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July 23, 2016
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I was looking around at all the young people, and you're really blessed to have family. That is everything; that's exactly what God is doing here, and the world outside does not know that. Everything in the Bible pertains to family! Somewhere along the line we're related somehow.
If you look at the vast universe out there, what is God doing? What is that for? Look at the planets and galaxies they keep finding. Where is that going? He doesn't want anyone to perish. He's got a lot of vacancies out there and He's got to fill them. Let you mind get around that; it's very exciting when you think about all that!
I want to tell you young folks that right now everything is naïve and pure, clean and fun and you trust everybody. I just want to let you know that there are bad people that run around in the world today. This is Satan's world, and we run into them. We all know that! I've run into them recently. What do you do when you run into a bad person, a wicked man or someone who is getting away with something and it doesn't seem right. Yet, they get away with it, and they get away with it, and they get away with it! You can't seem to understand why they're doing that, why doesn't God stop that? Why doesn't He do something about the wicked man? You may put a name with it; you may know someone like this.
I was coming home and there was a ramp that comes onto the highway and I was passing that ramp with a pickup truck in front of me, we were coming up to a couple of semis and the pickup truck goes around the first semi and he pulls back in between them. I start to go around and start to pull in and thought that we're going to come up to the other truck so I'll just stay in the lane, and about that time there's another truck that had come up the ramp just flying. He had to be going 100mph; he pulls up beside me, I'm still in the passing lane. He passes me in median screaming and yelling and throws a beer can back at me half full as he passes me.
My first reaction was I couldn't believe it. He passed the pickup truck and I pulled up beside the pickup and went around him, and the guy was shaking his head because he saw the whole thing. You think: Where are the police when that happens? Where are they? My reaction really shocked me.
We're going to talk about Psa. 37 today. My reaction shocked me, because when I was a young man I would have chased him down, probably. If I would have caught him we would have had words, or whatever. Hopefully not, but that's probably what I would have done when I was a young man.
My reaction really shocked me because I did what it says here, and that's what happens to you after years of being in the Church and allowing God's Holy Spirit to work with you. That reaction really shocked me, that I was able to do that.
Psalm 37:13 "The LORD laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming." I was driving down the road just laughing at this guy who passed me going down the median strip throwing a beer can at me. What in the world is going on here?
Hopefully we get to this point where we see the evil, but we see it as God sees it. He knows the end; He knows where it's all going, and His day is coming! It's like the Orlando shooting, over a hundred people hurt and fifty-plus killed. It's just a travesty. That's one of the things that happens in this evil world. The FBI knew about this man, they had him on the list. The gun shop, where the guy went to buy a gun, rejected him and didn't sell him a gun and called the FBI, and they didn't do anything about it. Here he comes and does this devastating shooting.
You wonder, and the question that the senators have been asking is 'Why?' Why did this happen? We do the same thing when we see other things. The wicked proper! Job lamented this, as well.
Job 21:7: "Why do the wicked live? They grow old and yea, they become mighty in power." Not only do they get away with it, they have an increase: more money, more wealth, get by with stuff. They build an empire. They build wealth and everything. Job was seeing this.
Verse 8: "Their children are established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are in peace, without fear; nor is the rod of God upon them" (vs 8-9). That's what we see around us daily.
- How do we handle that?
- How do we work with that?
- How do we go through life that way?
- How do we keep our focus on God, God's laws and God's kingdom?
Job goes on down through here talking about their bulls and cattle, their little ones and their flocks.
Verse 13: "They spend their days in prosperity, and peacefully they go down to the grave. And they say to God, 'Depart from us; for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways'" (vs 13-14).
They don't want anything to do with God. They pushed Him out of schools and everything. They get along and get by and actually increase. What is going on with the wicked? Why do we see this constantly?
David is a great example. As a very young man out with the sheep, Samuel came along and anointed him king. Then his life changed from out in the pasture, looking at the stars to a life of on the run, being king, not on the throne, all the things that he went through: Saul chasing him, Absalom and everything that happened to David.
