Psalm 37: Day 9

Over the past week we have looked at how God, in His perfect justice, recompenses both good and evil. I encourage you to take time to read verses 12-22; the Psalmist continues to expound on the blessings of the righteous and the perils of evildoers. Today, we pick up in verse 23 where the focus turns to the Lord’s favor toward those who belong to Him.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. (Psalms 37:23-24)

Does this scenario sound familiar? We get up from our bed in the mornings, we think about all that we want to get done for the day, we begin to make our plans. Sometimes our plans work out, sometimes they don’t.

In Proverbs 16:9 Solomon reminds us, “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps”. I don’t know about you but I find great comfort in knowing that when my plans fail, when my way turns out to be the wrong way, the Lord is there to make it right.

If you recall, in the opening verses of Psalm 37 we are told to “delight in the Lord”. Have you ever considered that the Lord delights in you? It’s true. Search the scriptures and you will find how many ways the Lord delights in His children. How wonderful that not only does the Lord guide our steps, He takes delight in us!

These verses bring to mind when my children were learning to walk, how joyful, how delighted I was at those first wobbly steps. And, just as I was never so far away that I couldn’t catch them when they fell, so we have that same assurance. Although it may sometimes seem we are about to fall headlong into trouble, we can know that our heavenly Father is there, waiting, ready to reach out and catch us, to set us upright, steady our steps, and keep us in our way.

The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)


Psalm 37: Day 8

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (Psalms 37:10-11)

O victorious day!

We have a promise of a soon coming day. The evil and the wicked, the tragic and the sorrow, will be taken away. No more diseases, no more death. It will all be wiped out – forever.

O glorious day!

In our English language inherit means “to have in turn or receive as if from an ancestor” but the Hebrew word used here, yarash, means a lot more than just receiving. According to Strongs, it means to occupy by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); to seize, expel cast out. That means that when we come into our inheritance , all our enemies will be gone!

O delightful day!

One day the struggles of this life will come to an end and all will be perfect. Our worries will be replaced with perfect peace, our sorrows will turn to perfect joy, our needs will be satisfied with perfect abundance.

In the meantime, until that day comes, let us delight in Christ, commit our ways to Him and wait patiently for Him, rest in Him. Let us lean on the everlasting arms of Jesus, arms that cannot fail.