Delighting Myself to my Heart's Content

“Psalms that Make Me Psing” Series

A Message by Jim Hammond from Psalm 37

Ų Have you ever noticed that sometimes people who do not live for God seem to prosper anyway? Have you ever wondered about that?

Ų Perhaps some of you here have had the unpleasant experience of being passed over for some promotion or position, and the person who got the coveted position was a person you believe does not deserve it because they are wicked and without scruples.

Ų Do you ever look at how wicked people seem to prosper and wonder if following God’s principles really makes any difference?

The Psalm we study today addresses this question. It is a motivational Psalm because it doesn’t just tell us to be obedient; it tells us why we should be obedient even when we don’t see the immediate payoff.

Psalm 37 is another one of the instructional Psalms, written as an acrostic Hebrew alphabetic poem. It’s wisdom sounds a lot like the wisdom sayings in Proverbs that were written by David’s son, Solomon. This alone is instructional, telling us something about how David, Solomon’s father, influenced his son Solomon with the Psalms he wrote and sang. Solomon his son received a solid foundation of training. We have access to that same training.

Focus: Psalm 37 is an instructional Psalm that explains why people who live God’s way will be happier people.

Psalm 37:1-40

Of David.

Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

2for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

3Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

6He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret--it leads only to evil.

9For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

10A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

11But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace.

12The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

13but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

14The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

15But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

16Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

17for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18The days of the blameless are known to the Lord,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

19In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20But the wicked will perish:

The Lord's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,

they will vanish--vanish like smoke.

21The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

22those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be cut off.

23If the Lord delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;

24though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

26They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

27Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

28For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,

but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

29the righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

30The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks what is just.

31The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet do not slip.

32The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;

33but the Lord will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34Wait for the Lord

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

36but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

there is a future for the man of peace.

38But all sinners will be destroyed;

the future of the wicked will be cut off.

39The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

I. Which Tent are you in—ConTENT or DisconTENT?

DEFINITION QUOTE (What Color Is Your Parachute? Richard Nelson Bolles) Contentment is the ability to stand constantly and consciously in the presence of God so that he can transform any task into something meaningful. [1]

A. 10 “Moving” Tips (How to move from one tent to another, from discontent to contentment.)

1. Do not Fret (v. 1-2, 7-8)

Psalm 37:1-40 Of David

1Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; [2] for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

Psalm 37:7-8 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil.

Does he write this as a man with many experiences having seen how the wicked seem to flourish for a short season, only to soon die away. I think so. David may have been thinking of Saul, or Absalom, or Shimei, or others.

[Here I told the story DAVID and ABISHAI as found in 1 Samuel 26]

1 Samuel 26:19 Now let my lord the king listen to his servant's words. If the Lord has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, men have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord! They have now driven me from my share in the Lord's inheritance and have said, 'Go, serve other gods.'

2. Trust in the Lord and do good (v. 3)

3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

David consciously decided to put his trust in God and to do good, even to his enemy. (1 Samuel 26). He learned over time that this path was well chosen even though it took a bit of a hike following the Lord’s leading.

3. Delight yourself in the Lord (v. 4)

4Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Here is a GENERAL ALL PURPOSE FORMULA FOR HAPPINESS

Here’s a theoretical question for you: QUESTION: What does God give? The object of your desires, or new, aligned desires? ANSWER: BOTH! (note again the prerequisite)

4. Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5-6)

5Commit your way to the Lord; …

Everyone is committed to something.

Some are committed to getting all the money they can
Some are committed to Early retirement
Some are committed to enjoying their retirement
Some are committed to Keeping ahead of the Jones
Some are committed to giving their children everything they didn’t have
It seems to me, though, that MANY are committed to not being committed
Most are committed to getting all the pleasure they can out of life

I believe this last one – getting all the pleasure you can out of life--is best achieved through the back door, when this is not your chief aim.

5Commit your way to the Lord; …trust in him and he will do this:

What will he do?

6He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

What does the dawn do? It pushes the darkness away. When you commit your way to the Lord, He will make your life shine in a dark world. You will make a difference in the lives of those around you. The world around you will be a better place because of your influence. I want my life to count for something. We all need a sense of purpose and meaning. God has created each of us with his purposes in mind.

When you commit your way to the Lord, your life will be noticed by all, unmistakably bright and good, life giving, yet for some who have grown accustomed to the dark, your life, like the dawning sun, will be irritating if not painful to look at.

5. Be Still Before the Lord and wait for him (v. 7)

Perhaps you are experiencing the night. Don’t worry, be still before the Lord. Your dawn is coming.

7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

· Notice this is a relational position, “Before the Lord”.

· It is not just waiting. It is waiting in his presence, and patiently waiting with expectation, for whatever he is going to do about the matter.

