Do not fret because of evildoers...

Psalm 37 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
² For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.
³ Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. ⁷ Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. ⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. ⁹ For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. ¹⁰ Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. ¹¹ But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. ¹² The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. ¹³ The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming. ¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct. ¹⁵ Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken. ¹⁶ Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. ¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the Lord sustains the righteous. ¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever. ¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have abundance. ²⁰ But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—like smoke they vanish away. ²¹ The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. ²² For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

²³ The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way. ²⁴ When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. ²⁵ I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread. ²⁶ All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a blessing. ²⁷ Depart from evil and do good, So you will abide forever. ²⁸ For the Lord loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. ²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever. ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip. ³² The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him. ³³ The Lord will not leave him in his hand Or let him be condemned when he is judged. ³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. ³⁵ I have seen a wicked, violent man Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. ³⁶ Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found. ³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. ³⁸ But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off. ³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. ⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

John 3:16 says:   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. InJohn 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  Believing, having faith that Jesus died for our sins is the way to eternal life with God. Still, Jesus didn’t suffer and die only that we would have eternity in heaven. In John 10:10 Jesus says: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. The benefits of faith are also for this life. In today’s text the psalmist says:  Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.  As difficult as it is at times to have faith, faithfulness comes even more difficultly. Faith is a decision. While faithfulness is a commitment; a life-long activity. Faith requires that we trust God for our circumstances. Faithfulness requires that we trust God regardless of the outcome of our circumstances. Faithfulness must be cultivated. It does not grow naturally. Romans 3:10-18 describes our natural state:  As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The psalmist says:  Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct. Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken. Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the Lord sustains the righteous.   We see in our society that it seems as though the wicked are prospering. We see that they plot against the righteous and even against righteousness. The psalmist says: Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing… The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming.   Romans 12:21 says:  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  In Deuteronomy 32:35 God says:  ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution; In due time their foot will slip. For the day of their disaster is near, And the impending things are hurrying to them.’  We indeed need to wait patiently for the Lord. He is eternal, our time means little to Him, but in due time the humble will inherit the kingdom of God. In Matthew 5:5-12 Jesus says:  “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.”

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a blessing. Depart from evil and do good, So you will abide forever. For the Lord loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever… Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.  The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.  Amen. Thank You Lord Amen.