Latest / Reformed Thinking / Fret Not Yourself Because of Evildoers (Psalm 37) | Charles Spurgeon

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Fret Not Yourself Because of Evildoers (Psalm 37) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed thinking. This is the deep dive where we
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take dense theological sources and, well, try to break them
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down into something clear, insightful and ready to use.
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Today we're really immersing ourselves in one incredibly
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powerful argument. We're looking at Charles
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Spurgeon's exposition of the 37th Psalm, and this is from his
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massive work The Treasury of David.
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Our mission today is pretty straightforward, but it it
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speaks to a struggle that every single one of us has faced.
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We're tackling with the sources call David's great Riddle.
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And this is that perplexing, age-old question of why
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injustice seems to be everywhere, why the wicked so
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often thrive, you know, lavishly, visibly, while the
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righteous are left to suffer or to wait.
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And this whole investigation, it's not just about finding
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comfort. It's built around a very
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practical set of instructions, almost like a spiritual
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prescription. The core message of Psalm 37 is
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this sharp command against fretfulness.
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Yeah, David sees that as the root of worry, of spiritual
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agitation and that really destructive envy.
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He's going to systematically dismantle our human tendency to
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look at what seems like injustice and just fall into
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despair. And he replaces that despair
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with concrete reasons for assurance.
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All of it is rooted in God being a covenant, keeping God.
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Now, before we get into the details of these instructions,
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it probably helps you, the listener, to get a handle on the
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context and the construction of the Psalm itself.
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Knowing the architecture helps a lot.
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It does. The source notes that this Psalm
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was almost certainly written by David very late in his life.
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So what you're getting is a record of wide aged experience.
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It reflects this calm assurance of a man who has seen the full
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cycle of human prosperity and, well, human decline.
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He's seen men and nations rise and fall.
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And structurally, it's actually quite clever.
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It's very intriguing. The Psalm is organized in
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alphabetical or acrostic structure in Hebrew.
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The first letters of the verses roughly follow the Hebrew
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alhabet. And that wasn't just for show,
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was it? No, not at all.
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That organizational feature wasn't just oetic flourish, it
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was a mnemonic device. He gives the Psalm the feel of,
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say, a wisdom instruction book, a lot like a chapter of
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Proverbs, and it's designed to be internalized and applied
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daily. So if you came here expecting a
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flowery story, you might be a bit disappointed.
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What we're getting is something better.
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It's condensed, battle tested Wisdom delivered as 8 great
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actionable precepts. Right.
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These are designed to stabilize your mind and guide your walk of
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faith when the world just seems completely upside down.
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Let's start right where David starts with that first, that
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negative command, the prohibition against fretting.
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It's right there in verse one. Fret not thyself because of evil
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doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
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And Spurgeon defines fretting with this real visceral
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strength. It's more than just being mildly
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annoyed. It is to worry until you get
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heartburn. It's to fume.
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It's to become truly vexed and internally agitated.
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It's that constant low grade churning inside you when your
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natural judgement looks at the success of a clear moral law
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breaker. And then you compare it to your
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own humble situation. And for the believer, this is
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probably the most common temptation when you're in
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financial or social trouble. Absolutely.
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That distinction between fretting and envy.
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It's subtle, but it's vital. The text connects them
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immediately. Fretting is worry, and envy is
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just that worry turned outward. It's directed at someone else's
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unfair gain. When we feel poor or overlooked
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or despised, our old Adam, our natural fallen self, is
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instantly envious of the rich or the celebrated or the powerful.
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And this envy is dangerous. The source notes that the devil
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never misses a chance to supply those blasphemous lines of
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reasoning right. The thought process is something
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like why am I being obedient only to struggle while that
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person over there cuts corners, cheats, ignores God?
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It seems to get the best meat. David is targeting that exact
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sense of spiritual grievance. This is such a difficult,
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counterintuitive lesson to learn.
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It really is. The source stresses that
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overcoming this tendency is a lesson learned only in the
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school of grace, the immediate human perspective.
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It just sees a temporary glaring injustice, like a snapshot, and
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it loses composure. But Grace corrects that vision.