· faith, and prayer, and expressed trust are all implied in this phrase, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

· Also: there is an implied caution against jumping ahead of the Lord and making something happen through our own efforts ahead of God’s leading.

6. Control Anger and Turn from wrath (v. 8-20)

8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. 9For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

QUOTE: “I have found if I don't have my quiet time each morning, I tend to lose my temper over insignificant things. Recently, my son, Andrew, reminded me of the need for daily prayer. He had accidentally spilled his drink and I went into a tirade. Andrew ended my harsh words when he quietly asked, "Mom, did you forget to ask Jesus to help you be nice today?" [2]

[I told here briefly the story of Shimei (2 Samuel 16)]

David did this when Shimei pelted David with stones and insults even though all the troops of his special guard were with him on his left and on his right.

What was Shimei thinking?! This is a different kind of stupid! With a word, the Soldiers would have cut off his head. In fact Abishai asked if he could.

David the anointed King, was rejected by his own. Does this sound familiar? Jesus the anointed King was also rejected by his own. People were hurling insults and abuse on him. His troops of his special guard were on his left and on his right. All it would have taken is one word and they would have been there to smite the sinful world and stomp it out. God had every right to do so. But Jesus also did what this verse says. He waited on the Lord, and the Lord’s plan for what His Father was going to work out through the whole mess. Even on the cross, he did not fret. He trusted.

10A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

12The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; 13but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.

14The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. 15But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

16Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; 17for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20But the wicked will perish: The Lord's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish--vanish like smoke.

7. Give Generously (v. 21-26)

21The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; 22those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.

23If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; 24though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

I want the Lord to delight in the way I’m living, because when he does, he makes my steps sure. He upholds me.

25I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

Lend Freely

26They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.

Most wealthy people don’t lend money. They invest it somewhere to make more money. Here is a thought, how about investing it in order to help people. There is a greater risk here, but the payoff is changed lives not just more money. Some of you are to be commended. You have used your wealth to help people.

Caution: It is not always doing someone a favor to lend them money. Sometimes that is the worst thing you can do for them. Sometimes giving money is not the answer either, so exercise caution here. With the caution noted however, some of us need to move in this direction, giving generously, and lending freely, and maybe without interest!

Sometimes I wish we had a comprehensive program teaching Christians how to stay out of the dangers of debt, and while at the same time as they are up held with accountability to change their spending patterns, I wish there was a mechanism to take the debt load off of them over time with money that they pay off without interest! It will take wealthy people with a heart for this to lend freely, investing in people’s lives to do this.

8. REPENT (v. 27)

27Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. 28For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; 29the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

Do you want a quick definition of repentance? The first phrase of 37:27 is it. Turn from evil and do good. It is not enough to simply stop a pattern of sin. This usually leaves a vacuum of some sort that gets filled in with some other form of sin. We have to replace bad habits with good ones. Turn from evil and do good. I believe this is only possible when you submit your life to Christ, and he gives you his life. Then you have a new life, new desires, and a new power to carry out these new desires.

9. Meditate on and Memorize Scripture (v. 30-31)

30The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. 31The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.

32The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; 33but the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

Even while you Wait, keep His Way

34Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

How are you doing with your 201 commitments? Let’s work at meditating and memorizing God’s word, so that his thoughts become our thoughts and we can more readily speak his thoughts.

10. Focus on the Bigger Picture (35-40)

35I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, 36but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace. 38But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.

39The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 40The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

An enduring inheritance. Doing what is right always pays off even though you may not see it. There will be times when you watch the “wicked” enjoying the short lived rewards of their wickedness. Always remember these rewards are short lived. Doing what is right has a long term pay off, even if it seems smaller at first than the pay off of the wicked. Hang in there, the right ways are never overlooked or forgotten by the Lord. He sees. He knows, and he rewards.

This was David’s experience. I am sure, the darkness of night that David went through made the unknown future seem bleak and frightening. He could not see around the corner to know what Tomorrow would bring. This is the testing ground of trust.

All he could do was reach out and grasp the hand of his Father like a child and put his trust in the Keeper of Tomorrow who can see what is around the corner. Walking with our God through the unknown is precisely what he wants.

Will you consciously hold on though you cannot understand where he is leading you? Will you hold on to his hand in the dark passageway? David wrote…

Psalm 37:24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Don’t try to take a shortcut, trying to take control and fix it by yourself by conniving and scheming and plotting, and working, and manipulating to get your way. Trust. Look to God. Follow his lead. The trail will be difficult, but keep holding his hand through the dark times, and in due time you will come out on top and say, wow what a view. And in that day you will look back and acknowledge that God knew best.

[1] Richard Nelson Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute?. Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 3.

[2] Cathy Fussell, Apopka, FL, Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart."