Hope In The Lord
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, you weigh my heart and watch over my soul (Prov. 24:12). Give me courage to see as you see and to act as your Spirit prompts me.
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
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.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[b]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future[e] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Footnotes
[a]Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
[b] Psalm 37:26 Or freely; / the names of their children will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or freely; / others will see that their children are blessed
[c] Psalm 37:28 See Septuagint; Hebrew They will be protected forever
[d] Psalm 37:37 Or upright; / those who seek peace will have posterity
[e] Psalm 37:38 Or posterity
Psalm 37
REFLECT:
What are you hoping for? Or are you despairing that things will ever get better? Acknowledge to God what you are feeling today.
This psalm could be a response to yesterday’s chapter of Job, couldn’t it? The psalmist reiterates over and over again the truth that God sees the deeds of both the wicked and the righteous, and they will be treated fairly in the final reckoning.
Verses 23 and 24 seem to speak right into Job’s situation: ‘The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.’ Job has definitely been stumbling through much of what we have read this week. He has been beset with doubt, concerned that God’s justice seems far off and that he has been abandoned. But the wonderful truth is that ‘the Lord upholds him with his hand’.
Trust in the Lord. Hope in him. Delight in him. Pursue righteousness. Do not fret. These are the words the psalmist would speak to Job, and that he speaks to us today. When it seems as though all is lost, choose to believe the truth that God has a good purpose, and he will not let you go.
APPLY:
Because of the sacrifice of God’s Son, you are counted righteous and can be assured of your security in him. Are there places where you need to trust him to enact justice in his time, where you need to find your hope in him?
CLOSING PRAYER:
Yes Lord, I confess at times I fret (v.1). When I look around at unworthy people prospering, it bothers me. Make me generous to others and content in your great love.
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