Psalm 37
In all honesty, the Psalms are really hard for me. As a thinker type, I like to state my feelings and get over them, especially if they are irrational and point me away from the truth. I don’t like dwelling too long on my emotions and why I like this Psalm. It's called a wisdom Psalm because it parallels Proverbs and is written similarly to the wisdom literature of the Bible. As we’ve read there is a comparison between the wicked and the righteous. This psalm could be easily misinterpreted as a command to do good and earn God's love, however, the Psalmist is actually encouraging the reader to "trust in the lord", “trust in the Lord” (verse 3) “delight yourself in the Lord” (verse 4), “be still before the Lord” (verse 7), “wait for the Lord” (vere 34) all exhortations that in our weakness the Lord will uphold us and deliver us. The righteous are not the Pharisees who enforce the law of the Lord above a heart submitted to the Lord. They are the Marys who sit at the feet of Jesus. They are those who have “chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away” (Luke 10:42).
We do not condone the wicked - we pray that just as we were, they would receive grace. But we also know the end of the story. The wicked will endure God’s wrath “were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12) Jesus is coming and will bring his perfect justice. We will see it, just maybe not on this side of heaven. But oh boy, when we do, it will be enough, and that is what we should place our hope in, not our pitiful excuses for justice. Now that doesn’t mean we are people who allow injustice to happen; we fight for people and love people by practicing God’s righteousness. When our justice fails, we have a greater hope in Christ and his promises to come again in a new heaven and earth. (Revelation 21).
For us, how can we live out righteousness without ever knowing the righteous one? The righteous described in Psalm 37 is called righteous because they commune with God who is righteous. God is good, just, merciful, righteous, holy, etc. When we commune with God, the Holy Spirit can empower us to live out Psalm 37 righteousness. Verse 4 says, “delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This verse is often used to encourage Christians to keep asking God for what they want. However, to delight in the Lord is to delight in his character. To delight in his character means we must know him, study him, commune, and hear him, be with him. To do such a thing leaves us never the same, our desires change, and we adopt the desires of the Lord to which God will gladly give us.
So hear this Church - you are and never will be good or righteous through your acts. That can only be bestowed on us through Jesus and Jesus alone. He calls his sheep to him to experience him, know him, and emulate him throughout their lives. To live out Psalm 37 is to live out the deep intimate knowledge of Christ through a relationship with him. Let us gladly wait, gladly press in and gladly draw these things from the very Spirit of Christ that dwells in us.
