, and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

:4 Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life; let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt.

:5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord chase them.

:6 Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.

:7 For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my life.

:8 Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, and let his net that he has hidden catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall.

:9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation.

:10 All my bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

:11 Fierce witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know.

:12 They reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul.

:13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.

:14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.

:15 But in my adversity they rejoiced and gathered together; attackers gathered against me, and I did not know it; they tore at me and did not cease;

:16 with ungodly mockers at feasts they gnashed at me with their teeth.

:17 Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, my precious life from the loins.

:18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.

:19 Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.

:20 For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against the quiet ones in the land.

:21 They also opened their mouth wide against me, and said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.”

:22 This You have seen, O Lord; do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me.

:23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, to my cause, my God and my Lord.

:24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.

:25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “ We have swallowed him up.”

:26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who exalt themselves against me.

:27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

:28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.

This is headed up as The Lord the Avenger of His people.

David was handling his anger toward his enemies in the right way. He was not taking matters into his own hands but was committing the whole thing to God in prayer. He had a right to be angry with those who were doing what was wrong. Amos 5:15 and Roman 12:9 say hate what is evil.

This one helps me to remember that my enemies are in God's hands. Those enemies may be flesh and blood people who atack me, or they may be spiritual enemies, powers of darkness, who seek to lead my away from a walk of obedience and love for Christ. Wherever the opposition comes from, I can ask God to protect me. We aren't alone in the battle. Jesus is with us.

Ps 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children.

How often does the Lord tell us in the His word trust and we hear try, rest and we hear strive, He says I love you just the way you are and we hear I love you bu I'd love you a bit more if you'd change a few of your bad habits.

Ps 34

Ps 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

:2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.

:3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

:4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.

:6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

:7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.

:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

:9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

:11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

:12 Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?

:13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deeit.

:14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

:15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.

:16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

:17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

:18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

:20 He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.

:21 Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

:22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

The heading in my bible for this one says: The happiness of those who trust in God

The first 10 verses are a song of thanksgiving to God. The last 12 are words of wise instruction. It is marked by a sense of relief and gratitude to God for a miraculous escape from danger, but we also learn what it means to trust God in our daily lives.

The Hebrew word bless in verse one comes from the word for knee. Literally it means to bend the knee. David was saying that in every situation, as frightening, difficult, painful, or joyous it might be, he would bend his knee before the Lord. He would submit to God's authority. He would accept these circumstances as part of God's right to rule in his life. The key to this psalm and to lowering stress in our lives is the realization that the Lord is present in every situation of life. He has not abandoned us. We are not limited to our own resources. A God of compassion and grace goes through the situation with us.

Half way through the psalm David goes from praising God to teaching those around him. Verses 11-22 almost read like proverbs. Short, wise sayings to help us live honorably before the Lord.  

Ps 33

Ps 33:1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

:2 Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

:3 Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.

:4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth.

:5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

:7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.

:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

:9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

:10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

:11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.

:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

:13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.

:14 From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth;

:15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

:16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

:17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

:18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy,

:19 to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

:20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

:21 For our heart shall rejoice in His holy name.

:22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

This is headed up as the sovereignty of the Lord in creation and history.

This psalm remind us of how great the Lord really is. He is the Creator who spoke the universe into existence. He is the Ruler who can bring our best intentioned plans to nothing but Whose own plans stand forever. God is the Watcher who looks down on all who live on the earth.

Maybe our view of God is too small. If you see the Lord as sitting up in heaven, crossing His fingers hoping everything turns out ok, you need to step back and rethink. God made it all, He keeps it all and controls it all to accomplish His desires and plans. He is also our Father. We are under His eye and in His hand. He is our hope and our help. All we should want to do is worship, trust and serve Him.

This psalm teaches one of the most important and most difficult principles of a life lived for God's glory. Rescue comes from God alone – and it comes to the person who “waits for the Lord”. Sometimes God leaves us in a difficult place or situation to teach us to trust Him more as we wait for His deliverance.

Ps 32

Ps 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

:2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

:3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.

:4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

:5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “ I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

:6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him.

:7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

:9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which it must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.

:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

:11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

This is listed as the joy of forgiveness. Information says he wrote it after the prophet Nathan exposed his sin with Bathsheba. '

David had it all. Wealth, power, influence, success. David didn't fall into sin with her, he walked right in, eyes wide open. He thought with killing her husband and marrying her everything was ok now.

He thought he hid it well. He looked like a hero marrying the widow. But even though it was well hidden and no one knew, God knew. For about a year everything was kept silent by David and by God. God was waiting on David to admit what he had done. David was hoping God would forget. There are no recorded psalms written during that year. David was dying inside because of the unrepented sin.

David used 4 different words to describe his sin.

1. 32:1 transgression – means to rebel; it is a deliberate act of disobedience; a willful choice.
2. 32:1 sin – comes from a Hebrew word that means to miss the mark, to go in the wrong way. God sets the standard for our behavior and we fall short of what He requires.
3. 32:5 Iniquity – means to twist or pervert; we take God's good gifts and we twist them into actions or attitudes that dishonor Him.
4. 32:2 Deceit – is the process of deception we use to convince ourselves and others that we are living honestly before God when, in fact, we are not.

Before you get to burdened by your own failures before God, remember that this psalm is about forgiveness. Each of our failures is dealt with freely and fully by God's grace. If we let Him. When we experience God's grace and cleasning, we are blessed – means happy, complete, healed, made whole. Sin will discourage us; trying to hide our sin will destroy us.

Some people thing God forgets sin when the reality is that God forgives sin. There is a difference. Forgiving someone means that we take the cost of and pain of someone else's wrong on ourselves. When Jesus died on the cross, He was enduring what my sin and your sin required. God in Christ was paying our debt and absorbing the price of sin Himself. The full impact of God's forgiveness hits us when we read the new testament commands to forgive each other just as God has forgiven us. When we forgive the person who has wounded us or betrayed us, we absorb the pain, Vengeance wants the other person to pay; forgiveness means we pay the price ourselves.

Ps 31

Ps 31:1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness.

:2 Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me.

:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake, lead me and guid me.

:4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength.

:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

:6 I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the Lord.

:7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversitites,

:8 and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.

:9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body!

:10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

:11 I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am replusive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me.

:12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

:13 For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; while they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life.

:14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”

:15 My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

:16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your merices' sake.

:17 Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You, let the wicked be ashamed; let them be silent in the grave.

:18 Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

:19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

:20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

:21 Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!

:22 For I said in my haste, “ I am cut off from before Your eyes”; nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You.

:23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.

:24 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

This is listed as: the Lord a fortress in adversity.

There is no one I want more on my side during a problem or situation then the Lord!

David, from the sounds of it was in terrible trouble again. Sounds like he was trapped in a situation and there was no way out. Ever felt like that? He was alone, no protection, support, help, or escape. Sound like you feel sometimes?

We aren't told how he escaped. But we know for sure God made a way out of it for him, and He will for us too.

The Lord is a specialist in impossible situations.

1 Pet 5:6 Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exhalt you in due time.

When you are feeling weighed down by your circumstances, change your perspective by looking up to God. Submit to God and His ways in your life even though you long to break free. This keeps you from fighting a battle (with God) you can't win. Use that energy to cope with the situation and learn from it. Trust that God will lift you up in His time and His way.

Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

:6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me, it is God's idea of what He wants to do for me, and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me completely.