David certainly understood that there were wicked; he wrote a lot about the wicked getting along, getting by, getting over on everyone. Why, God? Why do they do that?
Psalm 94:1: "O LORD God to whom vengeance…" Vengeance belong not to us, but vengeance belongs to God.
"…belongs, O God, to whom vengeance belongs, show Yourself" (v 1). In other words, look at all these people, do something! Why aren't You doing something?
Verse 2: "Lift up Yourself, Judge of the earth; render recompense to the proud. How long shall the wicked, O LORD, how long shall the wicked exult?" (vs 2-3).
- How long are they going to prosper?
- How long are they going to get along?
- How long are they going to triumph over the righteous?
- How long shall they utter and speak harsh things?
Verse 4: "They gush forth words; they speak arrogant things; all the workers of iniquity vaunt themselves. They crush Your people, O LORD, and afflict Your inheritance" (vs 4-5). God is not happy with that!
But God has a time schedule, He has a way of doing things, and we pray Your will be done! We watch that. We have a job in dealing with this, as well.
We have something here that David learned and teaches us in Psa. 37. We're going to hopefully learn some things about how to deal with people in the world, and the wicked of the world.
Verse 6: "They kill the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless." You can do this in a lot of different ways: take houses from them, over tax them, burden them in a lot of ways; they take advantage of the widow and the stranger.
James 1:27: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." That's New Testament, and here is right here in Psa. 94.
Psalm 94:7: "Yet, they say, 'The LORD shall not see, nor shall the God of Jacob regard it.'" They're saying there isn't a God, that He's not doing it, He's asleep and not doing anything. That's not the case!
We see that David lamented that and wrote quite a bit about it. He had a lot of things in his life that caused him trouble and difficulty.
At the end of David's life he gives us lesson. He thinks about his life and writes several of the Psalms. In this one Psalm there are several things that he tells us that we should be doing while we look around us and see the world around us prospering.
- How do we hang in there to the end?
- How do we make it?
- How do we keep our focus?
- How do we keep our sanity?
A lot of these things are not done to us directly. A lot of them we see on the news. But when it happens to us personally that's when it really gets tough to handle. David's telling us something that we need to do here, and it's not vengeance, not retaliation.
Psalm 37:25: "I have been young, and now I am old; yet, I have not seen the righteous forsaken… [of course he had] …or his children begging bread." He's seen it both ways. He saw those seemingly being forsaken, but what he's saying here is that God does not forsake the righteous. He takes care of the righteous and gives them bread.
Matt. 5-7 talks about how God provides for us, always watching us and taking care of us. He clothes the grass of the field, or the birds have their food, and talks about that in the Sermon on the Mount. David says he's never seen them go without; God always takes care of them!
There is something that I want to talk about: Do you remember the situation that David had with Nabal? It's a very interesting story? This was a young David who ran into a wicked man. He recounts a lot of this in Psa. 37, of what he came to understand later in life.
How he could have made a major mistake prior to becoming king or inaugurated and put on the throne. He was king—he had been anointed—but he didn't take over the throne for a while, and this was that interim period. He almost made a major mistake with Nabal, and someone stopped him.
Example of Nabal:
I think this plays in very, very strongly in David's recounting of Psa. 37 and what we should do when we see the wicked prospering around us.
Samuel has died and is buried. David goes into the wilderness and is hiding from Saul. He's in the Wilderness of Paran, which is around Carmel, a very wealthy town. He's in the wilderness and there are a lot of sheepherders out there. So, with his band of 600 men, David would protect the sheepherders and they would give David tribute.
Everyone knew David; everybody knew that David had killed Goliath, he had been anointed king, and they knew Saul was on the throne and probably there was this political thing going on in the country. Everybody was just waiting to see what God would do, but they knew who David was. When David would come through everyone would pay him tribute.
1-Samuel 25:2: "And a certain man was in Maon, and his work was in Carmel. And the man was very great and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel."
At that time of the year what Israel would do is take the sheep in and shear them and have a festival, a party because the sheep owners got paid. They brought their wares to the market and they got paid and all the workers would get paid, so they would have a festival, a party, and this is what was going on in Carmel.
