Slices
Prepare
What are you hoping for? Or are you despairing that things will ever get better? Acknowledge to God what you are feeling today.
Bible passage
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret – it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure for ever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land for ever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it for ever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold 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.
Explore
This psalm could be a response to yesterday’s chapter of Job, couldn’t it? The psalmist reiterates over and over again the truth that God sees the deeds of both the wicked and the righteous, and they will be treated fairly in the final reckoning.
Verses 23 and 24 seem to speak right into Job’s situation: ‘The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.’ Job has definitely been stumbling through much of what we have read this week. He has been beset with doubt, concerned that God’s justice seems far off and that he has been abandoned. But the wonderful truth is that ‘the Lord upholds him with his hand’.
Trust in the Lord. Hope in him. Delight in him. Pursue righteousness. Do not fret. These are the words the psalmist would speak to Job, and that he speaks to us today. When it seems as though all is lost, choose to believe the truth that God has a good purpose, and he will not let you go.
Respond
‘Father God, thank you that you will enact justice in its time. Thank you that because of my faith in your Son’s sacrifice, I am counted righteous and can be assured of my security in you. Help me always to hope in you. Amen.’
Deeper Bible study
‘But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.’1 Amen.
I was in a Cardiff hospital at the beginning of my long battle with serious illness when an elderly man from the church where I was pastor came to visit. He looked like Moses, with white beard and burning eyes. He read the early verses of this psalm to me in his booming, sonorous, Welsh voice and I felt deeply moved. And strangely comforted too.
David is being persecuted by godless people. He feels keenly the unfairness that those who care nothing for God seem to do well in life, whereas the godly often have a tough time. Perhaps you feel the same. Fretting (v 1) does not help, though, using up spiritual energy. David wants to turn our hearts towards accepting God’s will for our lives. ‘Take delight in the Lord’ (v 4) is great advice and combined with wonderful promise. Trust, praise and surrender to God are at the heart of peace and security (vs 3–5).
A recurring theme in this psalm is the land that God’s people have been given. The writer calls for them to ‘dwell in the land’ (vs 3,27) or ‘inherit the land’ (vs 9,11,22,29) and says it is the place where believers will find answers and be kept safe. Of course, the land is Israel, which God had given to a people seemingly unable to obey him or trust his promises, so that they ended up in prolonged exile. For us, however, there appears to be a place of stillness (v 7), of letting go of our anger (v 8), of even delighting in God despite our occasional stumbles (vs 23,24): a Promised Land of protection and well-being. If life feels unfair to you today, ‘Be still before the Lord’ (v 7) and let him breathe his peace and hope into your soul.
Consider Psalm 73:1–17. What was it that helped David to cope with the apparent injustice of the prosperity of the wicked? Pray for that understanding today.
1 Ps 73:28
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 32,33; Acts 24
Pray for Scripture Union
Scripture Union International’s Bible Engagement Consultation is taking place over three weeks aiming to develop new thinking across the SU Global Family. Pray that it will help Bible engagement thinkers and practitioners to find effective approaches for today. Pray too for the Global Board as they meet at the end of the month.
