... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
[A Psalm] of
David.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers. Be not envious of the workers of iniquity: for
they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do
good. Dwell in the land; certainly you shall
be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord. He shall give you the
desires of your heart. Commit your way to
the Lord. Trust also in Him. He shall bring [it] to pass. He shall bring
forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord. 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. Forsake fury. Fret not yourself in any wise to do evil: for
evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, 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]; but the meek shall inherit
the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes
at him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have
bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay such as be of upright
conversation. Their sword shall enter
their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man has [is] better than the riches of many wicked:
for the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright. Their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time. In the days of famine, they shall be satisfied;
but the wicked shall perish, The enemies of the Lord [shall be] as the fat of lambs. They shall consume, to smoke shall they
consume away. The wicked borrows, and pays
not again; but the righteous shows mercy, and gives: for [those who are] blessed by Him shall inherit the earth.[2] [Those who
are] cursed by Him shall be cut off.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast
down: for the Lord upholds [him with] His
hand. I have been young, [now I] am old. Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread. [He is] ever merciful, and lends. His seed [is]
blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good[3]. Dwell forever: for the Lord loves judgment, and forsakes not His saints. They are preserved forever. But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and
dwell in it forever. The mouth of the
righteous speaks wisdom, 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 hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Wait on the Lord. Keep His way. He shall exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see [it].
I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green
bay tree. Yet he passed away, Lo, he [was] not. Yes, I sought him; but he could not be found. Mark the perfect [man], Behold the upright: for the end of [that] man is peace; 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. Their strength in the time of trouble. The Lord shall help
them, and deliver them. He shall deliver
them from the wicked, and save them: because they trust in Him.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] Psalm
37 is an exhortation against fretting.
Fretting is an extreme form of anxiety or worrying in which the fretter
obsesses on his or her troubles until (s)he exhausts himself or wears herself ragged. The Psalm may have Saul in view: Saul literally
perished on his own sword (1 Samuel 31:4-6).
The first paragraph is a series of commands beginning with “fret
not”, which is repeated three times. Hebrew
repetition is always emphatic, so we conclude that not fretting is the main
point of the Psalm. Look at the
commands: fret not, be not envious, trust, dwell, delight, commit, trust, rest,
wait, fret not, cease, forsake, fret not.
These are things we must strive to do.
Hidden is this list are several synonyms for faith: trust is the
principal one. The opposite of fretting
is faith. Also hidden among them are two
exhortations about anger: anger serves little or no functional purpose; it only
weakens the person who has it. Anger is
not only a major source of heart attacks and strokes (1 Samuel 25:38-38), it
makes the person who has it, the victim, and gives power to his enemies. The paragraph draws the conclusion, “the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in
the abundance of peace.”
The second paragraph makes specific observations about the
wicked. While these observations are
general in nature, they are universally true; they may be drawn directly from
the life and death of Saul. This is an
oft repeated lesson of Scripture.
Whatever wickedness a person plots, will return to destroy him, while
the victim is set free. Since this may
be fulfilled either in this life or in the next; the wicked need not comfort
themselves with the idea that they got away with something; nor should the
blessed fret that physical death has ended their hopes for life and peace.
The third paragraph draws a series of contrasts between the
life of the wicked and the life of the righteous, in order to show that the
life of the righteous may be humble, but it is always better. This is an important lesson in our country
where a superfluity of luxury lulls us into a false sense of security. What this abundance of wealth really does is fill
our lives with thorns, choking us to death, until we become completely
fruitless (Matthew 13:7, 22). Among the
worst things a person can do in life, is to get caught up in the enslaving
pursuit of wealth: it is a vapor; it will vanish away (James 4:13-16).
The fourth paragraph emphasizes how different the lives of
good people really are. However, it subtly
raises the question, What makes a person good?
Paragraph five adds another command to the already lengthy
list: “depart”. This departure is
enabled by “The law of His God in his heart.” It is the incessant guidance of God’s Law,
taught by the Holy Ghost, bringing us to Christlikeness that makes us truly
good in Him. We are healed. We are justified (not condemned). We are washed.
Paragraph six concludes the Psalm with two final commands: “wait”
and “keep”. Patience and perseverance are
those virtues which God builds into believers’ lives that see them through. Life looks as if the wicked prosper, but this
is an illusion. In the greater scheme of
things, faith in Yahweh is always the best way.
There are many bad and wicked ways, but only one way is best. Fretting over this is futile. God shall certainly deliver and save His
children, “because they trust in Him.”
[2] This
is a Psalm of beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12).
The word “blessed” is found twice in this Psalm. In paragraph one “the meek
shall inherit the earth.” In paragraph
three “[the] blessed by Him shall inherit the earth (Matthew
5:5).
[3] The
exhortation to “do good” has now been repeated.
The new creation, joining the faithful to the body of Christ, makes it
possible for them to enter into Christ and actually do good.
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