Verse 3: "And the man's name was Nabal…"—meaning fool! Think about that! Some of the other definitions are: shameless, rash, not polite or vulgar, lacking civility or graciousness, mean and evil in his doings. If you wanted a wicked man, here's a definition and somehow the mother actually named him Nabal and he fit it perfectly. Picture that! You might know somebody like that in your life and experiences. Hopefully you won't meet anybody like that, but you might have known some people like that.
"…and his wife's name was Abigail. Now, she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful form…." (v 3). Picture that! Here's Nabal and he has the opposite wife. This woman had common sense and was smart and beautiful! What a combination, and that plays in later on. It's always good to see that. A woman who has God's Holy Spirit is this way, and that's a beautiful thing.
"…But the man was cruel and evil in his dealings. And he was of Caleb. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep" (vs 3-4). 'Hey, Nabal, I've kind of gottcha now, could you give me a little extra money in tribute so we can continue hiding from Saul; eventually I'm going to king.'
Well, Nabal's reaction was not what David had hoped for. David honors Nabal's position as a great man, and what does Nabal do? He gets back a negative from Nabal! He gets back a disrespectful answer! Exactly what you would get from a person who like Nabal.
He dishonored David's linage—'your mom wears army boots'—and those are fighting words. He also dishonored David's claim to the throne. 'Who is this guy? Look at all these servants out here; everybody's leaving their master. Who are you?' This was not a good thing. David was a young man, a fighter, passionate and his ten men come back and tell him this. David gets upset:
Verse 13: And David said to his men, 'Let each man gird on his sword.' And they each one girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword…." Look out! You don't want to meet David coming down the alley with his sword drawn.
"…And about four hundred men went up with David and two hundred stayed by the provisions" (v 13). So, he takes 400 and leaves about 200.
Verse 14: "And one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, 'Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he screamed at them! But the men were very good to us…'"—taking care of us and all David asked for a little tribute, and Nabal really got us in trouble, he said to 'bug off' and 'hit the road, we don't want anything to do with you, David.'
David said that he would kill them all; he's coming back with his men and he's going to kill everybody in this house, we're all dead! This was serious stuff! David took it personally. He said, 'Let's get this guy!'
Verse 17: "And now know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is a son of worthlessness, so that none can speak to him."
Do you know anybody like that? You can't speak to them. You try to say something and they have an opinion or they talk over you, or are louder than you. Pretty soon you just have to walk away, you can't even have a discussion with them. That was Nabal, and that's what he did to David.
Now, here's Abigail, a smart woman, v 18: "And Abigail made haste…" She doesn't have a whole lot, and she's going to go and appease these 600 men. What would you do? You have a certain amount of food in your cupboard! So, she puts everything she's got together:
"…and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins and laid them on donkeys. And she said to her servants, 'Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.' But she did not tell her husband Nabal. And it came to pass, she was riding on the donkey and came down under cover of the hill. And behold, David and his men came down toward her. And she met them" (vs 18-20).
David's hot! Mad! She's trying to appease him. Remember, she's of good understanding and beautiful, and here comes David. What do you think happens? He doesn't pull his sword out, he's listening!
Verse 21: "Now, David had said, 'Surely in vain I have kept all that belongs to this fellow in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his. And he has returned me evil for good. So, and more also, may God do to the enemies of David, if I leave any of all that is his until morning—even one who pisses against the wall'" (vs 21-22). He's going to kill all the men and the family.
Verse 23: "And Abigail saw David and hurried and dismounted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground." In addition to everything else, she comes in and submits herself to David in humility!
Verse 24: "And she fell at his feet and said, 'Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be. And please let your handmaid speak in your ears and hear the words of your handmaid.'" In other words, kill me, not the rest of them, just me.
Verse 26: "And now, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has withheld you from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those that seek to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal."
Everything that I read to you about what the word Nabal means. 'I wasn't there or I would have stopped it.' Very important lesson that David learned and he's going to pass this on to us in Psa. 37.
Verse 27: "And now this blessing, which your handmaid has brought to my lord, let it even be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid, for the LORD will certainly make a sure house for my lord…" (vs 27-28).
