Psalm 37

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.” Psalm 37:3-10 (NKJV)

I love the “cause & effect” language in today’s psalm. Trusting & doing good leads to dwelling & feeding on. Delighting in the Lord leads to Being Given. Committing & trusting leads to God Bringing-to-Pass & bringing Forth. We get a strong sense that God does not just demand our obedience but that He also delights in it!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 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.” Proverbs 3:5-7 (NKJV)

In all of this “cause & effect,” it is easy to get an opinion of God that He can be manipulated into doing whatever we want, literally, giving us the “desires of our heart.” We should be cautioned that God is not our “genie” in heaven. He is our FATHER in heaven. This being the case, we should seek Him to align ourselves with Him.  When we read His Word and apply it to our lives, we begin to trust Him, learning to love the things He loves and avoid the things He disapproves of. Such people ask of the Lord and can expect to receive because they ask according to His will as they grow closer to Him daily. He gave us His Word so we would seek it daily, meditate on it, and continually discuss it.  

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)

Also notable in today’s psalm is the idea of inheriting the earth. It reminds us of both the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 (NKJV)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 (NKJV) (Eph 6:1-4)

The Hebrew word “HaEretz” means more than just “earth  .”It refers to a “Covenant Land.”