Psalm 37:7 - Be still, wait patiently and never ever fret!
Psalm 37:7; Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait
patiently for His perfect plans to unfold. Never ever fret!
Psalm 37:7 (KJV) Rest 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.
Psalm 37:7 (NLT) Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait
patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or
fret about their wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:7 (CWR) Be still before the Lord and wait patiently
for Him to do things in His own time. Don't fret when wicked men
prosper and succeed in their evil ways.
CONTEXT
Exhortation to Patience and Trust
Psalm 37: In Praise of Trust. What are the characteristics and
the benefits of trust in the LORD? This, one of the best-loved of
the psalms, explains. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
THE JOYS OF TRUST (PS. 37)
If you were to pick two psalms to memorize, the first would
probably be the 23rd. But the second surely would be this great psalm in
praise of trust.
No psalm has more comforting verses, more verses inviting
lengthy meditation. No psalm has more verses that speak so directly to
the human heart.
Because of this, it's almost sacrilege to analyze this psalm: to
break its thoughts apart, to look for similarities and themes. And
yet, how much this psalm tells us about the nature, and about the
benefits, of trust.
If we seek to probe the nature of trust, we find in this psalm
that trust is:
Looking to God and doing good (v. 3).
Delighting in the LORD (v. 4).
Committing our way to the LORD (v. 5).
Not fretting when the wicked succeed (v. 7).
Refraining from anger and wrath (v. 8).
Being satisfied with little (v. 16).
Giving generously to others (v. 21).
Turning from evil to do good (v. 27).
Planting God's Law in our hearts (v. 31).
Waiting for the LORD (v. 34).
Keeping His way (v. 34).
Taking refuge in the LORD (v. 40).
Trust is in fact a way of life, the way of life we choose when
we commit ourselves to the LORD.
This same psalm reveals the outcome of trust. One who actively
commits himself to the LORD can expect these benefits:
To enjoy safe pastures (v. 3).
To receive the desires of his heart (v. 4).
To be vindicated (vv. 5-6).
To inherit the land (vv. 9, 22, 34).
To enjoy great peace (v. 11).
To be upheld by God (v. 17).
To gain an enduring inheritance (v. 18).
To enjoy plenty in days of famine (v. 19).
To be upheld by the LORD (v. 24).
To always live securely (v. 27).
To never be forsaken by God (v. 28).
To not slip (v. 31).
To see the wicked cut off (v. 34).
To have a future (v. 37).
To be helped and delivered by the LORD (v. 40).
The beauty of this psalm aside, its teaching is vital to our
well-being. Only by an active trust in God, expressed in the choices made
each day of our lives, can we experience the many benefits of a
personal relationship with the LORD. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
CROSS REFERENCES
Mat. 11:28, 29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.
Psalm 62:1 (KJV) Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him
cometh my salvation.
Lament. 3:25-26 (KJV) The Lord is good unto them that wait for
him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both
hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Proverbs 20:22 (KJV) Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but
wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
Psalm 27:14 (KJV) Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he
shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall
run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 30:15 (KJV) For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of
Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in
confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
Hebrews 10:36-37 (KJV) For ye have need of patience, that,
after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For
yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not
tarry.
James 5:7, 8 (KJV) Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the
coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive
the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your
hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Phil 4:5-7 (NIV) The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 6:9 (KJV) And let us not be weary in well doing: for
in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Daniel 11:36b (KJV) that that is determined shall be done.
Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV) For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait
for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION
4, 5 Commitment is the beginning of trusting God. David calls us
to take delight in the Lord and to commit everything we have and do
(our "way") to him. But how do we do this? To 'delight' in someone
means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence.
This happens only when we know that person well. Thus, to delight in
the Lord, we must know him better. Knowledge of God's great love for
us will indeed give us delight. To 'commit' ourselves to the Lord
means entrusting everything--our lives, families, jobs,
possessions--to his control and guidance. To commit ourselves to the Lord means
to trust in him (37:5), believing that he can care for us better
than we can ourselves. We should be willing to wait patiently (37:7)
for him to work out what is best for us. [Life Application SB re
vss 4, 5]
Wait on thee implies that we look to God for directions and for
grace to follow. [SDA Commentary re Psa.25:3]
Rest ... wait patiently: These commands reemphasize the major
point of the psalm, "do not fret" (v. 1). This is not a call to be
inactive, but to depend actively on the living Lord. The psalm gives us a
commandment to cease from worry. [Nelson SB]
One of God's Great "Don'ts"
"Do not fret--it only causes harm" (Psalm 37:8).
