Sermon No. 3131: The Fainting Hero
Exposition: PSALM 37.
Verse 1. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be you envious against the workers of iniquity. They often seem to have the best of it in this life, but if it really is so, we must never forget that there is another life after this in which there will be no reason for the righteous to be envious of evildoers and workers of iniquity!
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herl. It is very easy to cut down the grass with a sharp scythe. And when Death takes down his scythe and cuts down men as the mower cuts down the grass of the field, they fall, rank upon rank, to "wither as the green herb."
3. Trust in the LORD, and do good. These are two good things to go together—faith and good works! "Trust in the Lord, and do good."
3. So shall you dwell in the land Not merely on earth, but in the land of promise, the land which God has promised to His people. We dwell there by faith even now. Everywhere we find our God and wherever we find Him, it is Emmanuel's land to us.
3. So and verily you shall be fed. "Verily, verily," is Christ's most solemn affirmation. [See Sermon #3053, Volume 53—jesus CHRIST'S IDIOM] David here says, "verily," because the statement he makes is absolutely true—"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and verily you shall be fed."
4. Delight yourself also in the LORD; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. [See Sermon #454, Volume 8—sunshine IN THE HEART] When all your heart's desires are fixed upon Him because He is your heart's delight, then you may give a loose rein to those desires without any fear that they will run away! When your heart's desires are of this sort, you shall have them, be they what they may! It is not every man who shall have the desires of his heart given to him, but only that man whose heart's delight is in his God. There is much in connection with the person praying which will help to decide whether he shall or shall not have his desires granted. What is the condition of the heart out of which the desires come? When the heart is full of delight in the Lord, its desires shall be pleasing in His sight and shall be granted.
5. Commit your way unto the LORD.You who are just now in trouble. You who are walking in a rough way, commit that trouble and that way to the Lord! You who are in difficulty as to what is your right way, commit that difficulty to the Lord! Then, of course, you will not need to keep it yourself, nor to trouble your head about it. It does not need two to "care" when God is one of the two, so cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you! His Grace is amply sufficient for every emergency that can possibly arise, so "commit your way unto the Lord." You have committed your soul to Him—then you can surely commit your business to Him, for that is a far inferior thing to your immortal soul!
5. Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. Your desire shall be brought to pass. Your safety shall be brought to pass. Your everlasting advantage shall be brought to pass. Your way shall be made passable to you—you shall find your way to Heaven.
6. And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Are you misunderstood, misrepresented, slandered, laughed at? Leave it all with your God! Are you now walking in darkness? Trust in Him and He will bring you out into the Light of God in due time. We do not have morning light in the evening—morning light comes when the morning comes—and your deliverance shall come when it is the right time for you to have it.
7. Rest in the LOR. That is a blessed state to reach. Notice the various stages that the Psalmist has mentioned. There was first, "Trust and do." Then there was, "Delight and have." Then there was, "Commit, and have it brought to pass." And now there is, "Rest in the Lord."
7, 8. And wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger. That comes of fretting and of being in a hurry—and not resting and being patient—for when the mind is restful, we can bear injuries. "Cease from anger."
8, And forsake wrath: fret not yourself in any wise to do evii. Very often our proverb is true, "The more haste, the less speed." And he who is in a hurry often does evil under the notion that it is the shortest way to get good—which it never is, for evil brings forth evil—and that perpetually.
9, 10. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. The very place wherein he stood so high has utterly perished. How many instances there have been of men who have taken great pains to perpetuate their own names, yet their names are forgotten in the very place where they dwelt! God has a way of stamping out evil and putting an end to it—and when there has been great wickedness in the land, He knows how to make the very name of the wicked to rot.
11-13. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for He sees that his day is coming. "His day is coming," and what a day it will be! When the day of the wicked shall come—the day of God's righteous vengeance—woe unto him; woe unto him!
14-16. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as are of upright conversation. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. Not of one wicked man, only, but of "many wicked." Fortunes heaped upon fortunes as the result of evil-doing cannot equal the portion of the poorest of God's saints! A little with a blessing resting upon it is vastly better than much accompanied by a curse.
17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholds the righteous. They would soon fall if they were not upheld—but they shall not fall, for God will make them to stand!
