Psalm 37 - A Psalm of Delight
Reflective Reading: Psalm 37
When I find myself feeling lost, unloved, and devalued, Psalm 37 is my go-to chapter for encouragement and direction. Before we dive in, there are a couple peculiarities about this Psalm that I would like to address.
First, this is an acrostic Psalm. Each stanza follows the Hebrew alphabet—from א to ת. However, the peculiarity isn’t that this Psalm is acrostic, but that two of the letters are out of sequence. You can be sure that every time this occurs, it is like God waving a flag saying, “look closely—don’t miss this!”
Another peculiarity is that this is the only Psalm attributed to David in his old age. This information excites me because it is like reading David’s last will and testament—catching a glimpse of what was most important to David before he died. During his lifetime, David accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experiences, which he took into consideration when he penned this psalm. The following truths were most important to him,
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (25)
Can you imagine having the assignment to write something just before you died—especially if you knew that it would be read by millions of people for thousands of years? What would you write? We don’t have to guess what David would write! For him, Psalm 37, a song about God being in complete control, encapsulated what was most important. “The righteous don’t have to fret!” David tells us. “He’s got your back.” And that is how this Psalm begins,
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. (1)
How do you respond when evil seems to triumph—especially when it results in your loss and their gain? Today I came across a story about a boy who always seemed to get the short end of the stick in life. As he looked around at all the suffering and starvation in the world, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that God is good. That was the same paradox that Job struggled with. How could God be good and just, when life is so unfair?
It is this age-old question that David seeks to answer in Psalm 37. Amid insurmountable circumstances, his message to all mankind is, “Don’t fret!” Don’t fret and don’t be envious, especially when evil triumphs at your expense. As soon as you take your eyes off God’s goodness and unfathomable love for you, fretting will follow.
The words fret and envious carry important meanings. To fret carries the idea of having intense anger, while being envious carries the idea of being zealous, jealous, or desiring to have another’s possessions. In ancient Hebrew, the word envious is like a bird building a nest for its young. This colorful word picture describes the zeal that envy carries with it. But when zeal turns into jealousy, it quickly becomes an obsession to have what others possess. One of my staff members described the difference between jealousy and envy like this: jealousy is wanting what others have; envy is hating that they have it.
This is why David writes to warn God’s people to stop fretting—to take their eyes off what others have, regardless of how they obtained it, and look to God and His daily provisions—His daily bread.
One of the reasons that David gives for not fretting is found in verse 2,
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. (2)
Why is it so difficult to get our eyes off of others and trust that God will deal with the evil? The reason is found in verse 3,
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and you will be faithfully fed. (3)
This verse reveals three primary truths: First, we must have bold confidence in God—thus the meaning of the word trust. Trust in the LORD—have a bold confidence in the LORD. Our lack of bold confidence is a result of relying too much on ourselves and others. The word “Trust” in Psalm 37 is the same word found in Proverbs 3:5 where we are commanded to,
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and rely not on your own understanding, and in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
When we become preoccupied with the blatant success of evil, it is easy to obsess over it. Then we ruminate over our obsessions by listening to radio talk shows, TV news stations, digital news sources, video games, movies, and the many social media platforms that allows fretters to vent their vain frustrations. When we become preoccupied with the evil around us, we begin to do what David warns against—fretting. And fretting restricts David’s second truth— doing good.
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and you will be faithfully fed. (3)
It is easy to become preoccupied with the evil around us. There is so much in our culture and world that can become overwhelming. It seems as though evil of the most hideous kind has spread like cancer in our society—evil that is harming our children and grandchildren! When I hear of the evil that is targeted toward our children, it stirs up a militant spirit within me. Others are prompted to protest or boycott various companies, as we have seen of late. While there are merits to protesting and boycotting, such actions cause me to wonder if there is something better, something more powerful to consider.
The Scriptures do teach us to resist evil. If we were to be consistent with our boycotting, however, we would have to boycott most corporations in our country! You would need to get rid of your iPhone, never drive a Ford, close your eyes when passing Starbucks, and only eat at Chick-Fil-A for the rest of your life! Protests and boycotts may stop behavior but they never change it. Evil agendas will continue until Jesus returns. So, what can we do? Psalm 37:3— do good!