If you read 2-Sam. 7-9 David wants to build a house for the Lord. God says, 'I'm going to do you one better than that. You can't outdo Me, David. I'm going to establish your house forever. They knew that, and Abigail says that. "Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid, for the LORD will certainly make a sure house…" So, she's reminding David of what God said to him.
"… because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil has not been found in you all your days" (v 28). Look what she's doing; she's really softening him up and reminding him of what God has done for him, and will do for him in the future. She's bringing him back to reality.
Verse 29: "Yet, a man has risen to pursue you and to seek your soul. But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD your God. And the souls of your enemies, He shall sling them from the hollow of a sling."
The reference as to what David did with Goliath. She's reminding him that God provided and gave David Goliath. Again, very good understanding; a good negotiator.
Verse 30: "And it shall be, when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and commanded you to be ruler over Israel." That day is coming when Saul is going to be gone, David, and you're going to be the king. When you are the king, how are you going to think if you go in and kill Nabal? What's going to happen?
Verse 31: "This shall be no stumbling to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood for nothing, or that my lord has delivered himself. And may the LORD deal well with my lord, and you remember your handmaid."
'Look, you're going to be sitting on the throne one day, you're going to think back on this, that you have killed this man without a cause.' You're going to think: Why did I do this? That wasn't a big deal and I should have just let that go! 'I'm helping you get to that point now; just let it go, David. Think about what God's going to do for you and let it go. Turn around and take what I've give you and go!'
David comes to his senses, v 32: "And David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me.'" He realizes that God sent her out there.
Verse 33: "And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you who have kept me from coming to shed blood today, and from avenging myself with my own hand." David realized that God fought his battles, and God would take care of it. David was trying to control the situation and so something on his own.
There are times when we need to do things, but we go to God first. We put Him in the mix first. Then there are things we do. But David was trying to do this without God, and he realized that he was doing in the wrong way.
Verse 34: "Now truly, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from doing evil to you, for unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light even one who pisses against the wall." He would have killed all of them!
Verse 35: "And David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, 'Go up in peace to your house. See, I have listened to your voice and have accepted your person.' And Abigail came to Nabal…." (vs 35-36).
Nabal was drunk! He still had the effects of the party, so she decided again—wisely—not to say anything to him until morning.
Verse 37: "And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal and his wife had told him these things, his heart died within him and he became like a stone." A stone heart! No emotion!
Here's what happens when you put God in charge and you allow God to take over and do what He needs to do, His will! Good things come from that!
Verse 38: "And it came to pass about ten days afterward the LORD struck Nabal so that he died." God took care of him! Gone! Off the scene! Nabal's dead! Exactly what David would have done, God did for him!
Verse 39: "And David heard that Nabal had died, and he said, 'Blessed is the LORD who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil, for the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.'….'" That's how we should see the wickedness around us from evil men; let God do it! God will do it!
I had a situation that I lost several thousand dollars on. The guy was getting over on me and I just finally prayed about it. I went in one day and said, 'Let's stop the bleeding; I'll take this amount—several thousand dollars less—and he said, 'Okay! Okay!' So, he gave me the amount and I told him that I prayed about it, and I placed you in God's hand.' I really felt sorry for this guy. 'I'm going to let God take care of you! I'm going to take what I can and leave.'
I don't know what's happened, but I tell you what, I wouldn't want to be him! That's what happens, and that's what happened to Nabal.
"'…And David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her to him for a wife.' And David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, 'David sent us to you to take you to him for a wife'" (vs 39-40).
'This is great! Let's see if Abigail wants to get married.' She was wise, smart, a good negotiator and beautiful. David didn't miss a trick here. He sent the guys back and she agreed and came with him.
A good lesson! A lesson that David learned early on, and it probably kept him out of a lot of trouble in the future. Let's see how David recants this. He goes back in his life and thinking about these situations and he writes Psa. 37. Think about this when we face the bad guy, evil man or wicked man.
- How do we handle it?
- Are we going to be like David was when he first took off before meeting Abigail?
or
- Are we going to put it in God's hands?
