Psalm 37 | At Water’s Edge

When Little is Better

Have you ever locked yourself out of your house or is it just me? We were returning from a family outing and found that sure enough, all the doors to the house were locked and we couldn’t get in. All of a sudden our five-year-old grandson yelled, “Hey! I think I can go through the dog door!” At first all the adults tried to go through but each one of us got stuck. Finally we instructed him on how to open the front door and not stop to play on the way. Sure enough, his tiny little frame crawled perfectly though the flaps and we were in like flint. Sometimes little is better.

This is the underlying message for today’s passage. In ways, it reads like a recruitment poster for righteousness. Writing from the long-life experience of a man who was after God’s own heart, David assures readers that even though the righteous have little compared to the “overabundant wealth”(verse 16) of the evil, things will right themselves in the end.

Psalm 37 (Common English Bible)

Better is the little that the righteous have
    than the overabundant wealth of the wicked.
¹⁷The arms of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord supports the righteous.
¹⁸The Lord is intimately acquainted
    with the lives of the blameless;
    their heritage will last forever.

David sets up his argument in a series of opposites. The blameless receive an inheritance that lasts forever: The wicked die. The righteous are generous: The wicked borrow and don’t pay back. The blessed will possess the land: The cursed will be cut off.

¹⁹They won’t be ashamed in troubling times,
    and in a period of famine they will eat their fill.
²⁰But the wicked will die,
    the Lord’s enemies will disappear—
    disappear like the beauty of a meadow—in smoke.
²¹The wicked borrow and don’t pay it back, but the righteous are generous and giving.
²²Those blessed by God will possess the land,
    but those cursed by God will be cut off.

If that wasn’t enough to make you want to join the righteous, David offers a beautiful word picture in verse 24: “Though they trip up, they won’t be thrown down, because the Lord holds their hand”. Who among us doesn’t resonate with an image of a loving father holding the hand of a small child?

²³A person’s steps are made secure by the Lord
when they delight in his way.
²⁴Though they trip up, they won’t be thrown down,
because the Lord holds their hand.

You see, the overabundance of the wicked in this world is a fleeting, temporary illusion. Whatever they have now will not last. The “little” that comes from doing good is eternal and enough to sustain us though times of famine and strife. In the end, the righteous will live in the land forever.

²⁵I was young and now I’m old,
    but I have never seen the righteous left all alone,
    have never seen their children begging for bread.
²⁶They are always gracious and generous.
    Their children are a blessing.

David ends his recruitment speech with a clear directive: “Turn away from evil! Do good!”.

²⁷Turn away from evil! Do good!
    Then you will live in the land forever.
²⁸The Lord loves justice.
    He will never leave his faithful all alone.
    They are guarded forever,
        but the children of the wicked are eliminated.
²⁹The righteous will possess the land;
    they will live on it forever.

Friends, we are living in times when it seems like the wicked among us are living in luxury and power. It is easy to get discouraged to see them prosper while the poor and disenfranchised suffer. David speaks directly to us today. The Lord loves justice! Vengeance will be God’s. God will never leave the faithful alone. Of that we can be sure.

Would you rather have it all in this life or the next? How can we encourage one another to do good in the world? These are good things to ponder as we enter Holy Week.

Little is Better

Farming Faithfulness

Posted on 6 Days Ago by Betsy

Did you read Hamlet in high school? Many of us were exposed to this monumental Shakespearian “revenge tragedy” in our youth. Hamlet is a story of revenge gone wrong. Instructed by his father’s ghost to avenge his death, young Hamlet devises a way to kill his uncle for the murder. So Hamlet fakes madness, rejects his intended love interest Ophelia (who later drowns), stabs loyal attendant Polonius by accident behind a tapestry, and watches his mother die from poisoned wine intended for him. It ends with duel that kills both Laertes and Hamlet. The lesson of Hamlet is that revenge is a dish best not served.

David’s Psalm 37 teaches the same thing. This wisdom psalm is reminiscent of Proverbs and follows a rough acrostic pattern where the first words of each line flow alphabetically from Alpha to Zed.

Psalm 37 (Common English Bible)

Don’t get upset over evildoers;
    don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
²    because they will fade fast, like grass;
    they will wither like green vegetables.

David tells us not to fret. We all recognize that fretting is harmful and unproductive, and yet when evildoers prevail, it is hard not to fume. David teaches us instead to “farm faithfulness” by waiting on God to avenge us. God will eliminate the evil doers who fade fast like grass on a hot summer day. We don’t need to take action, for God will avenge us.

