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"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself 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 act."

~ Psalm 37:3-5

 

Psalm 37 is a wonderful and delightful psalm. It is another psalm of David and would appear to be written later in life. It has the feel of a retrospective and presents a condensed summary of wisdom, instruction and truth from a man who has befriended faithfulness (v.3) and delighted himself in the LORD (v.4). I was also struck in reading this psalm, that there are numerous connections and foundations to much of what Jesus taught. And this really is of no surprise, as God’s truth is eternal, his character has not changed, he has always been the source of wisdom and salvation.

This psalm is another psalm of stark contrast between those who trust in the LORD (v.3) and commit their way to him (v.5), and those who remain evildoers/wrongdoers (v.1). I say “remain” because that is who we all are from the moment of conception, sinners separated from God. Without his merciful and gracious intervention into our lives, we are doomed to the ever increasing expression of our sin nature. We sin because we are sinners. It takes the miraculous work of God to undue the curse of sin in us. But indeed he has!

In Christ Jesus we have the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7), the full payment of our debt (Col. 2:13-14), the appeasement of God’s wrath (Rom. 5:8-9; 1 John 4:10), the imputation of perfect righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:22), the hope of eternal life (1 John 2:25), the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39), the fellowship of believers (1 John 1:7) and the privilege of proclaiming the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-18).

Take time to read through this psalm (perhaps multiple times) and identify the contrasts listed; and also see what you can find for truths that connect to the teachings of Jesus as found in the Gospel accounts.

Be encouraged today in the God of your salvation!