Psalm 37 (2nd)

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their
ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord
will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them,
they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. (7-11)
For many of us, to be still before the Lord is extremely difficult, and to wait patiently for
Him is even more so
Why? Because we derive self-satisfaction from taking action, self-esteem from reaching
goals, and self-fulfillment through achievement
What does it mean to be still before the Lord? Why wait patiently for Him?
For the child of God, this leads to an encounter with the Father and the experience of His
presence
Brother Lawrence (The Practice of the Presence of God): Let us occupy ourselves entirely
in knowing God. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to know Him. As love
increases with knowledge, the more we know God, the more we will truly love Him.
The Apostle Paul encourages us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
Perhaps when we are still, we are in a position to be filled even though there are situations
in which a car or plane can be refueled in motion, the optimal state for being filled is at rest
Being filled with the Spirit on a continual basis is not to be confused with the initial
baptism of the Holy Spirit which results from repentance and faith in Christ (Mat 3:11, Acts
1:5, Acts 1:17)
John R.W. Stott: While we are baptized in the Holy Spirit once, we are filled many times
A paraphrase of this passage could be: Be still wait patiently for Him be filled with
Him
The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at
the wicked, for He knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will
pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. (12-15)
The wicked are not lacking in imagination and gnash their teeth at Gods truth this sad
fact can be verified by expressions of entertainment in our culture we see the creativity of
the wicked in videos, television and movies which are no more than acceptable
pornography
Sadly we have experienced the plots of the wicked in modern day terrorism, whose sole
purpose in life is the destruction of innocent people
Even on their beds they plot evil (Psalm 36:4, Proverbs 14:22, Micah 2:1)
The Bible consistently teaches that those who do evil will themselves be destroyed (their
swords will pierce the own hearts)
Proverbs 26:27: Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll
back on him (similar passages: Psalm 7:15, Ecclesiastes 10:18)
When the wicked strike, we can take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign while He
allows evil to run rampart, ultimately God will make all things right (Col 1:20, Rom 2:6,
Heb 4:13)

 Jesus teaches us that in dealing with enemies our focus is to be upon God rather than those
persecuting us (Matthew 5:38-38)
The Apostle Paul teaches that we are to hate what is evil, but cling to what is good
(Romans 12:9) . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans
12:21)