Psalms 38:1

 Psalms 38:1 says, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.  This is identified as a Psalm of David to bring remembrance, then verse one says, O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.  David asked God to not rebuke Him in wrath nor chasten him in His displeasure.  If we do not want these things to happen to us, we must come to God through faith and live in accordance to His word.  Verse two adds, For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.  David seemed to feel that somehow God was rejecting or punishing him.  Just because things are not going well in life does not mean that God has rejected or is punishing us.  Verse three continues, There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.  David was evidently very sick, and he attributed his sickness to God's punishment because he said he had sin in his bones.  I believe we can be certain, even as Christians, that if we allow sin back in our lives, it will not go without punishment.  Verse four states, For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.  David said his iniquities, or sins, were too great for him to bear, as ours will always be, no matter how great or small they are.  Only when we turn them over to Christ and allow Him to bear them will we find relief.  Verse five adds, My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.  David said his wounds were because of his corruption.  If we are suffering today, we as followers of Christ need to examine our life and see if we have become corrupt in God's eyes because we have allowed sin back into our life.  Verse six declares, I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.  Verse seven adds, For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.  David continues to speak about his physical ailments which he saw as being caused by his spiritual condition.  Though not all physical ailments are caused by sin in our life, we certainly need to examine our spiritual condition to make sure we are remaining true to God, even if we are physically suffering.  Verse eight adds, I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.  David said he was feeble and broken physically, and that his heart was troubled.  Verse nine continues, Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.  David said God knew the desire of his heart, and if we reach out to God in faith today, He will always know the desire of our heart.  Verse ten says, My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.  David continues to speak of his weakened condition.   Verse eleven adds, My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.  David said his friends and family had deserted him.  Sometimes when we are suffering, it may feel as though everyone has deserted us, but as Christians, we can be certain that God never will. 

Psalms 37:29

Psalms 37:29 says, The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.  I believe that the land that the righteous, those who have accepted God's salvation, will inherit is their heavenly home.  Verse thirty adds, The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.  The wisdom that David said the righteous speak is not their own wisdom, but the truth of God.  God gives His people the wisdom about life.  Verse thirty-one continues, The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.  As David said, the law of God should be in our hearts, or minds continually, and when it is we will not slide back into sin.  Verse thirty-two states, The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.  We as followers of Christ, the righteous, will always be watched by the wicked, those who do not believe in or follow God's law through faith in Jesus Christ, and they will often do all that they can to destroy us, or at minimum our witness about Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-three adds, The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.  David said that God would not leave the righteous in the hand of the evil, nor condemn him when he was judged.  We already have everlasting salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-four declares, Wait 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.  As David said, we are simply to wait on the Lord and one day we will inherit our heavenly home, and the wicked will be cut off from it.  Verse thirty-five adds, I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.  David said that he had seen the wicked in power, and we today too often see this in the world around us.  Verse thirty-six continues, Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. David said that though the wicked at times had great power that it did not last, and neither will it today.  Verse thirty-seven says, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.  David said we are to follow the example of the perfect man, and only Jesus Christ is perfect, and to behold the upright, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, for He is a man of peace.  Verse thirty-eight adds, But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. David then said that the wicked would be cut off, and the wicked, those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, will one day be forever cut off from the presence of God.   Verse thirty-nine declares, But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.  As David said, our salvation is of the Lord, and He gives us strength in the times of trouble.   Verse forty adds, And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.  David said the LORD would deliver the righteous, those who put their faith in Him, and He already has given us an everlasting victory over the wicked of the world. 

Psalms 37:21

 Psalms 37:21 says, The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.  David said the wicked did not repay their debts, but the righteous showed mercy and gave to those in need.  When we as followers of Christ borrow from someone, we need to always return or repay what we borrowed, but more importantly we need to help those in need when we can.  Verse twenty-two adds, For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.  David said that those who are blessed of God would inherent the earth and those cursed would be cut off.  I believe those who are blessed are those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and those who are cutoff are those who don't.  It is based on ones relationship with Jesus Christ and nothing else.  Verse twenty-three states, The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. David tells us the steps of a good man are guided by God.  It is obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ that makes one good.  Verse twenty-four continues, Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.  I believe this means if we do fail at times to live up to God's calling or standard that God still holds us securely in His hand.  Verse twenty-five declares, I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  David said he had lived a long time and had never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.  As Christians, we will never be forsaken and will always be fed with the Bread of Life, or God Himself.   Verse twenty-six adds, He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.  David said God is ever merciful and that His seed, those that put their faith in Him, are blessed.  We, as followers of Christ, are already forever blessed by His gift of everlasting life through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-seven states, Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.  This implies making a choice.  We are called on to depart from evil and do good.  Even as Christians, we always have the choice of whether we do good, or what God calls us to do, or do evil, that which goes against God's will.  We need to always choose to do what God calls us to do.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.  David tells us that the saints of God, or anyone putting their faith in Jesus Christ, are preserved forever, but that the wicked are cutoff.  Those like David who lived before Jesus Christ came put their faith in His coming, and those who lived after He came put their faith in the fact that He did come.  In both cases, He is the only way to salvation.