- submit?
- yield?
- let God take care of it in His way?
- let God do His thing?
- let whatever happens happen?
Psalm 37:1: "Do not [#1]fret yourself because of evildoers, and do not be envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass; and wither as the green herb" (vs 1-2).
Isn't that what happened to Nabal? God took care of it! He cut him down! David says the word fret three times—vs 1, 7, 8—for emphasis. Fret means to burn, a slow burn!
Have you ever thought about something that somebody has done to you and initially it's okay, and then you think about it: 'I'm going to get that guy!' You get hot, mad, and you're burning like a fire. It's getting bigger and bigger and out of control. Fret means a slow burn or anger. The point is, David is saying here, 'Don't let yourself get worked up!' Don't let it affect you to the point that you get out of control like David did and gird on your sword and head toward the family of Nabal, to do him in. Don't take matters into your own hands, it's only going to lead to a bad result.
Proverbs 30:32: "If you have done foolishly in exalting yourself, or if you have thought evil, lay your hand on your mouth. Surely as the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood, so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife" (vs 32-33). Wise words! Very wise words!
Ephesians 4:26[transcriber's correction]: " When you become angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger." I used to use that as an excuse to be angry, because I knew I could be angry until the sun went down, then I had to stop it.
No, that's not what it means. It means, don't let this thing get out of control, because the anger of man does not 'workout the righteousness of God.' That's what Paul is saying: It doesn't work that way. You get angry and do something and it's not going to turn out good. So, don't avenge yourself and take vengeance out; like the Hatfields and the McCoys, it doesn't work, it just goes on and on.
Psalm 37:8: "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not [#3]fret yourself, it leads only to evil." Anger means nostrils. Wrath means hot. When a bull gets upset and mad, their nostrils flair and the get hot, and there they go! It sort of paints a picture of a hot situation where you're 'a raging bull.'
Verse 3: "Trust in the LORD, and do good… [they go together; trusting in the Lord ends up being good] …dwell in the land and cherish faithfulness."
If you think about Israel and being put into the 'promised land,' in Deut. 27-29 it talks about blessings and cursings. 'If you do these things you will get all these blessings. You'll dwell in the land and I'll take care of you.' If you don't then the curses are going to come. Trust in the Lord, not in physical things; trust in God.
Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments." Teaching your children the way of God, about God, keep those commandments.
Verse 2: "For they shall add length of days, and long life, and peace, to you." Talking about the age of some people, my mother-in-law will be 95. She's been in the Church for a long time. I believe this is the reason why.
Verse 3: "Do not let mercy and Truth forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them upon the tablet of your heart; and so you shall find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man" (vs 3-4). That's certainly what Abigail found.
Verse 5: "Trust in the LORD… [look to Him for all things] …with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding"—like David wanted to do!
Verse 6: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil" (vs 6-7).
Romans 12:19: "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves; rather, leave this to God's wrath; for it is written, '"Vengeance is Mine! I will recompense," says the Lord.' Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for in doing this you will be heaping coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (vs 19-21). Very important principle. Trust in God takes the vengeance and retaliation away, because you put your trust in God.
David is pointing us to that in Psa. 37, 17 times!
Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Delighting in the Lord involves all of these things that are in here. To be delighting in the Lord, you are:
- following Him
- obeying Him
- being patient
- being humble
- trusting Him
And because of all that He promises to give you in the land, you have delight in God. Without it, you're on your own! Don't leave home without it! Always go to God first! Make it a priority, then go out!
Verses 4-5, 7, 9, 13, 17-18, 20, 23-24, 28, 31, 33-34 39, 40 all have to do with trust in the Lord. Pretty much the theme of Psa. 37 all tied in and woven through on how to deal with the wicked man.
Jeremiah 17:5: "Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose hope is the LORD'" (vs 5-7). Very important principle.
Those are the promises of God. When you're trusting in Him you also know that God is going to bless you, as He said to Israel, 'I'll bless you, just trust in Me. Do what I ask you to do, and I will bless you.'
Psalm 37:5: "Commit your way unto the LORD…" These are things we need to do when we see evil or we experience it.
