Skip to content Wait on the Lord: Finding Peace in Psalm 37 Jul 10 · 13 min ...more
Wait on the Lord: Finding Peace in Psalm 37
July 10, 2026 · 13 min
The importance of trusting God, ceasing to fret, and inheriting the land through patient, faithful waiting.
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Don't Fret: Trust, Delight, and Commit to God 0:09 Good morning, and welcome to our oasis of praise as we look at Psalm 37 today, verse 34. Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the0:21 land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. Now Psalm 37 has been an oasis for me for many years. In fact, this is probably the most annotated Psalm in my0:33 entire study Bible. I've been led to this Psalm many, many times over the last 35, 40 years. And so if you're experiencing challenge today, challenges or0:44 opposition because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or your stand for him, and you're trying to figure out why is it that those who oppose the Lord and his truth are the ones who prosper, well,0:56 then guess what? This chapter is for you. Psalm 37 is a bit different than the other Psalms that we've encountered so far. Now it's classified as a wisdom psalm, a psalm of1:08 wisdom. But unlike the others that are are prayers or praises of God, this is a didactic psalm of instruction for God's people. It's really like a sermon. It's a1:20 living, and it uses that literary device that we've talked about before, the alphabetic, acrostic, with every, 2nd verse beginning with a successive letter of the1:32 Hebrew alphabet. Of course, we discussed why that that aids in the memorization. Now this is a psalm of contrast, contrasting the wicked and their future with that of the righteous. Now I1:44 know that in this hypersensitive culture to call someone wicked is offensive, but guess what? That's how each and every 1 of us are seen before God until we are1:55 clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. None of us none of us is righteous until we are covered by the righteousness of Christ. And that happens2:07 when we believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead after he died on the cross for our sins, and we confess him with our mouth as our savior. Alright. Verse 1, chapter2:19 37. Do not fret because of evildoers nor be envious of the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb.2:31 Do not fret. Don't be angry or incensed because of evildoers. Don't let the temporal prosperity of the wicked rob you of your joy in the lord.2:43 Now that sounds good, but how do we not fret when there are godless billionaires living the good life and funding those who are pushing an agenda that comes straight from the2:55 devil's planner. Well, here it is. Look at verse 3. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Delight3:07 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. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.3:19 Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass, cease from anger. Turn off cable television.3:31 And forsake wrath. Do not fret. It only causes harm. I guess that would include indigestion. For evildoers shall soon be cut3:43 off, but those who wait in 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 hisGod's Protection and Contentment for the Righteous 3:54 place, but it shall be no more. Now notice that this is not passive. This is filled with action words, Trust, do, delight, commit,4:06 wait patiently, etcetera. Trust in the lord and do good. Trust him and do good. Keep doing what the lord says to do. Follow his word. That means we4:18 have confidence in the lord. We allow him to be our shepherd, alright, and to feed us in his pasture, trusting that he will take4:30 care of us. Delight in the lord. Be happy and find joy in the lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Matthew 6 33, seek 1st the kingdom of god and his4:41 righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Commit your ways to the Lord. Roll on to the Lord and rely upon him, and he will bring it to pass. Rest in the4:53 Lord. Be silent and wait with expectation for him in holy submission. Now there there's a this5:05 we often hear wait, rest. It's not it's it's still engagement. Alright? We're resting in the Lord. We're resting5:17 with confidence that as we pray that God is going to move. We're trusting in him. We're waiting on him to move. When we can't move, when we can't make the we can't5:29 resolve the situation we're facing, we're resting patiently. Lord, we've done all we can do. We're not fretting. We're not worrying. We're trusting in him. And then David repeats, do not fret. Do5:41 not get angry because of those who bring wicked schemes to pass and appear to prosper. It only causes you harm. Realize that they will soon be no more. I've seen this5:53 many, many times. What about when they are plotting evil against good people? Well, look at how the lord responds. In verse6:05 37, verse 12, the wicked plot against the just and gnash at him with his teeth. The lord laughs at him for he sees that his day is coming.6:16 Alright? If the lord is laughing, maybe we would do well to join with him. Verse 16, a