Psalms 37:12

 Psalms 37:12 says, The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.  What David said then seems especially true today.  The wicked seem to be plotting continually against the just, or those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse thirteen adds, The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.  David said then, and we can be certain today, that God laughs at those who are wicked, because His day of judgment is coming.  Verse fourteen states, The 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.  As in David's day, so many wicked people today are attempting to destroy God's people, but they will never be victorious.  Verse fifteen adds, Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.  David said the wicked would be destroyed by their own weapons, and the wicked will always be destroyed by their own disbelief in God, no matter what weapons they us against Him and His people.  Verse sixteen declares, A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.  As Christians, we need to live by this statement from David.  It is better to have a little and be righteous than to have riches and not be saved.  Verse seventeen adds, For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.  David said the wicked would be defeated, but God would uphold the righteous.  God has already secured the victory for the righteous, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse eighteen says, The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.  David said that God knows the days of the upright and that their inheritance will be forever.  The upright are made so not by their own abilities, but by faith in Jesus Christ, either as the coming Messiah in David's day or as the Messiah Who has come in our day.  Verse nineteen adds, They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.  David said the upright, those who trusted God, would not be ashamed in the day of evil and would be satisfied even in times of famine.  This is the attitude we as followers of Christ need today.  Verse twenty concludes, But 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.  David then said that the wicked, the enemies of God, would perish, and we know that those who refuse to accept God's salvation will one day go away to everlasting punishment. 

Psalms 37:1

Psalms 37:1 says, A Psalm of David.  After being identified as a psalm of David, verse one says, Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.  David told the people of Israel to neither worry about nor be envious of evildoers and workers of iniquity.  We today as followers of Christ need to be that way as well, not worrying about nor envying what those who are not Christians are doing.  Verse two adds, For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.  David then tells the people of Israel, and us, as Christians today, why we should not fear or envy the wicked.  One day, when God's judgment comes, they will be cut down like grass, or completely destroyed.  Verse three states, Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  David told the people of Israel to trust in the LORD and they would be fed.  He did not say that they would be materially rich, but that they would be fed, or have their daily needs met.  This will always be true spiritually, even if we were to suffer physically for our faith.  Verse four adds, Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  I don't believe that this means that God will give us everything we want, but that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, then the desires of our heart will be what God wants for us and what will bring glory to Him.  Verse five declares, Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  David tells us that if we commit our way to following God's will in our lives and follow Him in faith, that He will bring us success.  Verse six adds, And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.  David said that when we follow Christ, and become the righteous because of His righteousness, that we should be a light unto the world.  We as Christians are commissioned to share the light of the gospel to the world today,  and if we don't, it will not be shared.  Verse seven continues, 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.  David tells us to rest in the LORD and wait patiently on Him and to not fret that the wicked seem to prosper.  God's judgment will come one day, and until then we need to just rest in our relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse eight says, Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.  David told the people of Israel, and tells us today, that we are to cease from anger and to not allow our worries to lead us into evil.  Verse nine adds, For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.  This is the truth of salvation.  Evil doers, those who do not accept salvation through Christ, will be cut off from God when His judgment comes, but those who wait on the LORD, or put their faith in Jesus Christ, will inherit the earth.  One day, as Christians, we will be going to our heavenly home.  Verse ten states, For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.  David said that the wicked might seem to be successful for a little while, but one day they would be no more.  I believe this means that they will no longer be a part of God's coming kingdom, but will be cut off from Him forever.  Verse eleven adds, But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.  David said the meek would inherit the earth and live in an abundance of peace.  We as followers of Christ are called on to be meek in our relationship to others, realizing that it is by God's grace that we are saved and by His power we are sustained. 