"…trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass" (v 5). When you commit your life to prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation and your thoughts, that is your life! When you commit that to God, you're giving it all to Him, and you're trusting Him.
One problem with the world today is that there's a lack of commitment in so many different places. There's a lack of commitment with young men to marriage. That's just one area, and that's why there are so many failed marriages; there is very little commitment. It's the same way to God; we have very little commitment in this society today to God.
Psalm 55:22: "Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be moved." Part of committing, part of trusting is taking your burden and transferring it to another animal, rolling it over to another animal. You're committing and trusting in God to take care of that. That's what that word picture is for that word casting.
We're going to go through and pick out these points that David gives us on how to deal with the evil man.
Psalm 37:7: "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him… [hard to do] …do not [#2]fret yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of him who carries out wicked schemes." This is something that's very difficult to do, especially when you find yourself all lathered up and your nostrils are flaring! It's hard to be patient in that kind of a situation.
Ecclesiastes 5:3: "For a dream comes through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by the multitude of words."
Verse 7: "For in the multitude of dreams and many words vanities abound; but fear God." Put your trust in God.
What he's saying is that part of being patient is being silent, not saying anything! In a multitude of words comes hurt, vanity, pride and doing your own thing. Be quiet and listen, and wait for God to act! He'll take care of it!
Luke 21:19—Jesus said: "By your patient endurance you shall gain your lives."
Psalm 37:9: "For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth." Doesn't that sound like a New Testament Scripture? Who shall inherit the earth? The meek!
Verse 10: "It is but a little while, and the wicked shall be no more; yea, you shall diligently consider his place, but he shall not be there. But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" (vs 10-11). Christ said, 'My peace I leave with you' when He left.
He talks about peace and you have peace because you trust in God, and you know that God will take care of the problem. You've done it before and you've had experiences when God has done it. It's so much easier to continue to do that. That gives you peace!
Revelation 5:10: "And did make us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." We keep our eye on that goal and that reward that God will give us. Also, the Family of God; it's very important to wait and allow God to take care of things.
James 1:2: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you are beset by various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance…. [patience: waiting, resting, quiet, silence] …But let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking in anything. However, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to everyone freely and does not reproach the one who asks;and it shall be given to him" (vs 2-4).
Patience is something that is developed through trials, tests, and through trusting in God you gain patience and endurance.
Matthew 5:48: "Therefore, you shall be perfect, even as your Father Who is in heaven is perfect." It's a process and something we have to work on. We're not that way right off the bat. We're not patient! We don't wait! We don't keep quiet! We don't allow God to work normally or naturally in our human mind.
To drive this point home a little bit, God was telling Israel how to get along with your brother; how to love one another. He says:
Leviticus 19:18: "You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." That sounds like New Testament, doesn't it?
Matthew 22:39[transcriber's correction]: "And the second one is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
- Don't avenge yourself!
- Don't bear a grudge!
- Don't get bitter about something!
- let it go
- let God take care of it
When you put it in God's hands, let it go and turn loose of it. Trust in God wholly, all the way.
Luke 6:27: "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies… [hat's even more difficult] …and do good to those who hate you…. [that takes a lot of conversion] …Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also; and if anyone takes your cloak, do not forbid your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you; and if anyone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back. And exactly as you would have men do to you, you do the same to them also. But if you love only those who love you, what praise is it to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good only to those who are doing good to you, what praise is it to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what praise is it to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Highest; for He is good to the unthankful and the wicked" (vs 27-35).
He lays out how we are to deal with the wicked man here. And this is what David was saying in Psa. 37. Put it in His hands and God will take care of it.
Moses is talking to Israel and this is right after the blessings and cursings:
Deuteronomy 32:43: "Rejoice, O, nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His foes and will be merciful to His land, to His people." He was telling Israel that this is what God is going to do, you just need to trust in Him. Put your trust in God and God will take care of it!
David gives us some good points in Psa. 37, read through the rest of it. He tells us in the beginning to:
- trust in God
- fret not
- delight in His ways
- commit your ways to Him
- rest in God
- wait on God
- be patient
Basically what David is saying is to submit to God and also it says to submit to one another. What does that mean?
