Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew

Psalm 37 – Trust in the LORD (Part 3a of 4)

III. The Reason to Trust – 37:23-33 – The new nature of every believer is seen in the new Person that He trusts. He wants his steps to be order by the LORD. No longer does he desire to walk his own steps or do whatever his heart desires. There is a new Master in his life whose voice is heard and whose wish is now his command. He is called a good man by God. This means that he is a child of God. No man is good except one who has all his sins cleansed by the blood of Christ. This is the best reason for the child of God to trust in the LORD. He has a new relationship with God as His child.

God said that his steps are ordered by Him. Everyone walks by taking one step at a time. Steps are used to capture the intimacy and personal care of the LORD in the believer’s life. Every step is ordered, i.e. established by the LORD. There are no “wrong” steps taken by the child of God. There is no step that God cannot control. This is not possible for all human beings, for the LORD God almighty is all powerful. The difference between the good man and the “bad” man is that the good man is able to follow and take good steps leading to the good life which points others to Christ. The “bad” man who is an unbeliever is not able to do that. His life is one of spiritual darkness and nothing good can come out of him. The opposite is true of the believer. His life is led and established by the LORD. If he is wayward and sins against God, the LORD will chastise him and bring him back to the path of righteousness. This is good for him as he will bear a holy witness for Christ once more. If he is holy and walking right with the LORD he will continue to do so as he prays without ceasing seeking to obey the Word of God at all costs. The LORD leads by the revelation of God’s holy and perfect Word!

The second part of the verse can be understood as the child of God delighting in the way that the LORD leads him on; or it could mean that the LORD delights in the way of the child of God. The literal translation of the verse is, “By the LORD are the steps of a good man ordered, and his way he shall delight.” The literal translation appears to be the better understanding even though both are doctrinally correct. The emphasis here is that the way or life of the good man whose steps are ordered by the LORD will be pleasing to Him. This is the assurance of a godly life that all believers need to know from the LORD. This is the use of synthetic parallelism. The life of the believer is a life of sacrifice whereby he is prepared to give up everything and everyone for the sake of Christ as his life is lived according to Holy Scriptures! But if he is not sure that the LORD is pleased with him and his life, even though he tries to live according to the Bible, then he will continue to live in doubt and will only find out at death. God does not wish this for all His children when they live for Him. This verse is a wonderful assurance from the LORD to all His children so that they will trust Him long and deep, regardless of the sacrifice.

Verse 24 (synthetic parallelism) – The life and witness of the good man is not without stumbling and persecutions. On top of the persecution experienced by all who live on this sin-filled earth, the believer will add to the sufferings that he now has to endure for Christ when he lives the life ordered by the LORD. The world will hate him, for the god of this world (Satan) will try to destroy his holy life. This means that the child of God will sometimes fall into sin. His witness for Christ is tarnished as long as he remains in sin. He has to repent and return back to the path of holiness to restore his life of holy witness. Verse 23 promises this. It says that though the child of God falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, which means there is a way back to Christ. All sins can be forgiven by God through Christ. There is no such as thing as an unpardonable sin that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse. The child of God will repent and return to the LORD so that his witness for Christ can be restored. There is no other way to repair the damage to the image of Christ when a child of God sins except through genuine sincere repentance and bearing its consequence. When the child of God is disobedient to God's Word for whatever reason, he will be disciplined by God. The discipline would include being cast down so that he will stop sinning. But the casting down is to humble him so that he will come back to the LORD. It is not meant to destroy but to restore him. That is why God says here that though he falls he will not be utterly cast down. He is down but not out is the modern interpretation.

The reason is that the LORD will be near him to pick him up. It is like the miracle of Peter walking on water. He was doing fine until he took his eyes off Christ and began to see the storm and waves all around him. He started to sink. But Christ was near him to lift him up and into the safety of the ship. Christ will always be with His disciples. No matter where they are and what they have done, He will never desert them. He will always be there to strengthen and keep them. This is what “upholdeth” means. It is as if the believer cannot stand on his own anymore because of the trial but the LORD will be there to carry His disciple through the trial. This is His promise to all His disciples. Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” [emphasis added]

Verse 25 (synthetic parallelism) – David suddenly shifted the focus to a personal testimony. He says, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Reflecting on his growing up years and remembering the LORD’s provision and protection in his life, David assured all readers that he was not writing something theoretical but factual and personal. He was a young shepherd boy looking after his father’s sheep when the lion and bear came to attack him. The LORD delivered him from these dangers. 1 Samuel 17:34-36 “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.” Throughout his life from young to old, even as king of Israel with his many trials which included his life as a fugitive when king Saul and all Israel were against him, the LORD was there to save and deliver David, and made him king of Israel as He promised. Subsequently when David’s own son, Absalom, rebelled and ousted him from the palace and wanted to kill him, the LORD again delivered David when he prayed. These were very trying times in David’s life but the LORD was there for him.

