Untitled Sermon (31)

English Standard Version Psalm 37

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

when he delights in his way;

24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the LORD upholds his hand

If I delight in the Lord but not fret with the worldly, He will order my steps including my quest for a spouse to be perfect.

But if I dont delight in the the Lord He may not guide me into marriage, leading me to follow human instincts, which may not end well

even if I stumble in the course of marriage He will not let me fall because He will hold me by His powerful hand.

People may call such a person blessed in marriage

he marriage may be Cast down, but not destroyed. The expression from the Lord is emphatic, and the Hebrew of the first line runs into the second: ‘From the Lord a man’s steps are established, and he delights in his way.’ The kind of fall envisaged in verse 24 is a material calamity rather than a moral plunge, to judge from the context. There will be ups and downs, but his hand is steady. The expression for the Lord is the stay is identical with ‘the Lord upholds’ (17).

In this strophe the security of the righteous is emphasized. Verse 23a means that it is the Lord who leads a person in the right way. The psalmist is not saying that, in fact, God guides all people in the way they should go, since it is quite evident that many do not accept God’s guidance. To avoid this possible misunderstanding, FRCL translates “When a man’s conduct pleases him, the Lord enables him to go through life with confidence,” and NIV has “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm.”

He establishes (verse 23b) means that God makes firm, gives security; NEB “holds him firm.”

Verse 24 can be translated “If they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand

they are established by the Lord on a foundation that is the Rock—and the Rock is Christ.

“He delighteth in his way.” Does God delight in you today? God could point to Job—who was not sinless by any means—but God took delight in him