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It does. It forces us to look past the
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snapshot and it immediately points to the end of the story.
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Which brings us to the immediate, compelling reason he
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gives in verse 2 for why we shouldn't spend another second
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in envy or worry. The wicked's apparent
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prosperity, no matter how spectacular, is entirely
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fleeting. Yeah, on the grand timeline of
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Eternity, it's less than a blink.
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For they shall soon be cut down like the grass.
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I mean, what a quick, sharp agricultural image.
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Everyone in David's time would have known this.
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Oh, for sure. Think about grass on a summer
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lawn. It looks lush, vibrant,
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established, right? But the size of the mower is
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rapid, sudden, sure, and just absolutely overwhelming.
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The grass cannot resist. It can't escape that moment.
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Its destruction is instantaneous when the time comes.
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Right. And it's not just that they're
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cut down. Their glory itself is transient.
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They wither as the green herb, all the beautiful color, the
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apparent vigor, the strength that made them seem so
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permanent. It just disappears swiftly.
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It's like freshly cut hay drying in the sun.
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All the life drains out so quickly they die.
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And their so-called achievements, their name, it all
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just rots in memory. This should really give you
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pause when you look at someone whose fame or wealth seems to
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defy all natural order. Why waste any emotional or
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spiritual energy worrying about the insect of an hour, this
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ephemeral thing that is born and dies metaphorically on the same
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day? And the contrast is always with
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the believer who has this living and incorruptible seed, a
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heritage that abides forever. Why would you envy mere flesh
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and it's rapidly fading glory? The analogy Spurgeon uses here
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is just incredibly vivid, and if you haven't heard it before, it
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really changes how you review material.
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Success. He asks Who in their right mind
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envies the fat Bullock, the ribbons and garlands that are
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decorating him as he's being led to the shambles.
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And then analogy, it just cuts through all the glamour.
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It perfectly captures the nature of the wicked man's temporary,
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visible prosperity. It looks festive.
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It looks like a celebration. Ribbons, garlands, a feast.
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But those ornaments, they are decorations of honor.
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They're signs of sacrifice. They just signal that the wicked
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man is a beast being fattened for slaughter.
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Exactly. The ornaments don't change the
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inevitable destiny, they just make the coming destruction seem
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more ironic. This teaches us that the
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destruction of the ungodly is seedy, irretrievable, an
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absolutely complete. So when we view human existence
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through that lens, the big house, the fast car, the social
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standing, if they're divorced from righteousness, they're just
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the ribbons tied around the horns of a doomed animal.
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The fretting stops because the object of your envy is actually
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pitiful, not enviable. So we've established the
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negative command. Fret not.
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David immediately shifts to the positive action required.
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This moves us into the second precept act of faith, which
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starts in verse 3. Trust in the Lord and do good.
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This is a powerful integrated command.
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Faith is the only known cure for fretting because it changes your
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vision. Faith provides clear optics.
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It sees things as they truly are, which brings stability.
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Sight on the other hand, is spiritually cross eyed.
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It only sees temporary appearances.
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And that leads directly to envy. But this faith David is calling
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for is never passive, is it? Never.
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That addition and do good is so important.
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It is the practical remedy that physically drives away the rust
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of discontent if your hands and your mind are busy being
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actively obedient, engaged in holy work.
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Charity duty. Prayer.
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Right. You simply don't have the time
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or the mental space to sit and envy someone else's fleeting
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success. And the promised result of this
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act of faith is twofold, and it's rooted really deeply in the
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covenant promises. First, so shalt thou dwell in
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the land. And that doesn't just mean a
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physical location like being allowed to stay in Palestine.
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It refers to the Canaan of the Covenant, that promised land of
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content and rest that is given to every believer.
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Spurgeon's notes on this are so encouraging, he points out.
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We which have believed do enter into rest.
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A kind of heaven in your heart brings a heaven in your house.
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No matter what storms are raging outside.
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The obedient person finds a true internal home, even in exile.
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The second part of that promise is the guarantee of provision.
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And verily, thou shalt be fed. This guarantees the necessaries
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of life, which, let's be honest, is often what fretting is really
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about. The fear of not having enough.