18. The LORD knows the days of the upright. He knows our dark days and our bright days—and all our days that are yet to be as well as all our days that have been! The Lord knows all about all our days.
18. And their inheritance shall be forevei. What they have, if it is really worth having, they shall keep forever. What God has given them in Christ, because they are His children, shall never be taken away from them, nor shall they be taken away from it—"their inheritance shall be forever." Men try to pass on their estates, but it is often an unsatisfactory system. Our estates are owned by God—upon the inheritance of every one of His people there is an inalienable ownership.
19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time If any shall say to them, "How is it that you are a child of God and yet you live in such an evil time?" they shall not be ashamed, but they will have an answer ready for them. They will tell them that many righteous men have lived in evil times, but they, themselves, have not been evil because of that. Where should bright lights be but in a dark place? Where should the salt be but where everything is going to corruption? "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time," for their God will still be their God and though everyone else may fail them, their God will not fail them.
19-23. And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall be consumed; into smoke shall they be consumed. The wicked borrows, and pays not again: but the righteous shows mercy, and gives. For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD. Oh, what comfort there is in this blessed assurance! Sometimes we know not which way to move, but we need not lack Divine guidance, for there is a special Providence which watches over every step of a gracious man. When we are right with God, everything is right with us. If our heart's desire is that we may walk in God's way, then God will take care that the way of His Providence shall be made plain to us and shall be full of love to us.
23. And He delights in his way. God delights to watch the way that His children walk, even though their steps may falter and totter, for they are often like little children learning to walk and usually they are very weak and feeble. Yet, if it is a good man who is walking as he should walk, God "delights in his way."
24. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with His hand. He is like a little child who does not yet know how to stand alone, so his mother or nurse holds him up, or picks him up if he falls. God's arms are under His children's arms as He says by the mouth of the Prophet Hosea, "I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms." This is how He also teaches us to go—in wondrous condescension taking us by our arms!
25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. I have been young and though I am not yet old, I can truly say that I have never seen the righteous forsaken. I have, however, seen the seed of the righteous begging bread. David never saw that sad sight, but then he was a king, so he was not likely to see as many beggars as some of us do. Yet, still as a general rule it remains true that the God of the fathers does provide for their children. Of course, if the seed of the righteous become vicious and profligate, as they sometimes do, drunkenness will clothe them with rags and set them among the beggars of the street just as it would if they were the children of ungodly parents! And it may be mercy on the part of God that it should be so, as it was in the case of the prodigal, who never came to himself until he was in need—and his begging of bread was a blessing to him—for it brought him, at last, to beg to be received again into his father's household!
26-27. He is always merciful, andlends; and his seed is blessed. Depart from evii. Do not remain near it, do not even look at it, do not parley with it—run away from it! "Depart from evil."
27. And do goot. For you must do something, either good or evil. If you became an idler, even though you had departed from evil, you would not have become what God would have you to be. Negatives must be backed up with positives! "Depart from evil, and do good."
27, 28. And dwell forevermore. For the LORD loves judgment, and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Not, of course, if they themselves become righteous, for then they come under the Covenant of Grace and shall never be cut off.
29-37. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of judgment. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hands, nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the LORD, keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wickedin greatpower, andspreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yes, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. He does not wither and vanish like a gourd of the night. He passes not away like that phantom bay tree which seemed so substantial, but really was not. His end is peace and "all is well that ends well," so all is well with him—and blessed is that man's life which came to such a blessed conclusion as this—"the end of that man is peace."
38, 39. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD. That is why they are not cut off like the wicked, because God's salvation is in them. They would pass away, they would be but the mere dream and phantom that the prosperous wicked ones are, but God Himself is in them and, therefore, are they solid and substantial and their salvation is an everlasting salvation!
39, 40 He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him. That is the main point—"they trust in Him." One of the descriptions of Abraham is this, "Abraham believed God," and therefore he had God for his shield and his exceeding great reward. Are you trusting in God, dear Friends? Are you living a life of faith? Then the walk of faith will be followed, in due time, by the triumph of faith! Blessed are all they that put their trust in the Lord, and blessed forever shall they be.