- Let it go!
- Love one another!
- Get along with one another!
When you see wickedness being done and you ask:
- Why is that?
- Where are the police?
- Where are the spiritual police?
If you put it in God's hands, He's going to take care of it in His time, in His way. You don't wish anything like what happened to Nabal on anyone, but it's very possible that God will take of the evil and the wicked in His time.
One last thing we want to keep our focus on. In Revelation there are five or six places on the word vials, containers. It talks about an angel coming and he has a vial to 'pour out on the earth': tribulation, plagues.
Also, when we're resurrected and with Christ, we prepare through all that time to come back with Christ to the earth, to put Satan away and to restore God's kingdom and establish His kingdom on the earth.
We get to be on the ground floor to do that. That's part of the vengeance that comes from God. We get to see that; we get to be there to watch God and Christ and the Tribulation take place. We get to see that; we get to be there.
It's very encouraging to know that if we place it in God's hands eventually God is going to take care of it. Psa. 17 sort of wraps up our focus and vision, and this really says it all what happened to David and Nabal and what David wrote about in Psa. 37:
- how we deal with the wicked man
- what our goal is
- our families
- our purpose
- what God is trying to do
- keeping our focus on that goal as all this happens around us
Psalm 17:1: "Hear the right, O LORD; attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, for it is not from lips of deceit…. [we can pray this to God]: Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; let Your eyes behold things that are upright" (vs 1-2). Sometimes there's no justice in this world, we think, but God's eyes behold what's equal or upright.
Verse 3: "You have tried my heart… [He knows the reins; He tests us; He knows our heart] …You have visited me in the night; You have tested me, and You shall find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." He's written it in his heart and is focused and committed and placed it all in God's hands.
Verse 4: "Concerning the works of men, by the words of Your lips, I have kept myself from the paths of the violent. My steps have held fast to Your paths, my feet have not slipped. I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my speech" (vs 4-6). When you trust in God you have to call on Him. He will take care of you and guide you down that path.
Verse 7: "Show Your marvelous loving kindness, O Savior of those seeking refuge in You; by Your right hand save them from those who rise up against them…. [the wicked man] …Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings from the face of the wicked who oppress me—my deadly enemies who encircle me. They have closed their pitiless hearts; with their mouth they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps. They have set their eyes to cast us down to the earth, they are like a lion that longs to tear his prey, and like a young lion stalking in secret places" (vs 7-12).
1-Peter 5 talks about Satan looking as lion, going around seeing whom he can devour.
Verse 13: "Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him down; deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword."
In Psa 37 it says that the wicked pull the sword out and the bow, they bend the bow and it's turned on them. God turns it on them and it doesn't hurt the righteous.
Verse 14: "From men by Your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure. They are full of children, and will leave their riches to their babes."
Think about this, where we will go. When you go to bed and pray to God and you wake up in the morning think about this; this is our direction, our focus for the day; our focus for life:
Verse 15: "As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness."
All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version
Scriptural References:
- Psalm 37:13
- Job 21:7-9, 13-14
- Psalm 94:1-6
- James 1:27
- Psalm 94:7
- Psalm 37:25
- 1 Samuel 25:2-4, 13-14, 17-24, 26-40
- Psalm 37:1-2
- Proverbs 30:32-33
- Ephesians 4:26
- Psalm 37:8, 3
- Proverbs 3:1-7
- Romans 12:19-21
- Psalm 37:4
- Jeremiah 17:5-7
- Psalm 37:5
- Psalm 55:22
- Psalm 37:7
- Ecclesiastes 5:3, 7
- Luke 21:19
- Psalm 37:9-11
- Revelation 5:10
- James 1:2-4
- Matthew 5:48
- Leviticus 19:18
- Matthew 22:39
- Luke 6:27-35
- Deuteronomy 32:43
- Psalm 17:1-15
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 5-7
- Deuteronomy 27-29
- 1 Peter 5
SD: bo
Transcribed: 9/26/16
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