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Sure, this is the Good Shepherd exercising his constant pastoral
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care over all his people. And there's a fascinating
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alternate reading of the Hebrew that the source mentions here.
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Feed on truth. Which is a wonderful parallel if
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you were spiritually feeding on the promises of God and the
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doctrines of truth. It banishes those hungry heart
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burnings of envy that come from coveting these temporary things.
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Absolutely. The believers perpetual banquet
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is the promise and provision of God, and they won't lack either
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spiritual food or necessary temporal things.
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By focusing on feeding on truth, the believer cuts the root of
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fretting. Which is so often a lack of
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trust in God's daily provision. This successful feeding leads
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logically into precept 3 and verse 4, which David presents as
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a definite ascent in the spiritual life.
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We move from just active trust to a holy internal desire.
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Delight thyself also in the Lord.
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This just elevates the heart entirely.
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Wicked men delight in carnal objects, vain pleasures, vain
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idols, but the believer must fill himself to the brim with
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his true sublime portion, Jehovah himself.
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If we genuinely remember that God is ours, our Father, our
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provider, our friend, there's no room left for fretting.
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There's only incentive for this sacred, elevated enjoyment.
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And the reward for this high level internal discipline is
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what often catches the eye. And he shall give thee the
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desires of thine heart. OK, we have to spend some time
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here because on a superficial read that sounds like a blank
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check. It sounds like a promise that if
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you pray hard enough, God's going to grant you the mansion
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or the perfect career. Right, and the Reformed
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understanding, informed by the context around it, makes it so
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much deeper and more beautiful. The significance is found
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entirely in the command that comes before it.
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Delight I self in the Lord. Men who truly delight in God
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cease to desire things that displease God.
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They only desire or ask for what will please God.
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So when a believer's will is subdued to God's will, when
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their greatest wish is God's glory and holiness, it becomes
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completely safe for God to give them every desire of their
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heart. Because the desires themselves
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have been sanctified. They've been purified.
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Their deepest prayerful requests are precisely the ones to which
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this promise is made. It guarantees that fulfilling
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the request aligns perfectly with divine purpose.
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So it's not about getting a better life, it's about having a
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better God centered heart. Exactly that shift in desire
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kills fretting instantly because you stop wanting with the wicked
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half. This internal alignment then
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naturally leads into the 4th precept in verse 5.
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Submission and Providence, commit thy way unto the Lord.
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The Hebrew meaning here is so kinetic.
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It means literally roll the whole burden of life upon the
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Lord. It means casting away anxiety,
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resigning your will, submitting your judgement, and leaving the
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entire course of your life with the God who ordains everything
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and that. Act of rolling the burden away
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is potent medicine for expelling envy.
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You're no longer responsible for engineering your own outcome.
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You're only responsible for your obedience.
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And that submission is met with a divine guarantee.
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Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
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Whatever our destiny, whether the path looks rough or
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incredibly smooth, it will be joyfully and perfectly
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accomplished when we confidently entrust everything to His hands.
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It's the wisdom of leaving the results entirely in his keeping,
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like a farmer leaving the harvest yield to God after he's
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done the sewing and the harrowing.
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And this assurance extends even to your personal reputation,
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which is often the biggest source of fretting for good
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people. That's in verse 6.
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And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light.
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The Believer is commanded to sit still and be quiet, leaving
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their public vindication entirely with the Judge of all
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the earth. Which is such a hard thing to do
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in an age of constant public scrutiny.
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When slander strikes, our immediate impulse is to fight
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back, to defend, to justify. And David says, hold your peace,
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the Lord will clear the slandered.
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Yes, and the analogy and the source material for enduring
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calumny is beautiful. It says when Faith learns to
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endure slander with composure, the filth does not defile her,
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but falls off like snowballs from a wall of granite.
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The malice just melts away because you remain unmoving and
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composed. Right, and in those worst cases
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where a good name is temporarily darkened by gossip or injustice,
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God's Providence will send the clearing like the dawning light.
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And this light increases until the judgement of the righteous
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shines forth as the noonday. No shade of approach is left.