Fretting means getting ourselves "out of joint" mentally or
spiritually. It is one thing to say, "Do not fret," but something very
different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret.
It's easy to say, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him"
(37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are
forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it
possible to "rest in the Lord" then? If this "Do not" doesn't work there,
then it will not work anywhere. This "Do not" must work during our
days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or
it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular
case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not
dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship
with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little
anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are,
yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we
are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our
Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was
never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God's plans. Fretting
is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the
idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all
your opinions and speculations aside and "abide under the shadow of
the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not
fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is
caused by planning without God. [My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald
Chambers]
It is at the time of greatest weakness that Satan assails
the soul with the fiercest temptations. It was thus that he hoped to
prevail over the Son of God; for by this policy he had gained many
victories over man. When the will power weakened and faith failed, then
those who had stood long and valiantly for the right yielded to
temptation. Moses, wearied with forty years of wandering and unbelief, lost
for a moment his hold on Infinite Power. He failed just on the
borders of the Promised Land. So with Elijah. He who had maintained his
trust in Jehovah during the years of drought and famine, he who had
stood undaunted before Ahab, he who throughout that trying day on
Carmel had stood before the whole nation of Israel the sole witness to
the true God, in a moment of weariness allowed the fear of death to
overcome his faith in God.
And so it is today. When we are encompassed with doubt,
perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan
seeks to shake our confidence in Jehovah. It is then that he arrays
before us our mistakes and tempts us to distrust God, to question His
love. He hopes to discourage the soul and break our hold on God.
Those who, standing in the forefront of the conflict, are
impelled by the Holy Spirit to do a special work, will frequently feel a
reaction when the pressure is removed. Despondency may shake the most
heroic faith and weaken the most steadfast will. But God understands,
and He still pities and loves. He reads the motives and the purposes
of the heart. To wait patiently, to trust when everything looks
dark, is the lesson that the leaders in God's work need to learn.
Heaven will not fail them in their day of adversity. Nothing is
apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that
feels its nothingness and relies wholly on God. {PK 174}
Jesus says, "Abide in Me." These words convey the idea of rest,
stability, confidence. Again He invites,"Come unto Me, . . . and I will
give you rest." Matthew 11:28. The words of the psalmist express the
same thought: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." And
Isaiah gives the assurance, "In quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength." Psalm 37:7; Isaiah 30:15. This rest is not found in
inactivity; for in the Saviour's invitation the promise of rest is united
with the call to labor: "Take My yoke upon you: . . . and ye shall
find rest." Matthew 11:29. The heart that rests most fully upon
Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him.
When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ,
the source of strength and life. Hence it is Satan's constant effort
to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent
the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of
the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of
others, or your own faults and imperfections--to any or all of these he
will seek to divert the mind. Do not be misled by his devices. Many
who are really conscientious, and who desire to live for God, he too
often leads to dwell upon their own faults and weaknesses, and thus by
separating them from Christ he hopes to gain the victory. We should not
make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we
shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the Source of our
strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to God, and trust in Him. Talk
and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt;
dismiss your fears. Say with the apostle Paul, "I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for
me." Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you
have committed to Him. If you will leave yourself in His hands, He
will bring you off more than conqueror through Him that has loved
you. {SC 71}
Learning About His Ways
He works where He sends us to wait. "'Tarry, Until" (Luke
24:49). "Wait on the Lord" and He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don't
wait sulking spiritually and feeling sorry for yourself, just because
you can't see one inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from
our own spiritual fits of emotion to "wait patiently for Him"?
(37:7). Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it
is learning to do what we are told. [My Utmost for His Highest by
Oswald Chambers]
It sometimes seems hard to wait patiently till God's time comes
to vindicate the right.... if we become impatient we lose a rich
reward. As faithful husbandmen in God's great field, we must sow with
tears and be patient and hopeful. We must meet troubles and sorrows.
Temptations and wearisome toil will afflict the soul, but we must patiently
wait in faith to reap with joy. {3T 327}
Often your mind may be clouded because of pain. Then do not try
to think. You know that Jesus loves you. He understands your
weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms. {MH 251}
All you are expected to do is to rest in His love. Do not worry.
Jesus loves you, and now when you are weak and suffering, He holds you
in His arms, just as a loving father holds a little child. Trust in
Him in whom you have believed. Has He not loved and cared for you
all through your life-time? Just rest in the precious promises given
you. TDG313
And help and grace sufficient for every circumstance are
promised by Him whose word is truth. His everlasting arms encircle the
soul that turns to Him for aid. {AG 21}
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