Stay Focused

GOD’S WORD Translation Psalm 37

1  Do not be preoccupied with evildoers.

Do not envy those who do wicked things.

2  They will quickly dry up like grass

and wither away like green plants.

3  Trust the LORD, and do good things.

Live in the land, and practice being faithful.

4  Be happy with the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5  Entrust your ways to the LORD.

Trust him, and he will act ⌊on your behalf⌋.

Introduction

As we conclude this series of Sermons on David and His Worship, it is befitting that the message mirrors the conclusion of David’s life. This Psalm has been said to have been written in parallel to David’s last words in . Therefore, the purpose of the sermon is to help us STAY FOCUSED on what’s important in this life.

This is a pastoral psalm. It offers counsel about a perennial question. What will the members of the religious community take as the decisive clue to the way life should be lived? Will it be the prosperity and power of the wicked or the providence of God? The choice is between the pressures of the present and the promise of the future. The choice is between faith and no faith. (James Luther Mays, Psalms, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 158.)

We want to leave here today with renewed & ACTIVE faith in God. My focus will be totally ON God, my faith/trust will be totally IN God!

I. The Wrong Focus (1-2)

Fret (1a)

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 3013 I. חָרָה

be angry, aroused, burn with anger, have a temper, i.e., have a strong feeling of displeasure, with a focus of an action to follow (Ex 22:23); (nif) enraged (Isa 41:11; 45:24+); 2. LN 50 (tifel) compete, contend with, i.e., try to outdo others, implied to be with zeal (Jer 12:5; 22:15+); 3. LN 25.223–25.250 (hitp) fret, formally, anger, i.e., be in a state of worry and concern as an extension of being internally angry

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 3013 I. חָרָה

be angry, aroused, burn with anger, have a temper, i.e., have a strong feeling of displeasure, with a focus of an action to follow (Ex 22:23); (nif) enraged (Isa 41:11; 45:24+); 2. LN 50 (tifel) compete, contend with, i.e., try to outdo others, implied to be with zeal (Jer 12:5; 22:15+); 3. LN 25.223–25.250 (hitp) fret, formally, anger, i.e., be in a state of worry and concern as an extension of being internally angry

Envy (1b)

The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, Volumes I–VIII קנא

i.e. desire the advantages belonging to another person or thing (Ps 37:1; Pr 23:17; 24:1, 19; Si 9:11; 45:18; 1QS 1018), particularly material prosperity or lifestyle (Gn 26:14; Ps 73:3; Pr 3:31), beauty (Ezk 31:9), power or position (Gn 37:11; [unless §2] Ps 106:16; [unless §5]), offspring

End Early (2)

II. The Right Focus (3-5) - LORD/YHWH

A. Trust in the Lord (3)

Trust (3a) - full confidence in & reliance upon...

Do good (3b) - do what’s pleasing to God

Blessing (3b) = place (security) & provision (sustenance)

B. Seek the Favor (Delight) of the Lord (4)

Delight/Seek God’s Favor (4a) - Draw from communion with God all that inward intensity of joy which it is capable of giving. (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Psalms, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 285.)

Draw from communion with God all that inward intensity of joy which it is capable of giving.

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

Draw from communion with God all that inward intensity of joy which it is capable of giving. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. God will then grant thee all thy desires, and make thee perfectly happy.

Blessing (4b) - God will then grant thee all thy desires, and make thee perfectly happy. (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Psalms, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 285.)

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

Draw from communion with God all that inward intensity of joy which it is capable of giving. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. God will then grant thee all thy desires, and make thee perfectly happy.

H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Psalms, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 285.

God will then grant thee all thy desires, and make thee perfectly happy.

H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Psalms, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 285.

C. Commit to the Lord (5)

to Commit (trust) v.(5a) — to dedicate or trust entirely to a specific person or activity or cause.

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

The meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God—yield thyself wholly to him—look to him for support and guidance.”

to Trust (faith) v. (5b) — to have a strong confidence or reliance upon someone or something.

Blessing (5c)

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

The meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God—yield thyself wholly to him—look to him for support and guidance.”

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

“He will accomplish all that thy faith has laid upon him” (Kay).

to trust (faith) v. — to have a strong confidence or reliance upon someone or something.

, “10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

, “5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

, “8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

The meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God—yield thyself wholly to him—look to him for support and guidance.”

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

The meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God—yield thyself wholly to him—look to him for support and guidance.”

to commit (trust) v. — to dedicate or trust entirely to a specific person or activity or cause.

The Pulpit Commentary: Psalms (Vol. I) Psalm 37

The meaning is, “Cast thyself and thy life unreservedly upon God—yield thyself wholly to him—look to him for support and guidance.”

to commit (trust) v. — to dedicate or trust entirely to a specific person or activity or cause.