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The man reaches his Meridian splendor, and the darkness of
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sorrow and ill repute just flees.
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This is the sure result of committing our reputation, not
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just our path to God. We now turn our attention to the
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5th precept in verse 7, which the Source calls a Most Divine
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precept. It demands a level of spiritual
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maturity and patience. Patience and silence rest in the
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Lord and wait patiently for Him. That concept of rest is so
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critical. The Hebrew word is dumb.
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It literally means to be silent. It's critical to hush the
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Spirit, to quell that internal noise of anxiety, and just wait
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for God's precise timing. This is the constant theological
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realization that God is never early and He's never late,
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right? Fretting is often just
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impatience masked as concerned. We try to prejudge the great
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drama of our life, but we're commanded here to wait for the
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closing scene. We need to remember God is
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working on a calendar we can't see.
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And we are specifically told not to fret over the temporary
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success of graceless plotters who bring weakened devices to
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pass. The council here is stunning.
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Just treat their success with indifference.
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Never, ever allow their temporary good fortune to raise
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a question in your mind about the righteousness or the
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goodness of the Lord. But that distinction is vital,
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especially when it feels personal.
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I mean, what if their wicked plans succeed and our own
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righteous plans are defeated? That's where the fretting really
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kicks in. We have to recognize, Spurgeon
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asserts, that there is far more of God's love and wisdom in our
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temporary defeats than in the visible successes of the wicked.
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This requires truly resting in His ultimate arrangement,
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trusting the sovereignty that governs the outcomes.
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Which naturally leads us to the 6th precept in verse 8A.
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Severe warning about the danger that's lurking just behind
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fretting. Cease from anger and forsake
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wrath. This targets anger against
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Providence itself, that subtle jealousy of the temporary ease
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enjoyed by those who will soon be utterly banished from true
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comfort. Anger, particularly when it's
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directed against God's arrangements for your life, is
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called nothing less than aggravate insanity.
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It's rage directed at the very hand that sustains you and.
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The warning is stark, fretting and its cousin Murmuring.
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They lie on the verge of great sin.
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Murmuring doesn't stay quiet. It can quickly escalate into
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active wrongdoing. People feeling they haven't
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gotten their fancied rights try to gain them them through carnal
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unholy means, thinking they can force a better outcome than
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God's timing will provide. And we're commanded to avoid
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such a course in any wise to do evil.
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It's a preventative measure. It's a call to dread that inward
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repining in spiritual jealousy as much as we dread outward
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tangible sin, because one leads inevitably to the other.
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Verses 9 through 11 then deliver this powerful contrast of final
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fates that makes all this patience worthwhile.
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First, the doom of the ungodly is repeated.
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Evildoers shall be cut off. And this cutting off is
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explicitly described as a penal judgement.
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It's not a soft removal, it's an execution by the acts of
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justice. The source strongly contrasts
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this with those who wait upon the Lord, who shall inherit the
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earth. It reminds me of those great
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moral parables like passion versus patience.
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Passion gets his good things first.
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They glitter, they're consumed quickly, and they're soon over.
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Right. Patience gets his good things
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last, but those things last forever.
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The wicked's current glitter is not true gold because their time
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is brief. Indeed, verse 10 notes For yet a
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little while, and the wicked shall not be.
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Even when they reach the pinnacle of greatness, God's
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judgments often sweep them away. Their riches melt, their status
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decays. And Avid's personal observation
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based on a lifetime of watching is critical.
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Thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
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They're gone, like a passing cloud or forgotten dream from
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the night before. They occupy space and time, but
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they leave no lasting spiritual trace.
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Meanwhile, verse 11 provides the glorious conclusion for the
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patient and the quiet. But the meek shall inherit the
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earth. So who are the meek in this
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context? They're the content, the humble,
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the non fretful. They are the ones who, above all
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others, truly enjoy life. Even their tribulation is
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overtopped by their consolations.
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Inheriting the land means obtaining covenant privileges
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and the salvation of God, so true humility and quiet
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contentment is the path to receiving these benefits.
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A truth confirmed by our Lord in the New Covenant and the
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Beatitudes. And what do they receive?