³Trust the Lord and do good;
    live in the land, and farm faithfulness.
⁴Enjoy the Lord,
    and he will give what your heart asks.
⁵Commit your way to the Lord!
    Trust him! He will act
⁶    and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
    your justice like high noon.
⁷Be still before the Lord,
    and wait^[b] for him.
Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead—
    someone who invents evil schemes.

Verses 3 through 7 are a list of directives that will help us from being distracted by our desire for revenge and enable us to farm that faithfulness that David encouraged. Look at the first words in each verse. We are instructed to enjoy the Lord, commit our way to God, trust God, be still, and don’t get upset. The invitation to delight in God reminds us that even in prison, Paul and Sirus sang as they awaited justice. God intends to give us the desires of our heart if we commit our ways to him.

⁸Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
    Don’t get upset—it will only lead to evil.
⁹Because evildoers will be eliminated,
    but those who hope in the Lord—
    they will possess the land.
¹⁰In just a little while the wicked won’t exist!
    If you go looking around their place,
    they won’t be there.
¹¹But the weak will inherit the land;
    they will enjoy a surplus of peace.
¹²The wicked plot against the righteous,
    grinding their teeth at them.
¹³But my Lord just laughs at them
    because he knows that their day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
    to bring down the weak and the needy,
    to slaughter those whose way is right.
¹⁵But the sword of the wicked will enter their own hearts!
    Their bows will be broken!

Psalm 37 offers pointers on how to live in and live as the Kingdom of God. We can see correlations between David’s writing and Jesus’ Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, particularly in the revelation that the meek shall inherit the land/earth in Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5. All of the spiritual reversals in the Beatitudes are reflected in this psalm’s contrasts between the wicked and the righteous. Our Lord knew his Scriptures and certainly Psalm 37 served as a foundation to the words he spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are we when we trust God’s justice and wait patiently for God to act.

Do you trust God enough to be patient or do you need to get revenge? What would it take for you emulate meekness? Be still. God is on your side.

Still Water by Stacy Murphy

The Confessional

Posted on October 22 by Betsy

How many of you insist on trying to carry every single grocery bag from your car to your kitchen in one trip? I don’t know why we do this. I seem to think that it it somehow against the law to make multiple trips up and down the stairs, so I slide the handles of every single bag down my arms and stagger up 13 steps to deposit them on the kitchen counters and then collapse. Do you do that, too?

It is hard to carry heavy things. Isn’t it lovely when you find a way to set them down?

David knew all about carrying heavy things. His many sins weighed heavily upon him. If you run a checklist of the Ten Commandments, he broke almost every one. But David also knew the joy that comes with forgiveness after you lay that heavy sin at God’s feet and repent:

Psalm 37 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³While I kept silent, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

I have admired the sacredness and promise of the confessional booth. While protestants do not follow a practice of confessing sins to a priest, the visual example of that ornate box while sitting in a worship service must bring comfort to Catholics during mass. It is a visible, tangible reminder of the nearness of God’s grace, and that every single confession is guaranteed to be received with forgiveness.

All you have to do is come.

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.

God is our hiding place, where we can take our sins into the sacredness of his presence and be assured of redemption. God hears us when we confess and delivers us from the harm that sin brings.

⁷You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

Are you carrying a burden of sin that is just too heavy to keep lugging around? The “confessional booth” of God’s heart is always open. Just come.

Hyde Park, London

Better News

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Betsy

Twice last week I had an unexpected phone call from a loved one. In both cases, my first thought was that something was terribly wrong. I answered with trepidation, not knowing what was about to come. Fortunately in both cases, the caller immediately let me know that they were not reporting death or disaster but rather calling with incredibly good news. One reported a miraculous remission of her cancer. That was the sweetest, most uplifting news I have had in a long time. The other reported that she was making arrangements to fly down to see me in a few weeks and would run the last 5 miles of a Half Marathon with me to help me “over the line.” If you run long distances, you know what a blessing that will be. Listening to my audible book will only take me so far!

It seems to me that there isn’t enough good news going around these days. The horrific wildfires in California, the uncertainty of a new administration poised to take over our country in a matter of days, the changes in social media that are happening right now, and even the price of eggs seem to dominate our daily experiences, conversations, and our minds. Let’s face it: January comes with its own special challenges. A women’s event where I am scheduled to speak was postponed due to snow. In Atlanta. Go figure!

