Simple Advice for Living

Introduction

Psalm 37:3–11 NASB 95

3 Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment 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 man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Psalms are fun and challenging to preach from.

Great wisdom in poetic form, but poetry sometimes gets in the way

Need to remember how to interpret the poetry to get the message

Many Psalms are written in a highly-organized form we can miss in our modern tongues

Use of couplets, where one line either rewords or further defines the first in order to add depth and understanding

David’s passionate advice:

1. Trust in the Lord, do good (v.3)

2. Delight in the Lord (v.4)

3. Commit your way to the Lord (vv.5-6)

4. Rest in the Lord (v.7)