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They shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
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If they don't find an abundance of gold, an abundance of peace
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serves them far, far better. This is the true possession of
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life. It contrasts so sharply with the
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internal turmoil and anxiety the wicked endure even while they're
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surrounded by all their fleeting wealth.
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And this idea of inheriting the Earth is so much bigger than
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just a personal retirement plan. The source makes this expansive
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connection to future hope. Right.
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The full prophetic meaning of inherit the earth will be made
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plain in the latter days when universal peace shall make glad
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the earth. It is a promise that extends far
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beyond your individual lifespan to the future reign of Christ
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when the wicked are finally and utterly banished.
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Now David focuses on the methods and the malicious intent of the
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unrighteous and how the sovereign God responds to it.
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They plot against the just and gnash upon him with his teeth.
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The plotting is subtle. It reflects the Serpentine
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nature of evil. They don't fight fairly or
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openly. The gnashing of teeth shows
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their internal fury. It reveals what they would do if
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they could seize the righteous man.
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It's the ungodly world's reaction to the patient believer
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whose very integrity seems to injure their conscience.
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But the righteous don't need to trouble themselves with this
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malice because of the staggering statement in verse 13.
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The Lord shall laugh at him. What a picture.
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Divine contempt that just stabilizes the soul.
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It is. It's God dealing out vengeance.
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He looks down upon the enemy in his ravings with serene
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contempt, because the enemy's fury is powerless against the
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eternal decree. The righteous just need to sit
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still and wait. This divine laughter is a
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perfect trial of our patients, though.
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God doesn't always intervene instantly, and when the enemy
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seems successful, we might wonder why God is passive.
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But his laughter signals his absolute sovereign control.
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He is so far above the temporary machinations of man that he can
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just find them absurd. And the reason for his
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confidence is spelled out clearly, for he seeth that his
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day is coming. The wicked man is utterly blind
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to how close his destruction is. He's plotting to crush others,
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unaware that the foot of justice is already uplifted, prepared to
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trample him. In verse 14 illustrates the
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extent of their preparation. The wicked have drawn out the
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sword and have bent their bow. They are doubly armed, ready for
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violence. The source emphasizes that they
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bend their bows with such extreme force, having to tread
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upon it to bend it, showing their extreme intent and
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readiness. And their target is always the
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same, the poor and needy and such as be of upright
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conversation. They're spiritual cowards,
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attacking those who are gentler in spirit and often poor in a
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state unable to defend themselves physically or
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financially. Their goal is nothing short of
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the overthrow and death of the just.
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But evil is inherently self-destructive.
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It's a truth that's beautifully and ironically demonstrated in
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verse 15. Their swords shall enter into
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their own heart. Their own inventions of evil are
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rendered useless. The commentary immediately
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points to historical analogies. You think of Haman hanged on the
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gallows he built for Mordecai, Or Saul falling on his own
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sword, the very weapon he meant to use against David.
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Malice ultimately outwits itself.
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It's forced to drink the poison cup it mixed for another.
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So why should we fret at the current prosperity of those who
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are so industriously ruining themselves while they fantasize
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about injuring the Saints? That self ruin makes the proverb
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in verse 16 so practical a little, that a righteous man
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hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
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This is a tremendous, almost provocative proverb.
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It contrasts the modest portion of 1 righteous man with the
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collective wealth of many wicked men.
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It makes the contrast even more forceful.
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And the key element is internal. It is the godly dinner of herbs
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has quietness, peace and contentment, which it contrasts
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sharply with the turmoil and Hurley burly of riotous wealth
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that constantly surrounds the wicked.
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The little portion of the righteous man is perfumed with
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love. It comes as a special token of
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God's everlasting affection and an earnest of eternal glory
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received as the purchase of Christ's blood.
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While the wicked man's wealth, however vast, is just common
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bounty, it's lacking that vital perfume, lacking assurance,
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lacking peace. It is, at the end of the day,
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meaningless. And this little portion is
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secure because of God's constant defense, as noted in verse 17.
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For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord
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upholdeth the righteous. The arms here means their
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strength and their power to execute mischief, their wealth,
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their human intellect, their physical ability.
