Saturday Psalm & Praise: Psalm 37
Posted By Jacque on August 16, 2008
Jocelyn made me a brighter, shinier, new Saturday Praise icon. We decided to find a verse to put on it, and as I was looking, I opened this one. This is the Psalm I read a few months before I accepted Christ as my Saviour. He was working on my heart and showed me that even I had enemies. I think He was showing me that there are enemies of God’s people and enemies of Him. I was not a born-again Believer, but I had been born and raised Catholic, and even attended a Catholic primary school until 6th grade. I was at a critical time in my life, alone, at college, and totally disillusioned.
My sister was in high school and had been born-again, and she was praying for me, and God was speaking to me through His Word. Here is the Psalm I kept going to back to in my dorm room, as God worked on my heart for weeks:
PSALM 37
“1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7Rest 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. 8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
These are all-time favorite verses. Thank you Lord!
23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
After I did receive Christ, one of my favorite songs was based on this part of this Psalm:
25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
The Psalm goes on in very much the same encouragement to believe and trust in and follow the Lord, no matter what else is happening around you, because God is on your side and is your God.
26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. 35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. 39But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
I have read what a wonderful and terrible God we serve, and oh!! how true it is. Thank you Lord, for being true to your promises and forgiving to a sinner like me. Though I stumble and fall every hour, you are there, in your Word, in my heart, leading on to get up and go on.
I have made many mistakes and sometimes look more like the world than yours to some, but you know to whom I belong, and I am thankful for your grace and mercy at those times. Please always show me my sin, that I may be blameless before you.
What does this Psalm speak to you? It is long, and seems harsh, but it is God and His way.
blessings!
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7 Responses to “Saturday Psalm & Praise: Psalm 37”
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Jacque,
I am so amazed that we have never spoken of this before. I had no idea that this is the scripture God used to draw you to Him. Did you know that is the same scripture God used to draw me to Him unto salvation? I sit here awestruck and saddened at the same time to some degree. I wish we had shared more over these past years. I long for us to live closer and share daily our lives. I am thrilled to know this today! I remember staying up all night at your dorm; praying God would work on your heart and lead you to him. I prayed that the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let you rest until you made the choice to come to NM with us. The next morning when we got up you said I decided to go with you to NM. Instead of realizing wow..my prayer worked I was shocked and so excited at the same time…I remember like it was yesterday. I think I might have freaked you and mom both out on the way home talking about the Holy Spirit but God knew my heart and I think he help sift some of my words:)…I love you so much. I know we have a lot in common…and here’s something else…this is my verse…I always say…but I’m so glad to share it with you~
Love Jen
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*tears come to eyes as I’m reading this* WOW! what a lovely story you both share!
I am so blessed to have both of you as my examples and heritage! You are both so awesomely amazing!
LOVE YOU!
that is a great Psalm! Thank God for the Holy Spirit and His Word!
LOVE YOU!
Amanda
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That is pretty amazing, isn’t it, Jen? I so remember before you ever came up here, the Bible sitting on my dresser, between the bathroom and the door, and going to it, and reading it at all hours of the morning before I ever moved to NM and got saved.
How cool is that that we can share it for this same reason?
I can’t wait until we are close enough to share more irl than on the phone, IM and comments… though we do enough of that to count for an awful lot!!
I love you Jen. Love you BUNCHES!!
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I’m so thankful I had time to post my Psalm and Praise before leaving the house today. Thank you my dear friend and counselor of peace. ;O)
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A beautiful Psalm….
Knowing that if we delight ourselves in Him, he will give us the desires of our heart…….It’s that “In His Time”……..and “waiting” that sometimes seems to take forever…..
But then we know that “His timing” is perfect…..
Thank you, Lord
Love you,
Mom
Grandma Starrs last blog post..Saturday Psalm & Praise
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Great post today, momma. Love you so much. Thanks for helping me with the goats. Let’s hope we can get some sleeeeeeeeep.
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Thank you, ladies, for participating!! What a blessing to read all of the praises to the Lord through out this week!
((HUGS))) to you all!
~J
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