Table of Contents
While shopping at Ross a few months back I noticed a little book of the Psalms in the” Passion” translation. The book of Psalms is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Therefore as I had not read anything in this translation I decided to purchase it. Today I want to encourage you with its translation of Psalm 37 which I find to be a wonderful Psalm of encouragement in our current situation.
I have highlighted the Psalm to reflect three various aspects.
- Blue – what God does or will do
- Green – Pertains to the followers of God
- Orange- Those who reject God
The Wonderful Psalm 37
Don’t follow the wicked – Trust in the Lord
Don’t follow after the wicked ones or be jealous of their wealth. Don’t think for a moment they’re better off than you. They and their short-lived success will soon shrivel up and quickly fade away like grass clippings in the hot sun.
Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness. Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most.
Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly! He will appear as your righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day. He will manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun. – Ps 37:1-6
The Wicked will be Destroyed
Quiet your heart in his presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you. And don’t think for a moment that the wicked in their prosperity are better off than you. Stay away from anger and revenge. Keep envy far from you, for it only leads you into lies.
For one day the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will live safe and sound with blessings overflowing. Just a little while longer and the ungodly will vanish; you will look for them in vain. But the humble of heart will inherit every promise and enjoy abundant peace. – Ps 37:7-11
God Doesn’t Lose Sleep – so why Should You?
Let the wicked keep plotting against the godly with all their sneers and arrogant jeers. God doesn’t lose any sleep over them and he knows their day is coming! Evil ones take aim on the poor and helpless; they are ready to slaughter those who do right. But the Lord will turn all their weapons of wickedness back on themselves, piercing their pride-filled hearts until they are the helpless. – Ps 37:12-15
God Watches Over Us
It is much better to have little combined with much of God than to have the fabulous wealth of the wicked and nothing else. For the Lord takes care of all his forgiven ones while the strength of the evil will surely slip away.
Day by day the Lord watches the good deeds of the godly and he prepares for them his forever-reward. Even in a time of disaster, he will watch over them, and they will always have more than enough no matter what happens. – Ps 37:16-19
Here Today and Gone Tomorrow
All the enemies of God will perish. For the wicked have only a momentary value, a fading glory. Then one day they vanish! Here today, gone tomorrow. They break their promises, borrowing money but never paying it back. The good man returns what he owes with some extra besides. The Lord’s blessed ones receive it all in the end, but the cursed ones will be cut off with nothing to show for themselves. – Ps 37:20-22
The Righteous are not Forsaken
The steps of the God-pursuing ones follow firmly in the footsteps of the Lord, and God delights in every step they take to follow him. If they stumble badly they will still survive, for the Lord lifts them up with his hands.
I was once young, but now I’m old. Not once have I found a lover of God forsaken by him, nor have any of their children gone hungry. Instead, I’ve found the godly ones to be the generous ones who give freely to others. Their children are blessed and become a blessing. If you truly want to dwell forever in God’s presence, forsake evil and do what is right in his eyes.
The Lord loves it when he sees us walking in his justice. He will never desert his devoted lovers; they will be kept forever in his faithful care. But the descendants of the wicked will be banished. – Ps 37:23-28
The faithful lovers of God will inherit the earth and enjoy every promise of God’s care, dwelling in peace forever. God-lovers make the best counselors. Their words possess wisdom and are right and trustworthy. The ways of God are in their hearts and they won’t swerve from the paths of steadfast righteousness.
Evil ones spy on the godly ones, stalking them to find something they could use to accuse them. They’re out for the kill! But God will foil all their plots. The godly will not stand condemned when brought to trial. – Ps 37:29-33
A Different Story for lovers of God
So don’t be impatient for the Lord to act; keep moving forward steadily in his ways, and he will exalt you at the right time. And when he does, you will possess every promise, including your full inheritance. You’ll watch with your own eyes and see the wicked lose everything. I’ve already seen this happen. Once I saw a wicked and violent man overpower all who were around him, a domineering tyrant with his pride and oppressive ways. Then he died and was forgotten. Now no one cares that he is gone forever. – Ps 37:34-36
But you can tell who are the blameless and spiritually mature. What a different story with them! The godly ones will have a peaceful, prosperous future with a happy ending.
Every evil sinner will be destroyed, obliterated. They’ll be utter failures with no future! But the Lord will be the Savior of all who love him. Even in their time of trouble, God will live in them as strength. Because of their faith in him, their daily portion will be a Father’s help and deliverance from evil. This is true for all who turn to hide themselves in him! – Ps 37:37-40
Recapping the Wonderful Psalm 37
Lovers of God
In this Wonderful Psalm I found 8 things we should not do:
- Don’t follow after the wicked ones
- We are not to be jealous of their wealth.
- Don’t think for a moment that the wicked in their prosperity are better off than you
- Stay away from anger and revenge.
- Keep envy far from you
- Forsake evil
- We are not to swerve from the paths of steadfast righteousness
- Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act
In this Wonderful Psalm I found 10 things we need to do:
- Keep trusting in the Lord
- Do what is right in his eyes
- Fix your heart on the promises of God
- Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life
- Give God the right to direct your life
- Quiet your heart in his presence and pray
- Keep hope alive
- Follow firmly in the footsteps of the Lord
- Do what is right in God’s eyes
- Keep moving forward steadily in His ways
In this Wonderful Psalm I found 6 things we need to remember:
- Remember it is much better to have little combined with much of God
- We will always have more than enough no matter what happens
- If we stumble badly we will still survive
- We will inherit the earth and enjoy every promise of God’s care
- The blameless and spiritually mature will have a peaceful, prosperous future with a happy ending
- For all who turn to hide themselves in him we will have the Father’s help and deliverance from evil
This Wonderful Psalm lists 12 things to remember about those who reject God:
- They and their short-lived success will soon shrivel up and quickly fade away
- One day the wicked will be destroyed
- A little while longer and the ungodly will vanish
- The wicked have the fabulous wealth and nothing else
- The strength of the evil will surely slip away.
- All the enemies of God will perish
- The wicked have only a momentary value, a fading glory, here today, gone tomorrow
- The cursed ones will be cut off with nothing to show for themselves
- The wicked lose everything
- No one cares that the wicked is gone forever
- Every evil sinner will be destroyed, obliterated
- Every evil sinner will be utter failures with no future
BUT GOD
What precious words to hear and hold onto! BUT GOD. In this Wonderful Psalm you will find those two words that make an Eternity of difference in a life!
But God for His Followers will:
- Provide for you what you desire the most when you make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life
- Appear as your righteousness as sure as the dawning of a new day
- Manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun
- take care of all His forgiven ones
- Day by day the Lord watches the good deeds of the godly
- Prepare for us His forever-reward
- Watch over us, even in a time of disaster
- God delights in every step we take to follow him
- Lifts us up with His hands if we stumble
- The Lord loves it when he sees us walking in his justice
- Never desert his devoted lovers; they will be kept forever in his faithful care
- Exalt you at the right time
- Be the Savior of all who love Him
- Live in us as our strength in our time of trouble
But God for the Rejecters
- Doesn’t lose any sleep over them
- Knows their day is coming
- Foil all their plots
- Turn all their weapons of wickedness back on themselves
- Pierce their pride-filled hearts until they are the helpless
Be Encouraged my friends,
But God!