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God declares they shall be broken even to the bone.
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God makes implacable men into incapable men.
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While the wicked are crushed, the righteous are upheld.
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Their entire life's course and their 'cause are secure because
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they are in good keeping, right? The sword that smites the wicked
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is the very edge that defends the just.
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This assurance is built upon the divine knowledge of God.
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In verse 18, the Lord knoweth the days of the upright.
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This isn't just knowing what will happen, the source
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suggests. The Hebrew implies he secures
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their future. He deposits their time and their
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life in safekeeping. So no arrow can Pierce them by
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accident, no danger can strike by stealth.
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Their future is safe and their positions are permanent, and
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their inheritance shall be forever.
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Eternity is a specific attribute of the believer's portion.
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What they have on earth is secure, but what they shall have
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in heaven is theirs without any end or possibility of loss.
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And the security extends even to the worst of times.
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Addressing, you know, the listeners most common fear
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catastrophe. Verse 19 says They shall not be
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ashamed in the evil time, and in days of famine they shall be
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satisfied. This is such concrete comfort.
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Even when societal calamity strikes, deliverance is follow.
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You think of the widow of Zarephath.
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The barrel of meal and the crews of oil last out the day of
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distress. This is the kind of faith Jesus
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exhibited when he hungered in the wilderness.
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If God's Providence is our inheritance, we don't need to
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worry about the price of wheat or the failure of the harvest.
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We shall be satisfied. The section concludes in verse
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20, reiterating the final fate of the envious man.
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But the wicked shall perish. They are reserved for execution.
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And their end is compared to the fat of lambs, that sacrificial
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fat that is utterly consumed upon the altar by the fire of
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God's righteous vengeance. Their fuming ends in smoke,
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utterly vanishing from their temporary place of pride.
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David now pivots to provide a practical test of character
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relating to worldly dealings, specifically how we manage money
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and property. Verse 21 contrasts debt and
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mercy. The wicked borroweth and payeth
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not again, but the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth.
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The contrast here is sharp. It's deeply illustrative of
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character. For the wicked, want follows
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waste, often leading to debt they can't or won't pay.
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They're characterized by scarcity because they operate
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from a place of selfish consumption.
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The righteous, conversely, are generous and often prosperous,
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enriched by bounty, not impoverished by giving.
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They are givers, not borrowers, acting under generous impulses
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precisely because mercy has been shown to them in Christ.
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Generosity is the outward sign of internal security.
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And this behavior is a direct result of who is controlling
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their fate explained in verse 22.
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Such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and they that
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be cursive him shall be cut off. God's blessing is true wealth
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and lasting security. His frown is ultimate
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destruction and judgement. We come next to the comforting
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and theologically robust statement in verse 23.
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The ordered life, the steps of a good man are ordered by the
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Lord. This speaks directly to divine
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sovereignty, a core tenet of Reformed understanding.
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It teaches that all of life, down to the smallest detail, is
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graciously ordained. There is no reckless fate, no
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fickle chance, no true accident. Our every single step, our
25:13
successes, our struggles, they are the subject of divine
25:16
decree. Which God delights in, much like
25:19
parents are pleased with the cautious, cluttering footsteps
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of their young children. And this divine ordering leads
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immediately to the assurance of preservation in verse 24, a
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vital doctrine for Peace of Mind.
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Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down.
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This is critical. The fall might involve severe
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stripping disasters, being suddenly deprived of everything,
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like Job being cast into prison like Joseph, Oregon being tossed
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into the deep like Jonah. So the Bible doesn't promise
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exemption from trouble. No, but it promises preservation
25:51
through the trouble. The promise is not that we won't
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stumble, but that the fall will not be final, not fatal, and
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never utterly casting us down into spiritual despair or
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complete destruction. He may be brought low, even to
26:03
his knees, but not to his face. Or if he's laid prone by the
26:06
violence of the world, he'll be up again before long.
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And the reason for this security isn't the Saints own strength,
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but God's personal assistance, for the Lord upholdeth him with
26:15
his hand. Where Grace doesn't keep the
26:18
Saint from initially going down, it saves them from staying down.
