Psalm Meditation 1309 ¶Proper 11 ¶July 20, 2025 ¶Psalm 37 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2037&version=NRSVUE ¶“Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” I need to hear this these days. It seems as if trusted institutions are crumbling before our eyes and we are left to worry and fret about our present and our future. There is some comfort in knowing that ours is not the first era in which folks have worried about themselves and their loved ones in the face of evil people and institutions. There is also an awareness that what seems like soon to God can be years and even a lifetime for us. ¶Trusting in God does not mean that we get to sit back and do nothing while God does all the heavy lifting. It does mean that some of us will be asked to be the hands and feet of God in the face of the rampant evils of the day. It will mean losing friends and being distanced from family. It will be a time of sacrificing, comfort, certainty, and security in order to follow the way of God. While the way of God is not without cost, it is also full of promise as the community of faith gathers to support those who serve God. ¶In every action and reaction we do well to ask ourselves if we are serving God or expecting God to serve us, to meet our needs, to do what we think is right? Chances are, we will discover that we have made some serious missteps in our walk with God. As we listen for the voice of God in our lives, we can rejoin the path that leads to faithful righteousness. “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him.” ¶July 14, 2025 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1165 ¶Proper 24 ¶October 16, 2022 ¶Psalm 37 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+37&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶The history of the word ‘fret’ traces from Old English to Germanic and means to ‘eat up.’ I imagine and hope that I am not the only one who has ever eaten myself up with worry or envy over what someone else has received or achieved when I ‘deserved’ it more than they. I have also fretted about someone else taking things from me through an evil machination, even if it was not mine to begin with. Fretting does nothing to accomplish our goals and robs us of the energy we need to be productive as we eat ourselves up with worry. ¶The psalmist tells us to worry less about the achievements of others, especially those who have achieved things through dishonest means. While those who use selfish and dishonest means to get what they want, their gains do not last. Eventually they are found out and any good reputation they have had falls apart in the clear light of day. The psalmist reminds us to commit ourselves to the LORD since what we give and receive in a relationship with God lasts longer and does more good than any amount of selfish acts. ¶There are faithful people who have a little and there are faithful who have a lot. The important thing for each of them is the relationship with God that has been formed and nurtured in the course of a lifetime. As people of faith we learn to help those in need and to rejoice with those who have abundance that they use to help others. The mark of faithfulness is not in our possessions as much as it is in our relationships. ¶October 11, 2022 ¶LCM

Psalm Meditation 1051 Proper 14 August 9, 2020 Psalm 37 1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight 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 make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 22 for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; 24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever. 30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice. 31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them. 33 The Lord will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 34 Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked. 35 I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. 36 Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him. (NRSV) I have been reminded that, though we see ourselves that way, we are not always the people God watches over in Scripture. We can be counted among the wicked with equal ease. Do we ever prosper due to the work of those who report to us? Do we ever take out our anger on those who are not able to respond due to their position in the world? Have we ever done anything to squash the hopes and ambitions of those around us because they are moving up the ladder faster than we are? Have we ever used weapons of any kind, physical, emotional, or corporate to run roughshod over someone in our sphere of influence? If we can answer, ‘yes’ to any one of these questions we may be among those God counts as wicked. So, how do we keep from being counted among the wicked? The psalmist gives us advice on how to be counted as righteous. We are to give freely, and lend to others who are in need, as well as teaching our children to be generous, with no thought of being repaid. The righteous seek justice, both for ourselves and for those who are unable to achieve justice for themselves. The righteous utter wisdom and strive for justice, as well as holding the law of God in our hearts. All the rest comes from God. It seems so simple, with these few requirements, however, our tendency is to look out for our own and to protect ourselves from ‘those people’ who want what we have, even if they have no power or influence with which to take what we have. The question of the psalmist is, do you want to go after the good things the world offers, or follow and serve God, receiving the gifts God gives? We can do everything we can to get rich, enjoying the advantages of wealth and power. It is hard work that may or may not pay off at a level that will satisfy us. We can do everything we can to serve God, enjoying the company and gifts of God as a part of the people of God. John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist movement, gave the advice, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can for as long as you can.” If we find ourselves in a position to have resources beyond our needs, we are to use them for the benefit of others, to the glory of God. August 3, 2020 LCM

Psalm Meditation 873
Second Sunday in Lent
March 12, 2017

Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight 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 make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way;
24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them.
33 The LORD will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
35 I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36 Again passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable.
38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
(NRSV)

It is easy to jealous of those who succeed by worldly standards of wealth, power, and influence. It appears that they have everything a person could possibly want; they lack for nothing. Well, except maybe friends or people they can trust with their lives and deepest, darkest secrets. The folks who have spent their time and energy amassing a fortune have probably not spent much time cultivating friendships or even relationships that are not business based. As I helped a friend move stuff from one place to another someone asked how I had gotten roped into helping. My flippant response was that I had discovered years ago that a truck is cheaper than friends, and once you buy a truck you suddenly have friends. There are folks who believe that with enough of the right resources they can buy friends.

For the most part what they have purchased is sycophants, ’yes folks.’ These are folks who will agree with whatever their rich friend says so that they can stay in the good graces and reap the benefits of this ’friendship.’ Friends are people who will challenge you, question your motives, and help you sort out alternatives prior to, rather than after taking a course of action. In some cases those ’friends’ will simply take a step back and keep silent in the face of a potentially disastrous plan. The ultimate goal of a sycophant is to step into the place of the former ’friend’ as the new rich person.

For people in a relationship with God there is no need to compete for the resources God offers. There may or may not be money, land, treasure as the rest of the world measures it. However, there will be relationships that are worth cultivating, there will be hearts and hands willing to do whatever can be done in times of trial, and there will be people ready and willing to rejoice in times that call for rejoicing. There are people of faith with a lot of material wealth and resources, as well as those with little to nothing. Among the people of God amassing material wealth is a secondary rather than primary consideration. The primary concern is, how can I serve in the name and for the glory of God.

March 6, 2017
LCM

Psalm Meditation 762
Third Sunday After Epiphany
January 25, 2015

Psalm 37 (selected verses)
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight 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 make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
(NRSV)

It can be unnerving to meet someone who does not spend a lot of time and energy fretting over the lives of those around them. They carry a sense of contentment with them that has the potential of being contagious. As if they have a disease we distance ourselves from them. We don’t mind being around them, we simply don’t want to get close enough to catch that sense of ease with the world. It is so foreign to us that it is discomforting. To be honest we find ourselves fretting over their lack of fretting.

It is as if they have done something wrong, to be content with their lot in the presence of God. These folks spend more energy cultivating relationships with God and with the people around them than they do in competing for a larger piece of the pie. They live as if they have enough, no matter how much or how little it may be. I know folks who have, what to me is, lots of money. They don’t make a big deal of it. They don’t flaunt it or make me feel like a lesser person because I don’t have what they have. I also know folks who have more than I who are always grasping for more. They have relationships in order to open and close more deals. I am often made aware of my lack of money and stuff in their presence. I prefer the company of those who are content.

The psalmist lets us know that money and stuff don’t last as well or as long as relationships. All the resources will be disbursed to others at some point in the near future while the relationships continue in some form for generations. God invites us into relationships that lead to wholeness for us and others. Money and stuff are nice to have, however they are not the source of happiness or contentment. Happiness and contentment come as we build a solid foundation of loving relationships with a wide variety of folks in the presence of God

January 19, 2015
LCM