Family Devotion: April 26th, 2020
FAMILY DEVOTION: PSALM 37
We turn our attention to Psalm 37, because it offers us a rare reflection upon our days as we spin around on this blue marble. When David, a man described as “a man after God’s own heart”, writes about life’s happenings and God’s promises, one would be wise to pay attention and read carefully. The devotion I have put together for Psalm 37 is sectioned into the parts of how it was originally written. There are a total of 7 sections; we will cover the last 3 sections today. Have someone read the given section of the Psalm. After each section, there will be a discussion topic or question ( This is part two of a two-part devotion).
by: Kurtis Parks
About:1 Samuel 24
from: Saddleback Kids
PSALM 37, SECTION FIVE
“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.
I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.”
DISCUSS SECTION FIVE
Rick Roper once told me that this is a passage he cherishes. In section five, David is telling about the generational-blessing of the Lord, which rest upon those who remain repentant and submissive to the name of the Lord.
This blessing is now secured for believers by the blood of Jesus. ANYONE who repents and professes Jesus as Lord is redeemed. Our sin-nature is then crucified with Christ. We then become one, with Christ, now bearing His name, as He bore our shame to death on His cross. He bore our sin that we might bear His blessing - unbroken fellowship with the Father. That blessing brings us security, and enables us to declare with confidence, that there will never be a time when we are forsaken by the Lord. No matter the circumstance, no matter the trial, He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Though David encountered many hardships throughout his days, he was able to say at the end of his life, ‘The Lord is the one who holds My hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken.’
Describe a time or season in your life where you may have been tempted to think that God had forsaken you. Looking back now, how did God prove Himself faithful to you in that season?
What else brings you encouragement from this section of Psalm 37?
PSALM 37, SECTION SIX
“Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”
DISCUSS SECTION SIX
‘The law of his God is in his heart.’ Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, God’s spirit now etches His nature, His character, His identity into us. We become His and the desires of our hearts are then renewed, aligned with His desires! We long for HIS righteousness instead of demanding OUR rights. Our lives then bear the fruit of His spirit. Those who live under the power of the Spirit of God then bear the fruit of His spirit, not our sin. Based on this passage - because His Spirit is now the law of our hearts, we then desire to depart from evil and do what is good in the eyes of God. Furthermore, we see that, because we are preserved by the Lord, He secures our lives, both our personal safety and our reputation. His instruction is simply that we wait for Him! No need to force a matter, no need for self-effort, for the Lord will exalt the humble —- ‘you will see it’!
Discuss what it means to wait for the Lord.
PSALM 37, SECTION SEVEN
“I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity.
But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.”
DISCUSS SECTION SEVEN
David experienced these words in own life. After being anointed King by the prophet Samuel, he was hunted by King Saul, who was bitterly jealous of David and under the command of an evil sprit. Though Saul loved David, his jealousy of him soured that love. Saul’s son, Jonathan, kept a loving friendship with David. Jonathan even helped protect David from his father’s wrath.
Jonathan, then knowing that David would become king, asked David to be kind to his family. David agrees and carries out his promise to Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s son). Though David could’ve had exercised his right to eliminate any threat to his throne, he acted as though the Lord’s law was within his heart: Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity. David chose to act out of the righteousness of his God, not out of his own right. He sowed ‘peace from above’, justice in line with the heart of his God instead of taking on his rights and bringing vengeance on Saul and his family line. David saw that salvation and strength belong to the Lord, not to a crown made with human hands. Therefore, we see that while David was on the throne, the Lord sat upon the throne of His heart. Does the Lord sit on the throne of your heart?
Highland, it is my greatest desire that, through this time, God’s Word would be at the center of our hearts and homes. As David notes, the person who loves the Lord is a person who sows peace, because Jesus has placed peace between God and us.
Does our family live in the *peace of God?
If part of the definition for peace is ‘flourishing on every level”, then what area of our family would we consider to be flourishing? What area of our family would we like to see a fuller flourishing?
*peace (Shalom) - flourishing on every level, wholeness, unbroken fellowship
I encourage you this week to place your famliy’s name in verse 37 and ask the Lord to create that in your home. Lord, make us blameless, make us upright, and make us sowers of peace that we may leave a lasting legacy for Your name! Amen.
We love you,
Rob & Carrie