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Following this theological promise, David offers a piece of
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his own life experience. He backs up the precept with his
26:28
autobiography in verse 25. I have been young, and now I'm
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old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
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begging bread. This is David's personal age
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observation, presented as evidence.
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The rule he saw throughout his life is absolute.
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The righteous are never forsaken by God's sustaining hand.
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And what about the second part of that observation?
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The seed not begging bread. We know there can be exceptions,
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right? Tragedies, Poor choices made by
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the children of godly parents. The commentary addresses this.
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While rare exceptions may occur due to dissipation or other
27:01
failings on the part of the sons, David states the general
27:04
observable rule under God's Providence.
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And he suggests the best way to endow one's seed with security
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is actually to become generous or poor for Christ's sake,
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because God pledges to pay back the Father's generosity.
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Verse 26 expands on that idea of generosity as a blessing
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multiplier. The righteous man is constantly
27:25
merciful in lens. He is prospering through bounty,
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not through cold calculated saving.
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Right. Not through parsimony.
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And his seed is blessed. God pays back that outgoing
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generosity with spiritual and sometimes temporal interest in
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the next generation is the assurance that the God of the
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Father is also the friend of the family.
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This deepens the character test and provides the 7th precept in
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verse 27, which you could see as the quintessence of the entire
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Psalm. Depart from evil and do good and
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dwell forever more. It's the negative and positive
27:56
summed up. Don't envy evil doers.
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Depart from their example entirely and set ourselves to
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work in the opposite direction, doing consistent, measurable
28:05
good. And the reward is an abiding and
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quiet inheritance, both now and in the eternal rewards of grace.
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The security of the Saints is fixed firmly in verse 28.
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The Lord loveth judgement, meaning He loves justice and
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fairness, and forsaketh not His Saints.
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Their security is fixed by covenant engagements and surety
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ship fulfillments provided in Christ.
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Their preservation is forever. And the final security for the
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believer is fixed internally in verse 31.
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The law of his God is in his heart.
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None of his steps shall slide. This identifies the true source
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of stability, a heart obedient to the Lord, loving holiness
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with sanctified motives. That internal disposition is the
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surest method of keeping a whole run of our life efficient and
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secure. It's the best thing God's
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revealed will in the best place, the heart producing the best
28:55
results, safety and security. And the difference between
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internal sincerity and external maneuvering is just so stark,
29:02
the commentator points out, that policy man's calculated
29:04
planning. It slips and trips, it twists
29:06
and tacks, and it's eventually worsted by circumstance.
29:09
But sincerity, he says, plods on its plain pathway and reaches
29:12
the goal. Even when the enemies watch
29:14
closely to slay the righteous man as described in verse 32,
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the assurance stands in verse 33.
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The Lord will not leave him in their hand, nor condemn him when
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he is judged. God often appears to deliver
29:27
them in this life, sometimes miraculously, but even when he
29:31
doesn't deliver the body from temporal persecution, he gives
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their souls such subtle peace that they rise above their
29:37
tormentors mortal ability to harm.
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Them the verdict of time might sometimes be unjust, but
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eternity will clear away the condemnation.
29:45
Just men will be justified in due season by the Supreme judge.
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The song closes with the 8th and final precept in verse 34, and
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it demands a high level of spiritual discipline until the
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very end. Tarry God's leisure, wait on the
29:58
Lord and keep His way. To wait is a multifaceted
30:01
spiritual attitude. It is to tarry the Lord's
30:04
leisure to wait in obedience as a servant, to wait in hope as an
30:08
heir, and to wait an expectation as a believer.
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Simple to state, but requires immense grace to carry out over
30:14
decades. And crucially, the waiting has
30:17
to be active. Keep his way, continue in the
30:20
narrow path. Let no desire for fleeting
30:23
riches or ease cause unholy action.
30:26
The righteous must never slow down, never grow weary, and
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never surrender the high moral ground.