David wrote a beautiful psalm about what to do when the bad things seem to be overwhelming and overshadowing the good things. He wrote this in his later years, after he had experienced a fair amount of wickedness and evil. Listen to his counsel today as you consider where to turn when the bad seems to be winning:

Psalm 37 (New International Version)

Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
²for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be 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.

⁸Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But 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.

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
²²those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Look again at the beginning of verses 1, 3, 7 and 8. Here is what David is saying:

Do not fret.

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Commit your way to the Lord.

Be still.

Refrain from anger.

Truly, this is the better way to deal with all the bad news! David was right.

Of course, my favorite verse is verse 23: “The Lord makes firm the steps of one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall.” Good news for this runner! And if I do stumble, now my friend will be there to catch me.

What did you hear today in this Scripture? Are you focusing too much on the bad news? Can you be a source of better news to somebody today?

Remember, the Lord upholds us all with his hand. May we reach out a hand to uphold someone else.

S N O W by Kathy Schumacher

Happy Are Those

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Betsy

Here is what not to do next time you are traveling. Do not put your heavy laptop in your checked baggage. I realize most of you know this. I struggle with the weight of my laptop in my carry-on, so on a recent flight I changed my routine and put it in my suitcase so I wouldn’t have to lug it around the airport. It was a direct flight … what could go wrong?

All was well until my checked bag decided to take a trip to Buffalo, N.Y. Unfortunately, I got off the plane in Norfolk, VA. Because of the lateness of the flight to Buffalo, my suitcase could not be returned to me for another day. Lesson learned.

It is hard to carry heavy things. Isn’t it lovely when you find a way to set them down?

Psalm 37 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³While I kept silent, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

I have admired the sacredness of the confessional booth. While protestants do not follow a practice of confessing sins to a priest, the visual example of that ornate box while sitting in a worship service must bring comfort to Catholics during mass. It is a visible, tangible reminder of the nearness of forgiveness.

All you have to do is come.

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.

God is our hiding place, where we can take our sins into the sacredness of his presence and be assured of redemption. God hears us when we confess and delivers us from the harm that sin brings.

⁷You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

Are you carrying a burden of sin that is just too heavy to keep lugging around? The “confessional booth” of God’s heart is always open.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Betsy

At some point in your life, you will endure a break-up. It is as inevitable as death and taxes. It might be a romantic interest, a friend, a co-worker, a family member, or even a spouse. We know the pain that ending a close relationship can bring. The classic rock song, ”Breaking Up is Hard to Do” speaks truth into that pain. A bad break-up can leave a scar that lasts a long time.

Breaking up with someone who has wronged you is even harder. It’s hard enough when a relationship has run its natural course, but when the other person betrays you, strays from the relationship, undermines you, or is downright evil in their dealings with you, that scar can be permanent.

Our Psalm today is a lovely reminder that when we have been left in the dust by someone who has done us wrong, we don’t need to fret over it. God will take care of us in that situation by taking care of the evildoer. Our job is to let go, “let God,” and commit our way toward the justice, righteousness, and healing that only God can offer:

Psalm 37 (Common English Bible)

Don’t get upset over evildoers;
    don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
²    because they will fade fast, like grass;
    they will wither like green vegetables.
³Trust the Lord and do good;
    live in the land, and farm faithfulness.
⁴Enjoy the Lord,
    and he will give what your heart asks.

I have a friend who is going through a terrible divorce. Another friend is struggling with a rebellious and sullen teenager. Another is dealing with an ex who is trying to change their custody agreement. All of these situations are hurtful. What can we do when people let us down so terribly? David suggests that we should do good and ”farm faithfulness.” I love that phrase. We should commit to God, trust him, and WAIT.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord!
    Trust him! He will act
⁶    and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
    your justice like high noon.
⁷Be still before the Lord,
    and wait for him.
Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead—
    someone who invents evil schemes.

And in your waiting, look only at God. He will deliver you.

It is normal to feel weak in those times when someone is getting the better of you, especially when that person is acting from evil intentions while you are remaining steadfast in your righteousness. It can be tempting to be underhanded in your response, because feeling weak is so debilitating. But God calls us to a higher standard.

Remember that when you are weak, God is strong.

This battle is his.

¹¹But the weak will inherit the land;
they will enjoy a surplus of peace.

May the peace of Christ surround you today as you watch what God is doing.