Psalm 37
In our Bible study we would do well to remember that the truth of God’s Word is progressive in nature. In other words, as the Bible goes on throughout the entirety of Scripture we find the truth develops more and more.
For example, in Genesis 3:15 God promises Eve that she would have a seed (Son) who would bruise the head of the serpent. But, we don’t meet Eve’s son in person until Matthew’s gospel thousands of years later.
But sometimes the principle works the other way around. An O.T. passage will help us to better understand a N.T. passage. The key portion of the first section is Psalm 37:11- “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”
This verse is quoted by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:5- “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” Now, when Christ speaks these words in the “Sermon on the Mount”, he does not expand upon exactly what He means. But, this is what Psalm 37 is all about!
Psalm 37 showcases the saint’s faithful meekness in the face of the apparent prosperity of the wicked! Let us come to know what it means to walk in meekness before God and humanity!
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread-Psalm 37:25. The final verse of Psalm 37 was written by David in old age after a lifetime of reflection on the way of the faithful and the way of the faithless. Here are several points to consider as we study this 37th Psalm:
- Do Not Let Your Anger Burn in Verses 1-11—Most English Versions open with “do not fret” but that is not nearly strong enough, literally the command is to “not let your anger burn”. This phrase is repeated 3 times in verses 1, 7 and 8 which is the theme of this great section. “Do not let your anger burn” when you see God’s servants suffering and evil people prospering. The Beatitude of Jesus says “the meek shall inherit the earth” but it seems on the surface it’s the ungodly who will inherit it. How can we keep our anger from burning when we see this happening?
- Psalm 37:3-11 gives us 2 answers:
- Look Upward—
- “Trust in the Lord” in Verse 3
- “Delight yourself in the Lord” in Verse 4
- “Commit your way to the Lord” in Verse 5
- “Be still before the Lord” in Verse 7
- “Refrain from Anger” in Verse 8
- Look Ahead—In verses 9-11 we see the evil only flourish for a short time and are then thrown down. In the short run, it may seem as if the wicked will prosper and take the earth for their possession but this Psalm reminds us that in the long run the meek shall inherit the earth!—It’s the long run that counts!
- Look Upward—
- Psalm 37:3-11 gives us 2 answers:
- What does it mean to be “Meek”?
- Meet the Meekest Man in All the Earth—” Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”-Numbers 12:3 There is not a greater illustration in all the O.T. of meekness than the Man of God Moses.
- Meekness is not Weakness
- Meekness will take off its shoes before the burning bush, but in the power of God it will also always be able to stand tall before the powerful of this world.
- Meet the Meekest Man in All the Earth—” Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”-Numbers 12:3 There is not a greater illustration in all the O.T. of meekness than the Man of God Moses.
On the surface, it appears the wicked will inherit the earth, in the short run it may seem evil people prosper and God’s saints suffer. But, this great Psalm reminds us that we are to walk in meekness before God and man and patiently await the Lord’s righteous judgements in His timing!