30:32
The result of this steady perseverance is guaranteed
30:35
exaltation. He shall exalt thee to inherit
30:38
the land. When the wicked are cut off,
30:41
thou shalt see it. The ultimate destruction of the
30:43
enemy becomes an instructive sight, a final rebuke for all
30:47
past fretting, and a massive incentive to gratitude for God's
30:50
steady hand. David then provides a second
30:52
piece of autobiographical evidence in verse 35, using a
30:56
compelling image to describe the quick downfall of the powerful
30:59
wicked. He personally saw the wicked and
31:01
great temporal power and spreading himself like a Green
31:04
Bay tree. That image is incredibly potent.
31:07
Because the Bay tree appears permanent, vigorous and
31:10
luxuriously rooted in its native soil, it looks like eternal
31:14
prosperity. It seems to have achieved a
31:16
level of security that just can't be disturbed.
31:18
Yet David observed the reverse in verse 36.
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Yet he passed away. Yeah, I sought him, but he could
31:23
not be found. The tree and the man were both
31:26
quickly gone. To the surprise of all who knew
31:28
them, the great man vanished. His house, his estate, his name,
31:33
all forgotten quickly. It's an amazing observation of
31:36
human vanity. Only virtue, the commentary
31:38
observes, holds true immortality.
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And the listeners then give it a final instruction in verse 37,
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which sums up the entire teaching.
31:46
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that
31:50
man is peace. We have to study the genuinely
31:53
godly man and observe the blessed contrast with the
31:56
wicked. Though his path may have been
31:58
rough, war may last until the final hour.
32:01
The conclusion of that man's life is peace.
32:03
He finds rest without end in the end of his days.
32:06
Meanwhile, verse 38 reiterates the opposite fate of the wicked.
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The transgressors shall be destroyed together.
32:12
Their end shall be cut off, their temporal hopes blasted,
32:15
their execution hastened. They have no future worth
32:17
possessing, while the righteous count the future as their true,
32:20
lasting heritage. This brings us to the ultimate
32:23
doctrine that solves the entire Riddle of the Psalm.
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This is the very essence of the the gospel of free grace
32:29
presented in verse 39. But the salvation of the
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righteous is of the Lord. So all deliverance, not just the
32:36
final glory, but all the minor rescues and daily preservations
32:39
along the way, is ascribed to God alone.
32:42
He is their strength and their strong helper in the time of
32:44
trouble. Our security doesn't rest on our
32:47
ability to avoid sin or manage our reputation.
32:50
It rests on his act of salvation.
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And verse 40 concludes by defining the one distinguishing
32:55
mark of those whom God helps and delivers and save them because
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they trust in Him. They're believing their faith,
33:02
not their merit or their ability to outcompete the wicked, is
33:05
what distinguishes them. The mystery of the Riddle of why
33:08
the wicked prosper is solved when all things are viewed
33:11
through the lens of faith in a righteous and sovereign God who
33:14
guarantees the final joyful outcome for those who trust Him.
33:18
This entire discussion has really been a spiritual
33:20
migration. It's moved us from human
33:22
disquietude, that internal vexation over apparent
33:26
injustice, to a state of gracious peace grounded in the
33:30
fixed security provided by our covenant keeping God.
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The overarching take away is simple, the true temporary
33:37
nature of earthly prosperity and the permanent nature of God's
33:40
preservation. We are called to regulate our
33:44
affections by consistently looking to the end of both the
33:47
wicked and the righteous, trusting the divine decree that
33:50
orders every single step. As we conclude, consider this
33:53
final thought that builds on David's hope.
33:55
Spurgeon mentions that the full meaning of the promise to
33:57
inherit the earth will be made plain in the latter days when
34:00
universal peace reigns over a perfected world.
34:04
We encourage you to reflect on what this means, that the true,
34:07
peaceful and eternal ownership of this world is reserved only
34:10
for those whose steps are ordered by the Lord.
34:13
The Wicked ownership is always a lease agreement that's about to
34:15
expire. So how does that certain future
34:18
hope, the knowledge that the meek will gain permanent
34:21
possession of a world cleansed of evil?
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How does that reframe every temporary disappointment or
34:28
trial you may be facing today? Think on that, and we hope this
34:31
conversation has given you powerful tools to heed David's
34:34
command. Fret not until our next deep
34:36
dive.