Day 162 – A Year in the Bible – Psalms 36-40
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PSALM 36 – THY MERCY, O LORD, IS IN THE HEAVENS
Thy Faithfulness Reacheth Unto the Clouds
Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. – Psalm 36:5
With Thee is the Fountain of Life
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light, – Psalm 36:7-9
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PSALM 37 – FRET NOT THYSELF BECAUSE OF EVILDOERS
Stop Being Envious of the Wicked
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against 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; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. – Psalms 37:1-9
Here it seemed like the wicked were prospering, and God wasn’t doing anything about it. So David gives four assurances to believers who question how God is running His world. The first one is part of our reading for today.
- The Lord can be trusted.
David gives several instructions in the first nine verses about being assured that God can be trusted.
- Fret not
Fret – to burn, to get heated up. When we see evil, we should feel holy anger at sin, but to be jealous of wicked people only leads to fretting, and fretting leads to anger that isn’t holy. The wicked will not always be here. One day they will be gone, like the grass that either fades away or is cut down and burned. - Trust in the Lord and do good
When you fret you are not trusting God. Trust God and wait on Him for what He will do in your life and in the lives of others. While you wait, do good things, because faith and works go together. - Delight in the Lord
Delight – comes from the root that means “to be brought up in luxury, to be pampered.” If you delight in the Lord, you will want to know Him better. The Lord will surely satisfy that desire!!! - Commit your way to the Lord
Commit – to roll off your burden. God doesn’t take our burdens away so we can sit around and do nothing. He takes them away so we can serve Him better. - Rest in the Lord
Rest – to be silent; be still. It describes calm surrender to the Lord
Unless we learn to wait silently before God, we will never experience His peace and His joy. Peace and joy and fretfulness cannot coexist. For us to get upset because of the evil schemes of the ungodly is to doubt God’s goodness and justice and when we choose that path we forgo His peace and His joy.
The Meek Shall Delight Themselves in the Abundance of Peace
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt 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. – Psalm 37:10-11
Prepare Your Heart for the Famine
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. – Psalms 37:18-19
Jesus is Our Strength
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. – Psalms 37:39-40
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PSALM 38 – LORD, ALL MY DESIRE IS BEFORE THEE
Forsake Me Not
Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. – Psalms 38:9-10
Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation. – Psalms 38:21-22
Panteth – To breathe hard and quickly; to gasp for air; to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn. To throb or heave violently or rapidly
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PSALM 39 – LORD, MAKE ME TO KNOW MINE END
Dumb (with silence)
That I May Know How Frail I Am
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. – Psalms 39:1-5, Psalm 39:7
It is incredible how slow life sometimes seems but how fast life can turn around. One day, you are young, and the next, you are old. One day, you are healthy, and the next, your body has started showing signs of age and deterioration. One day, you are pleased where you are, and the next, you look for something different. The things that never bothered you before are, for some reason, now daunting. Life, indeed, is fleeting.
Teach us to number our days, Lord. Teach us not to take one day for granted. To work while we are able and to also prepare for the time when we can’t. Help us trust You in each season and realize that even if we are still young, we are all very frail…without YOU!!!
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PSALM 40 – I DELIGHT TO DO THY WILL
I Waited Patiently for the LORD
I waited patiently for the LORD: and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings – Psalm 40:1-2
Sacrifice and Offering Thou Didst Not Desire
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. – Psalms 40:6, 8
A life following God is a life of sacrifice and offering. But, God cares more about our obedience than what we sacrifice or give. He opens our ears, eyes, and our hearts so that we can hear and live by His commands. Living by His law is an action that leads to delight in His will and His ways. When you are filled with the Holy Ghost, sacrifice and offering still won’t be required, but you will give them because You will have His heart and His is a heart that serves and gives.
Let All Those that Seek Thee Rejoice and Be Glad
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: Let such as love thy salvation say continually, the LORD be magnified. – Psalm 40:16
Poor and Needy, Yet…
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou are my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. – Psalms 40:17
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