Swimming Up-Stream

Psalm 37 NIV

Of David. Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 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. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. 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. The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. 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. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death; but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial. 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. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Introduction: Visiting a newly-rich friend in the country, Wolcott Gibbs refused to be impressed by tennis courts, swimming pools, stables, and other forms of luxury.

Finally, returning to the house, the owner pointed to a magnificent elm growing just outside the library window and boasted, “That tree stood for fifty years on top of the hill. I had it moved down here so on pleasant mornings I can do my work in its shade.”

Said Gibbs: “That just goes to show what God could do if he had money.”

Few of us can stand prosperity. Another man’s, I mean. - Mark Twain.

Doesn’t seem often that those who cheat and intimidate get what they want, and the nice guys finish last? How do we deal with this sense of unfairness?

The Truth of this Psalm really is...

30 - Many are Going the Wrong Way.

David is giving us Wisdom in the form of a series of Proverbs - An Acrostic.

A. Vs. 1-8 - The Righteous must not fret over the wicked and trust God.

B. Vs 9 - Wait and inherit the Land

C. Vs. 10-15 - The Righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting destroyed.

D. Vs. 16 - The little belonging to the righteous is better than the wealth of the wicked.

E. Vs. 17 - The Lord upholds the righteous

F. Vs. 18b - The Lord gives eternal life to the righteous

Finally, returning to the house, the owner pointed to a magnificent elm growing just outside the library window and boasted, “That tree stood for fifty years on top of the hill. I had it moved down here so on pleasant mornings I can do my work in its shade.”

G. Vs. 19 - The righteous will recieve

H. Vs. 20 - The wicked will perish/vanish like smoke

G. Vs. 21 - The wicked take, and the righteous give.

F. Vs. 22-23 - The Lord blesses and guides the righteous

E. Vs. 24 - The Lord upholds the Righteous

D. Vs. 25-26 - God provides for the righteous.

Said Gibbs: “That just goes to show what God could do if he had money.”

C. Vs. 27-33 - The righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting destroyed

B. Vs. 34 - Wait and inherit the land

A. vs. 35 - God destroys the wicked, but saves the righteous

Few of us can stand prosperity. Another man’s, I mean. - Mark Twain.

An Acrostic through the entire Hebrew Alphabet - Makes it easier to memorize.

Just recently my Visa card was stolen…Right now it’s everywhere I want to be. - Scott Ward.

1. It can be difficult to stay determined and find things to be grateful for when the world around us is filled with individuals who seem to have so much success so easily, especially considering that some of their lifestyles go against God’s commands and actively engage in rebellion. Their finances are great, their experiences seem enjoyable, and they don’t seem to have a care in this world. In those moments of frustration, it is better to allow the Lord to do his job—judge righteously. Our job is to live righteously, knowing that our eternal reward is better than anything we can experience on earth. Gratitude to God for being the answer we need should be a lifestyle.

1. In the Disney movie The Little Mermaid, Ariel learns that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the street. She obtains her wish for human legs at the expense of her most prized possession: her voice. She desperately longed for what others had, but lost what she had. Like Ariel, we can become so focused on what we don’t have while longing for what others do and end up sacrificing blessings God has given us.

Our culture then produces this....

31 - https://abcnews.go.com/Business/craziest-moments-black-friday-shopping/story?id=27235620

32 - Chiastic Structure:

A. Vs. 1-8 - The Righteous must not fret over the wicked and trust God.

A - Vs. 1-8 The righteous must not fret over the wicked and trust God

B. Vs. 9 - Wait and inherit the Land.

B. Vs 9 - Wait and inherit the Land

C. Vs. 10 - 15 - The righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting be destroyed.

C. Vs. 10-15 - The Righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting destroyed.

D. Vs. 16 - It is better to be righteous and poor than wicked and wealthy.

D. Vs. 16 - The little belonging to the righteous is better than the wealth of the wicked.

E. Vs. 17 - The Lord upholds the righteous.

E. Vs. 17 - The Lord upholds the righteous

F. Vs. 18 - The Lord gives eternal life to the righteous.

F. Vs. 18b - The Lord gives eternal life to the righteous

G. Vs. 19 - The Lord provides for the righteous.

G. Vs. 19 - The righteous will recieve

H Vs. 20 - The Wicked perish and are like a vapor.

