It is part of the human condition to fret, but we are not to worry about the prosperity of the wicked, or the condition of the world around us; we are to be faithful and trust God. We are promised that we will inherit the land.
Scripture: Psalm 37
Sermon Notes:
- It's part of the human condition to fret; but we're not to worry about the prosperity of the wicked, or the condition of the world around us; we're to be faithful, to trust God and we're promised that we will inherit the land.
- This sermon will examine the fate of the wicked, the characteristics of the righteous, and the inheritance of the righteous.
- God is sovereign and He runs the world therefore we need not fret. We cannot change the world ourselves.
- The fact that God runs the world means that we can have a sabbath rest today; we're to rest and rejoice in the Lord.
- We're to enjoy our inheritance knowing that God is in charge.
- The ungodly seem to prosper, in the political sphere, in the courts and in the academy; but God says don't be envious.
- The wicked are done away with and dispossessed by God.
- There's a mystery to the providence of God; we don't know all the reasons that God allows things to happen.
- However, we know the final outcome: God laughs at the pretensions, arrogance and plotting of the wicked.
- It is impossible to succeed against God; God has a holy laughter against the wicked who rebel against Him.
- The strength of the wicked will be taken away. They will vanish like smoke. The future of the wicked is cut off.
- God's law is built into the structure of the universe; His righteousness and judgments are inevitable.
- The characteristic of the righteousness is to trust in the Lord and to do good. Verse 4.
- Commit your way to the Lord in the sure and certain knowledge that He will act. We're to be patient over years for God to act.
- It takes multi-generational discipline to construct lasting fruitfulness for God's kingdom.
- Meekness is a characteristic of the righteousness. It's a bridled strength that's submitted to God.
- The righteousness lends generously.
- The Lord, not fickle chance, establishes a man's steps.
- Our walking before God is faltering but He delights in it when we're submitted to Him. God pays back with interest what we generously give, in blessing for the next generation.
- The teaching and blessing of God's law is in our mouths (v31). God's law is written on our hearts. Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8
- We're secure in times of trouble. Verse 40
- The righteousness will inherit the land. Verses 3, 9, 11, 18, 22, 27, 29, 34,
- Under God we are to inherit all things. The puritans believed they should obey God first, and that Kings should bow to God.
- God is subject to law only insofar as he acts consistently with His own nature and character, which is the source of law.
- The triune God has total jurisdiction of our lives and everything in the whole world. This is the basis of the tithe and fallow year.
- The apostasy of Christianity and the defiling of our land leads to dispossession. Leviticus 18:24-30
- The physical condition of the land depended on the moral conduct of the people. In Gen 3:17 the ground was cursed due to rebellion. In Gen. 6-9 God expelled the wicked from the land.
- History is not random. The whole cosmos in our inheritance. Mat 28:18-20; Romans 4:13;
- Obedience to God's law is green; the land will be blessed.
- In the Bible there's no land tax; only God can tax it; God's tax, the tithe, is to further His kingdom.
- God owns it all, he's giving it to His faithful people, so don't fret about the wicked. Delight ourselves in the Lord.
Application Questions:
- Who are the righteous and how do they live?
- Why must we not be envious of the wicked?
- Do we delight in the person and character of God? Do we rest patiently for the Lord to act?
- What are the implications of God's total sovereign ownership of the earth as revealed in Exodus 9:29; Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26?
- What is the path to inherit the earth and to be stewards of it?