For Just a Little While: A Christian Response to Evil
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
For just a little while longer is a phrase every kids remembers hearing from a parent or guardian as they grew up. Its a message of hope that helps the hearer endure: enduring long car trips heading on vacation, or enduring painful or dreadful experiences at the doctor office. It ushers the listener forward in time, comforting them that the end will come soon.
Its a message that we all need to reminded of this afternoon after a particularly difficult week in our city, full of murder, anger, and grief. Our passage today in Psalm 37 serves for us as a reminder that the pain we felt this week is temporary and that an end is in sight.
We live currently in the little while, that slice of time, that feels like an eternity, but is a mere vapor to our eternal God. In the little while, our world full of sin, danger and destruction seems overwhelming. One way it overwhelms is that evil appears in our human minds to be winning....to be victorious. Evil appears to prevail and prevail and it is hard, if we are honest, to imagine this little while to end.
This is why people all over this world, believe that the little while is all we have so enjoy life to the fullest. They believe they need to take the 60-90 years of life and slam the accelerator of life down to the floor because once its over, its over.
Some of these people seem to have the time of their lives. Many of them are rich, unrestrained and popular. The temptation is to envy their life because earthly treasures are heaped up around them like a Egyptian Pharaoh being encased in his tomb.
But God has much to say about evil and the evil person in His word. By the HS direction, this message in Ps 37 tears down our understanding of true prosperity and reminds us that while it seems that evil is prevailing, this is an allusion. Truly God is reigning now and bringing about his purposes and glory even in the midst of great evil.
Therefore, as followers of Jesus Christ, psalm 37 stands as a message of hope in the midst of evil. This message comes in the form of 3 commands I want us to consider from the first 11 verses.
1. Be in Control as God’s People
1. Be in Control as God’s People
The entire psalm is written by David but it is unclear as to when he wrote it since it does not contain any introduction like the other psalms do. This psalm is an acrostic meaning that every line of the psalm forms an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. This was a literary device of the utilized in the OT poetry.
Many believe David wrote this psalm at the end of his life, looking back on reoccurring principles that the Lord taught him and that he could teach us.
The first lesson from David comes in verse 1:
1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
This phrase FRET NOT is used here as well as v 7 and v 8. The literal meaning of the Hb gives us the idea that FRETTING is actually setting something ablaze with fire, to ignite. David then urges the people of God that in the face of evildoers, we must NOT BE SET ABLAZE. I don’t really like the translation because fretting to me implies worrying but David was saying more. Instead, I think being self-controlled from rage over evil is a more clear translation, in my humble opinion.
This is our human reaction to evil, we become enrage. In the last two years, we have watched re-runs of this same event. Evil occurs…people respond with rage and more evil. Its a perpetual cycle of destruction but God’s call his people to react differently.
Instead, God’s people are not called to respond to evil with hate, anger, or more evil. Instead, we should not give up our self-control even when great atrocities come upon us. Instead, we must bridle our rage, even if its a righteous rage over evil that God hates.
The murders of a helpless victims this week seem like good reasons to be disgusted and angry over sin without being enraged at those who sin.
William Plummer, 19th century theologian, writes,
“Fretting leads to hatred and envy and malice, and these sinful feelings indulged make men evil doers.”
After the events of this week, we forget the other recent tragedy that made national headlines in our beloved city, or the city of Collierville. Last year, Sushi chef, Uk Thang, at the Kroger in Cville’ opened fire killing multiple people. Details emerged after the investigation as to why he went on this killing spree. The evidence did not show the killing was a act of robbery of the store, or a conspiracy against the local government, or a religious zeal to kill a certain culture of people. The investigation concluded with the motive that Thang was simply retaliating over a previous argument he had earlier that morning after being fired. Thang had multiple complaints against him as an employee at the Kroger and that mornings complaint from a customer was the final straw that led to his firing.
Thang angrily returned to the store, with three loaded weapons, and he released his anger on innocent victims in that store. Like Cain of the OT, he did not bridle his anger and instead let his consume him until he committed evil.
We have spoken much about putting off and putting on as part of our application spiritual fruit in our lives. Putting off wrath, anger and rage and putting on peace, love, patience is a mark of godliness in our lives. Be self-controlled, which you are empowered to do so by the restraining grace of the Holy Spirit, as you put off enraged hatred for sin but you do not allow it to lead you to become an evil doer yourself.