little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.6:29 Now how is that? How is a a little house, a used car, better than a big house and a new car? Because the righteous are grateful and therefore content.6:41 As Paul wrote to Timothy warning him of greed in 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse verse 6, now godliness with contentment is great gain. I tell you what, I6:53 like my used pickup truck because I don't I don't have a car payment. And and and and so the lord says be content with the things that we have. They shall not be ashamed in7:04 evil time, and in the days of famine, they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the lord, like the splendor of the meadow, shall vanish into smoke. They shall vanish away. And look at this7:16 promise. The lord provides for his people, his children. David speaks to this from experience of verse 25. I have been young, and now I am7:27 old. Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants begging for bread. Go back to verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the7:39 Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. You know,7:51 what comfort and assurance to know that the Lord will establish our steps even even listen. Even if we mess up and stumble, it's not the end. And8:03 David knew this. The lord basically is our climbing partner. If you've ever climbed and you have someone else that is belaying you, basically making8:15 sure if you fall, you don't fall to the ground, he catches us if and when we fall. However, verse 31, we find how to be on sure footing so that8:26 we don't fall. That's the preferred path is not the fall. It's the word of God. Look at verse 31. The law of God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.8:40 I cannot emphasize how important the word of God is to the believer, and and that's why we're doing this journey. That's why I've been on this journey is that I have found personally8:52 the word of God is like is is it tethers us. It keeps us from going over the edge. Jesus said this as he prayed for us. I've repeated this many times. So, you know, well, I don't9:03 apologize for saying it's the word of God. In in John chapter 17, when Jesus was praying for his disciples, I I pray that you not take them out of the world. They are but that you keep them fromThe Word Keeps Us Steady 9:15 the evil 1. They are not of this world just as I am not of this world. Sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth. It is the word of god that changes our very fallen nature,9:27 bringing forth the fruit of the spirit. That's how we keep from slipping is because the holy spirit will use that just at that moment that we're tempted or just that moment we wanna say something and9:39 we shouldn't. The holy spirit will bring the word of god to mind, and that is what keeps our foot from sliding. Alright. We are now coming9:51 to the finale of this tremendous encouraging psalm as David restates his restates his main point once again. Look at verse 34. Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the10:03 land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a native green tree, yet he passed away and10:24 that of the righteous. Verse 39, but the salvation of the righteous is from the lord. He is their strength in the time of trouble, and the lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall10:36 deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in him, and he will bring it to10:48 pass. Father, we thank you for your word. Lord, that keeps us from slipping. And, Lord, that that even if if we do slip, that you're there to catch us. If,Prayer and Closing Encouragement 11:00 Lord, we have we have made you the focus of our lives, if we have trusted Jesus as our lord and savior and that we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Father,11:12 I I thank you. I thank you for your word. I pray, lord, that we would be encouraged by it even as we are facing challenges and difficulties and opposition in this life11:24 because of the the the spiritual opposition we encounter because we're your children. And so, father, we're facing this because of our alignment with you and your word,11:36 but we're grateful. We're grateful because you have saved us. You have given us a hope and a purpose and a future, and you're gonna deliver us out of these challenges.11:48 We thank you for that. We praise you, and we worship you. In Jesus' name, amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and let me give you a heads up. Coming up, a little bit later in theFinale: Salvation from the Lord 11:59 Psalms, I'm gonna be asking you a question to share with, with all of us on what the word of God means to you as we work our way through the12:11 book of Psalms. So until next time. Keep standing12:19 study comes from the stand on the word Bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you can read12:31 through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Don't Fret: Trust, Delight, and Commit to God3:45 God's Protection and Contentment for the Righteous9:10 The Word Keeps Us Steady10:50 Prayer and Closing Encouragement11:59 Finale: Salvation from the Lord
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