There were times when David had no home or food, yet the LORD sustained him. The LORD will never forsake his children. Whenever they suffer it is to strengthen their faith when they are not suffering as a form of chastisement for sins committed. The righteous referred to here are the believers only. They are God’s children. They are left behind on earth after their salvation to witness for Christ. For this purpose, the LORD and Christ promised all believers that they will never serve and witness alone. God will always be there to hold their hand and lead them in the right path. David said that he did not see God’s seed begging bread. It does not mean that God’s children will not experience hunger which was what David experienced when he fled for his life from King Saul. The ones who begged for bread in Israel were the orphans and widows because they did not have anyone to care for them and provide for their daily needs. What God means here is that God’s children will never feel as if they are unwanted and uncared for orphans. They will always be watched over by the LORD regardless of how dire their circumstances might be. They might sometimes feel as if God has deserted them because of the suffering, pain and fear that grip their hearts; but the LORD is still near them. He knows that it is not time for the deliverance. The deliverance will be just on time where the faith of God’s children will be strengthened fully and their walk with the LORD strengthened and raised to the next level of trust and faith!

Verse 26 (synthetic parallelism) – “The LORD is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.” The LORD will show His grace to His children daily. All the goodness of God that He bestows will surely be given to His children as they suffer and face trials every day. The word merciful means “to be gracious.” Literally it means “to bend and stoop in kindness to one who is inferior.” God bends and stoops down in kindness to us as we serve and witness on earth for Christ. We do not deserve such kindness from the LORD but He daily gives it to His children. This testimony from David comes from his heart and out of the many painful and lonely experiences in his life. The word “lendeth” here does not refer to the LORD lending to His children but rather that His children will be graciously supplied by the LORD so that they will lend to others who are in need. This is true of those who serve the LORD faithfully in Israel. The national witness for the LORD will receive both spiritual and physical blessings (cf. Lev 26 and Deu 28) but this does not apply to believers in the church witness. In the church witness, the blessings are only spiritual. Those who think of blessings from God in terms of health and wealth today are living in the wrong period of time. More often than not, more money and health have resulted in more carnality in the believer’s life. These physical “responsibilities” can become blessings when they bring spiritual blessings to himself and others because they are used properly. In themselves they are not a blessing unlike for the believers who lived in Israel in OT times.

The seed of believers will also be blessed because their spiritual blessings are imparted to their children. They provide a godly home so that their children are immersed in a godly environment from their birth. They will experience God and Christ in their lives before they become children of God. They experience what heaven is like at home before they enter heaven themselves because of their parents’ godly testimonies in bringing them up.

Verse 27 (synthetic parallelism) – The result is that all children of God must “depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” David encouraged all believers to not return evil with evil. This is only possible when like David they are able to see that injustices and pain they experience do not come by chance or from man but from their loving heavenly Father. These trials are meant to drive them closer to God and farther from the world, and also to awaken children of God to the dangers of carnality that surrounds them and the constant need for spiritual fellowship with God in prayer and trust. That is why all believers must depart from evil. When believers fall into sin in times of trial they have failed. The real test in trials is not flesh and blood but spiritual. They must not sin in mind, heart and life. The moment they do, they have failed. They need to repent. The best response as a reflection of trust in the LORD is to keep on doing good to those who hurt God’s children. David did not lift a finger to hurt King Saul when the opportunities were there, for he and his men knew that their miserable life as fugitives would end immediately upon the death of King Saul. But David stopped himself and his men from taking Saul’s life. David told them that no man is guiltless who touches the Lord’s anointed. God alone will end Saul’s life as He was the One who anointed him, so only He can touch him. David waited patiently for the day of deliverance.

David will live forevermore in heaven. This is one of the marks of a child of God who is able to see the hand of God in his life especially in times of fiery trials. This is what believers need today because of the last days they are living in. The health and wealth gospel is pandemic. Conservative Christianity where suffering for Christ is a part is no longer believed. The life of health and wealth is pulling many away from the life of holiness and godliness. This evidence of an unconditional trusting in the LORD daily to provide in times of persecution is shunned by God’s people. They like to hear preaching that focuses on love, health and wealth but not on suffering for Christ, holy living and trust in times of pain and sorrow. Therefore the evidence of life forevermore in the believer’s life is no longer experienced in the face of such carnality. It has been replaced by the desire to have heaven on earth (a luxurious life) as well as heaven in heaven! This is another gospel that is not the gospel of Christ.

[to be continued]