When we remove our focus from the evil and on to the good, change can begin. That is why I love what we do here at Lamplighter. We are aware of the hideous evil in our world and are passionately, zealously, and dramatically doing something about it. I wish you could be here and see it for yourselves. We have an amazing staff who relentlessly print, bind, and publish our Family Collection of Rare Books and then adapt these God-fearing, character-building stories into world-class audio dramas. We work hard to offer an unforgettable one-year collegiate program and Lamplighter Summer Guild. Why all the hard work? Because our assignment is to trust and do good!
The result is great joy and the reward presented by David’s third directive. After you stop fretting and start trusting and doing good, you will be faithfully fed.
As you realign your life and stop fretting and being envious of the successes of others, David brings into view one of the greatest promises in Scripture,
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart (4).
The word delight carries the ancient Hebraic meaning of soft, luxurious, delicate, pliable, and taking exquisite delight in something. Like gold that has been pressed into gold leaf, it is most useable in its most pliable state. This is the same work that God is trying to accomplish in us—to make us beautiful, fit vessels for his work by first making us pliable. Then he can give us the desires of our heart.
David’s next step to overcoming fretting and envy is to:
Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (5)
The word commit is an unusual word meaning to roll out, or, roll yourself out. Picture a rug that is unrolled to beautify a floor. If the carpet remains rolled up, it is useless. It is only when we are willing to be completely rolled out, completely committed, that God can bring our desires to pass. And He will do it in a glorious way, as David writes next,
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy justice as the noonday. (6)
After enjoying God’s extravagant blessing of lifting us in His light, David brings the idea of not fretting full circle. His directive is to,
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (7)
Even after experiencing God’s extravagant blessings, there is a need for us to rest, wait patiently, and avoid fretting when the wicked prosper. David helps us to understand that there are two common reasons for fretting:
· Because of him who prospers in his way
· Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass
We are to take our eyes off others—especially those who are prospering by evil means, and start trusting, doing good, delighting, committing, and finally resting in the LORD and waiting with hopeful endurance. God will take care of the evil while we do our part of doing good.
And just in case we fall back into the trap of fretting, David ends his introductory teaching with an additional directive to stop fretting,
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (8)
Do you see the frame? God structures verses 1-8 by framing his teaching with the word fret.
· Fret not thyself because of evil doers. (1)
· Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way (7)
· Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (8)
The beauty of God’s Word is inexhaustible! God uses the word fret to teach us how fretting will eventually cause us to engage in evil ourselves (8). Rather than trusting and doing good, we become angry and fight evil with evil. The Apostle Paul writes vengeance belongs to God but our battle assignment is to fight evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).
Keep in mind that this is David’s last song to the world. He understands evil and its continuous assault upon the righteous. But there is one thing that he is sure of and that is found in the ending of his introductory remarks, which is again in the form of a beautiful framing device (9-11),
A. For evildoers shall be cut off:
B. but those that wait upon the LORD,
C. they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked are not: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place; his place is gone
C’. But the meek shall inherit the earth;
B’. and shall delight themselves
A’. in the abundance of peace.
The structure speaks volumes. It can be read from top to bottom or from both ends to the middle. When read from both ends to the middle, we learn that the absence of evil brings abundant peace. Those who wait on the LORD will find great delight and as they move away from fretting and toward meekness, they can look forward to an inheritance of the entire earth—a place where evil no longer prospers.
In the center of the chart above, David gives his final directive in verse 10,
Diligently consider that the wicked are only for a short time; their end is near and final. (10)
In contrast, David writes verse 18,
The LORD knows the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever. (18)
David knows that following these directives will not be easy. He writes in verse 24:
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
David understands what it is like to fall and rise again. Therefore, he writes Psalm 37 to all who have grown weary or have gotten so fed up with evil that fretting and envy have replaced hopeful endurance. With the beautiful note of an unshakeable trust in God, he writes in verse 25,
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Therefore,
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and you will be faithfully fed. (3)
Amen! What a delight it has been to study this Psalm. The structure and beauty of God’s Word through David has touched my heart and reminded me that God is in complete control.
As you head into this new week, I encourage you to take these truths with you and to study this Psalm in further detail on your own. There is much more than meets the eye. Thank you for joining me. It’s always a joy to study God’s Word with you.
Till next time,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Delight in these Lamplighter favorites inspired by themes from Psalm 37. These are some of my favorites!
Trusty Tried and True (Ages 2-5)
Little Sir Galahad (Ages 6-12)
Rising to the Top (Ages 9-14)
Crown of Success (Ages 7-14)
The Lost Clue (ages 12+)
Palace of Deceit (Ages 12+)
The Wonderful Door (all ages) – Book of the year!