H. Vs. 20 - The wicked will perish/vanish like smoke

G. Vs. 21 - The wicked take, but the righteous are generous.

G. Vs. 21 - The wicked take, and the righteous give.

F. Vs. 22-23 - The Lord provides/guides the righteous, but cuts off wicked.

F. Vs. 22-23 - The Lord blesses and guides the righteous

E. Vs. 24 - The Lord Upholds the righteous.

E. Vs. 24 - The Lord upholds the Righteous

D. Vs. 25-26 - The righteous are not forsaken.

D. Vs. 25-26 - God provides for the righteous.

C Vs. 27 - 33 - The righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting be destoryed.

C. Vs. 27-33 - The righteous will possess and the wicked’s plotting destroyed

B. Vs. 34 - Wait and inherit the Land.

B. Vs. 34 - Wait and inherit the land

A. Vs. 35 - 40 - God destroys the wicked, but saves the righteous.

A. vs. 35 - God destroys the wicked, but saves the righteous

An Acrostic through the entire Hebrew Alphabet - Makes it easier to memorize.

This Chaism brings us to the key theme of David’s Wisdom.

So What does David’s Wisdom Teach us?

What does David have to offer us?

33 - Trusting God’s Way is Best.

1. “Three times we are commanded not to fret (37:1, 7, 8). The Hebrew word means to burn. The verb is in the Hebrew reflexive stem which could be translated, ‘Don’t work yourself into a slow burn’ when you see evil men prospering. Don’t let it get under your skin; it will only lead you into wrong (37:8). One reason we get irritated when we see evil men getting away with their schemes is that we are assuming that we know how to run the world better than God does. So, one aspect of submission to God is to put off such irritation, giving God the sovereign right to deal with evildoers in His time and way” (Steven J. Cole, “: What to Do When Bad Guys Win,” Bible.org, 1993, https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-37-what-do-when-bad-guys-win).

1. “Three times we are commanded not to fret (37:1, 7, 8). The Hebrew word means to burn. The verb is in the Hebrew reflexive stem which could be translated, ‘Don’t work yourself into a slow burn’ when you see evil men prospering. Don’t let it get under your skin; it will only lead you into wrong (37:8). One reason we get irritated when we see evil men getting away with their schemes is that we are assuming that we know how to run the world better than God does. So, one aspect of submission to God is to put off such irritation, giving God the sovereign right to deal with evildoers in His time and way” (Steven J. Cole, “: What to Do When Bad Guys Win,” Bible.org, 1993, https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-37-what-do-when-bad-guys-win).

1. A commitment to the God of the universe brings about everything that we could possibly need; therefore, we need only to invest in our own lives and not desire someone else’s life. The wicked may prosper in this world, but we are not of the world nor can we trust the world to accept us (see ). “Trust in the Lord. Here is the second precept, and one appropriate to the occasion. Faith cures fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they seem, hence her envy: faith has clearer optics to behold things as they really are, hence her peace” (Charles H. Spurgeon, commentary, The Treasury of David, The Spurgeon Archive, accessed February 25, 2018, http://www.romans45.org/spurgeon/treasury/ps037.htm).

The Hay Day 5k - it was in the low 40’s, but that is not bad, it was the wind.

A Few years back - saw a series of email full of fear that the Muslims were going to take over America.

Conversation about the direction our nation is going on Abortion.

The Psalm shows us what happens to the Epstein’s of this World - Ultimately they destroy themselves.

When We Trust God for the Big Picture and Thank him for what we have, we depend on him more, and our relationship with him gets closer.

Does it feel like the Wickedness often is winning in this world. Yes, it does, but our Faith, and the Bible tells us that Ultimately God Wins. So we may fight for what is right, but we can do it in a more loving, relaxed way, because we know the Battle really belongs to the Lord.

When we walk with that confidence in God’s victory we show the world a different attitude towards life. That we do not need to fret, because God’s got this.

Conclusion: Take stock this season. Where do you wish you had it better than those who have a lot? Take time to pray to God about it, give him your struggle over that, Thank him, and let him remind you of his goodness and the ultimate victory we have in Jesus.

1 Peter 1:24–25 LEB

For “all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

1 Peter

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 4, 92-95, 105-107