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Psalm 37 - Of David.

1   Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2   for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3   Trust in the Lordand do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4   Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5   Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6   He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7   Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8   Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9   For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lordwill inherit the land.
10   A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11   But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12   The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14   The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15   But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16   Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17   for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lordupholds the righteous.
18   The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19   In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20   But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21   The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22   those the Lordblesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23   The Lordmakes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24   though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lordupholds him with his hand.
25   I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26   They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.
27   Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28   For the Lordloves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29   The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30   The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31   The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32   The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33   but the Lordwill not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34  Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35   I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36   but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37   Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.
38   But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future for the wicked.
39   The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40  The Lordhelps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

 

Devotional comment from Katy Weir

 

 

Let me tell you a story, I sometimes get a little carried away when chatting to my friends. I just lose sight of my surroundings sometimes, and this exact thing happened the other day at school.  Don’t get me wrong, I was able to successfully descend the staircase, it was only when I reached the bottom that my feet forgot to co-operate and I ended up falling on my face- ‘star-fished’ on the ground.  I just lay there for what seemed like an eternity as people walked around me ignorant of my tragedy that had unfolded.

I got up and laughed it off.  I admit, I was a little embarrassed but in the grand scheme of things this happens all the time.  Bad things happen and we stumble and fall through life.  In some cases, I think we can have joy like I did.

Psalm 37 gives us an example of what we can do when bad things happen. David says, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble he will not fall for the Lord upholds him with his hand”.  When I fell, it would have been nice for someone to help me up- but you know what?!- When we ‘fall’ in life Jesus helps us up!  Jesus is there to help us up and dust off our embarrassment!

In verse 14, David also mentions people who will face disaster.  I think he is speaking to those of us (myself included), who sometimes refuse to be helped- you know the stuff we don’t ask Jesus for help with, as we don’t truly believe that things will ever change?! When you think about it, it sounds silly- why wouldn’t you want someone to help you out?!

Sometimes we think Jesus is the reason we fell when it was really our bad co-ordination or mistake.  Jesus is there with open arms when we go through rough things waiting to pick up the pieces with no embarrassment or shame.

Do you go to God when bad things happen?  Next time you are going through a rough patch, instead of blaming God ask God for help and find comfort and peace in his promises!

 


“Katie is a young leader at Belfast City Vineyard and currently leads in both Youth and Intercession ministry.  She is in sixth year at Lagan College - her pet peeve are slow walkers and she loves eating ravioli and bullet journalling”