“The Song of God’s Faithfulness—Psalm 37″ (Part Three)

This week we are considering the theme of God’s justice in an unjust world by looking at the second in a trilogy of psalms on that subject. Last week we sawPsalm 34, and this week we are looking at Psalm 37. We finish the song today…

IV. Biblical Response to Injustice

We must learn to deliberately turn our attention away from the problem and onto the goodness of God. David wants to give us some practical advice on how to deal with it- his counsel?

• Let God carry out justice,
• Let us carry out faithfulness!
• Trust God and turn from evil! Watch as David argues for an appropriate response to all these things…

A. Don’t (v.1)- fret because of evildoers! In other words, don’t allow yourself to become heated or angry. Especially, don’t allow yourself to become jealous or envious. The command (“fret not”) is the refrain of the opening passage (vv.1,7,8). But, as a command standing alone it is of little help, so the psalmist reinforces this negative command with some positive ones.

B. Do- look at all the things we need to be doing, instead of fretting over evildoers!

“trust in the Lord” (v.3); “do good” (v.3); “cultivate faithfulness” (v.3); “commit/submit to God” (v.5); “rest in Him” (v.7); “cease from anger” (v.8); “forsake wrath” (v.8); “wait on Him” (v.9)

All these commands are summarized by Derek Kidner into three basic instructions…

1. “Look Ahead” (vv.2,10)- this calls us to understand that the events of life are not just rooted in time, they are linked with eternity. If the long view is the answer, then eternity will resolve it, for we can always afford to wait on God’s time (vv.7,9).
2. “Look Up” (vv.7-9)- we are to stop being preoccupied with our enemies and start being preoccupied with the Lord! The psalmist uses four phrases to frame in  this thought completely-

• Trust Him obediently
• Take delight in Him
• Be committed to His way
• Rest there

In other words, “Look up! Let God be God- and trust Him to do His work and His will.”

C. “Do Good”- even if all the world does wrong, do right! Even if all the world does evil, do good! We are not necessarily accountable to the Lord for the conduct of everyone else, but we are accountable to Him for our lives- so do good!

The challenge? “Don’t be angry, trust God to do His job!” Yes, it is hard for us to grasp and understand. In fact, the wisdom that explains these things comes only from the Lord (James 1:5), and only if He chooses to reveal it (“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”- Job 28:28). When we are dealing with these questions, man’s wisdom is terribly inadequate.

Conclusion: So what do we do- throw up our hands in despair and give up? No- we say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” We must recognize that…

• God’s job is administering justice
• Our job is to (v.3) “graze on His faithfulness… and do good”

We must be willing to do our job, and see the majesty of God in His great ability to solve and resolve all that which we can’t reconcile. Again, the key is v.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.” Justice will prevail, God will be exalted, and all will be made right by His great righteousness.

May our prayer be that God might grant us the real wisdom (defined in the wisdom literature as “skill in living”) to see God’s greatness, trust Him to be just, and then do our job—fear the Lord, and do good! Next week we will see Psalm 73, the final song in this trilogy.