Secondly, the warning is also to be self-controlled in your jealousy of the wicked.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
It may appear from an earthly perspective that the wicked have it all but it only appears as such because you cannot see the emptiness in their hearts. A man on the biggest yacht surrounded by companions is lonely because his wealth nor the acquaintances aboard his yacht can give him satisfaction that he was made to enjoy. That satisfaction rests in a relationship with God alone and he/she doesn't possess such treasures. Being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ is a far greater treasure than any earthly prosperity that you or can own. We must be reminded that belonging to God is better and therefore in our belonging to God in Christ, what do we have to be jealous of in this life?
In all the exhortation highlighted here is to be self-controlled in the midst of evil.
Consider with me the Scriptural mandate to be self-controlled:
Proverbs 25:28 (ESV)
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
1 Timothy 2:9 (ESV)
likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control…
Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice the warning of v 8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
The Psalmist is calling God’s people to display self-control. This means in our thoughts about evil people, in our words about them and in our actions. All of this should reflect a restraint and be replaced with godliness. The ungodly and unrighteous in this world live by their passions, unrestrained, but the follower of the lord Jesus Christ bridles himself to bring glory to God.
2. Be Faithful in Accomplishing God’s Purposes
2. Be Faithful in Accomplishing God’s Purposes
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
David then gives a list of commands, that are closely related and some synonymous. This speaks of the responsibility as God’s people to act according to that transformative change in us. The Spirit empowers us to obey and do good, but we likewise are responsible to be godly, to live holy, and to rest firmly in the Lord.
Notice the verbs in v 3-8, encapsulated by the bookends of the verb FRET NOT. We are to:
Trust in the Lord
Do Good
Dwell in the land faithfully
Delight yourself in the Lord (be satisfied in Him)
Commit ( Roll upon the Lord) your way to the Lord
Be Still before the Lord/ Wait patiently for him
Refrain from Anger
Forsake wrath
These verbs, taken together, encapsulate the obedient life of the follower of Christ, who has been changed and who lives as one who has been made holy. These foundation of these verses is the sovereignty of God, written in the reoccurring phrase- the Lord. Vs 3 solidifies the message trust the lord and do good. Trusting the Lord is faith in him as sovereign ruler, when evil men wreck our world. We cannot lose our faith and trust that God is ruling all things and he hasn’t lost control. He is bringing about his good purposes and therefore we can Be still before the Lord, meaning we can find rest in him. We can wait patiently for the Lord in His sovereignty, knowing that is the Lord’s timetable that prevails, not our own.
Also, the simple phrase is uttered “do good.” This is the call for obedience from God’s people no matter the evil that rages on. That call is to not loose your footing in faith and also to press forward in following the Lord according to his ways. Don’t be suffocated by the trials around you but continue to be faithful to the Lord and carry forth his purposes by expanding his kingdom.
3. Be Comforted By God’s Good Promises
3. Be Comforted By God’s Good Promises
The future tense in the Hebrew and Greek is most often a comforting understanding of these languages. In the future tense, God makes his promises and his promises ring true.
Based on the character of God, based on the holiness and truth bound up in his name, we can rest assured that His promises are a comfort to us because they will come to pass. Notice with me the promises here and let them be a comfort to us as we observe and live among the evil of this world.
2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
Here we come back the the phrase “in just a little while” where we are reminded that what might seem like an eternity to us, is actually only a glimmer of time to God. He will soon bring completion and fulfillment to the judgement on the wicked. We must step outside the moment and see God is bringing the wicked to nothing in his timing. Their days are numbered and therefore, we have no reason to get our revenge, live in anger, or waste our mental energies on them any longer.
v 4- Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart
You satisfaction in heavenly things, in God himself, will bring about a change of desires that align with his good purposes and his glory. This change of passion from your own glory to His eternal glory will bring about a fulfilled wishlist of kingdom expansion and salvation of the lost.
v.5 Trust in the him and He will act He wil bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday sun.
How faithful is the sunlight that burns aways the morning fog? Its the dark of night that represent the oppression that followers of God feel when they feel persecuted and in despair, but as faithful as the sun is to chase away the night, so God will perfectly bring about righteousness in you and I. God’s justice and righteous world will come to pass for his people, we must trust that we will live in it for all eternity although unrighteousness is everywhere we look.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
Finally this promise is given by David, but used by Jesus to describe those who are humbled before God instead of arrogant and proud. These meek ones, those belonging to the kingdom, will inherit the land, not a physical one, but a spiritual one. Its a land where God lives and reigns for all eternity and where we will experience peace and his love.
This is the hope we cling to when evil surrounds us, attacks us and brings us to our knees. We rise again with hope because of Jesus Christ. He has defeated evil in his death and resurrection. He has gone before us to triumph over sin and death. He has left for a time as vicotr but upon his return, all evil will be no more. For this we hope and cling, faithfully serving Christ until he calls us home or he returns to rule for everymore.