Psalms 36:1

 Psalms 36:1 says, To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.  Once more we have the introduction, then verse one says, The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.  David said those who were wicked said they had no fear of God.  If people truly believe in God, they will fear His wrath if they do not repent of their sins and turn to Him by faith.  If they do repent, they will still have an awesome respect for Him.  Verse two adds, For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.  David said that the wicked flattered themselves in their own eyes, or were unwilling to admit that they were doing anything wrong.  People today do horrible things because they believe that it is their right to do so, no matter what God says about it.  This will never be true.  Verse three continues, The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.  David said these people spoke with iniquity and quit even trying to do what is good.   We find many people around us today who would fit this description.  Verse four continues, He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.  David said that the wicked, those who do not believe in or follow God's teachings, devise evil and do not abhor evil.  We see people throughout the world today who devise evil plans and certainly do not abhor evil.  Verse five declares, Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.  David then looks to God instead of the wicked and evil people around him.  We likewise need to look to God in His glory and faithfulness instead of focusing on the evil of the world.  Verse six adds, Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.  David declared God's righteous to be deep and unmoveable, and that He preserved both men and beasts.  God's righteousness will never change, and He is the only One Who can sustain His universe.   Verse seven continues, How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.  As David stated then, God's lovingkindness is great and if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will forever be safe in God's care.  Verse eight states,They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.  David said that those who put their faith in God would be satisfied with His blessings.  This does not mean that they will have everything that they want, but that they will desire only what God blesses them with, and this is the way we should be today as Christians.  Verse nine adds, For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.  As David said then, God is the fountain of life and the source of light in the world.   Verse ten declares, O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.  David asked God to continue His lovingkindness to those who knew Him and His righteousness to the upright in heart.  We cannot come to God through our own righteousness, but must come to Him through the righteousness of Christ by accepting Him as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven adds, Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.  David asked that his pride not come between God and him, and that the hand of the wicked not move him from his faith in God.  Self pride too often comes between people and God today.  Verse twelve concludes, There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.  When God's judgment comes, the workers of iniquity will certainly be cast down into everlasting punishment. 

Psalms 35:19

 Psalms 35:19 says, Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.  David asked that his enemies not be able to wrongly rejoice over him, or to think that they had defeated him in other words.  As long as we are faithful to God, even if the people of the world rejoice if we seem to be defeated, they will be wrongfully rejoicing.  Verse twenty adds, For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.  David said those around him didn't want peace, but devised deceitful plans against those who wanted to live in peace.  Sometimes, those who desire to live in peace are seen as being weak by those who would like to rule over them, but we as Christians are always to do our best to live at peace with those who are lost.  Verse twenty-one continues, Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.  David said his enemies were loudly boasting against him when he seemed to be defeated.  The world likes to brag about Christians who have seemingly been defeated, but we must continue to live by faith because we know the ultimate outcome.  We are forever victorious through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-two declares, This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.  David said that God had seen what was happening in his life and asked that He not be far from him.  As Christians, we can be certain that God sees what is going on in our lives, and since we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then He is with us always.  Verse twenty-three adds, Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.  David called for God to wake up to judge his cause, declaring God to be his God and Lord.  If we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, He is forever our God, and we should always allow Him to be the Lord of our life.  Verse twenty-four continues, Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.  Like David, we must ask that God judge us according to His righteousness, since we cannot stand before God based on our own righteousness.  When we stand by the righteousness of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, those who are against God will never rejoice over us in the day of God's judgment.  Verse twenty-five states, Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.  David asked that God would keep his enemies from rejoicing over him, believing him to have been defeated.  Though people of the world may rejoice thinking that they have defeated the followers of Christ today, it will be a false rejoicing.  Verse twenty-six adds, Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.  David asked that those who rejoiced over him thinking that they had defeated him be left in confusion and shame.  When God's ultimate judgment comes, all those who scoffed at Christians will be clothed in shame, and we need to just continue to live by faith until then.  Verse twenty-seven says, Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.  David asked that those who favored his righteous cause to shout for joy and continually ask that God be magnified.   If we are followers of Christ, we should rejoice in the Lord and live our lives in such a way that God will be magnified, and not we ourselves.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.  David said he would speak of God's righteous and praise Him all the day long, and so should we as Christians.