03/29/2026
Top o' the morning & welcome to this week's
To say "Humans worship" is akin to saying "Humans act human."
As we, by nature, think, speak, love, & labor - so we also by nature; worship.
God made us that way.
A non-worshiping human is as impossible as a human horse.
So, the question is never, "Are you worshipping?" but rather, "Whom or what are you worshipping?"
What is The Ultimate to which your heart is inclined, which you serve, from which you derive meaning & purpose in life?
The two halves of Psalm 36 depict two very different objects of worship:
Sin and God.
The psalm begins with a frightening Hebrew expression, literally, "An oracle [ne'um] of transgression."
Although many translations render the verb ne 'um as "speaks," in 97% of its uses in the Old Testament, it is used for an utterance of Yahweh, ordinarily through a prophetic spokesman.
In this opening phrase, therefore, Sin is personified as an abject deity enthroned within the human heart, issuing oracles.
What are these oracles?
The fear of God means nothing.
Have a flattering opinion of yourself.
Train your tongue to speak mischievous, deceitful words.
Refrain from good, do not act wisely.
When lying in bed at night, fantasize about lust, greed, power, fame, and every delectable evil.
Such are the oracles of Sin.
It demands worship.
Upon the altar of Sin, a person dedicates their heart, mind, and soul until one sad day they close their eyes and awake in the everlasting, fiery abode of Sin's worshipers.
There is a better way of life, of worship, of being human:
to spit in Sin's face, bow before the Lord God of Israel, and put your trust in Jesus Christ, who welcomes sinners to his table of mercy.
His oracle within our hearts says, "In me, Jesus, you will find all that you have been vainly searching for apart from me: peace, hope, joy, fullness of life. Come to me, rest in me, and I will be your good and gracious God."
O come, let us worship Jesus, our God, the fount & source of every blessing!
The two halves of Psalm 36 depict two diametrically opposed objects of worship: Sin & God.
In the first half, we see how Sin rivets our entire attention on what I want, what I do.
Me! me! me!
What a small way of doing life.
In the second half, however, our eyes are uplifted from this idolatrous navel-gazing to behold the vista of incalculable beauty, grace, and abundance into which the worship of the LORD ushers us.
As high as heaven above is the steadfast love and fidelity of God.
As chicks take shelter beneath their mother's wings, we find sanctuary under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty (36:7).
His house is opened to us, in which we feast sumptuously. Our sin-parched lips are drenched from "the river of his delights" (36:8).
In Hebrew, "delights" is related to the word for Eden, from which the river of paradise once flowed (Gen. 2:10).
His house, his temple, his dwelling place, is our new Eden, in which is the fountain of life, where we see light in the light of his face.
Three times, this worship of the LORD highlights his chesed toward us:
….his steadfast love, mercy, loyalty, covenant fidelity.
His chesed extends to the heavens, is precious, and precisely what we need to continue to be given to us (Ps. 36:5, 7, 10).
This inexhaustible divine love is embodied in Jesus, who as the last Adam, bears us back into Eden, into his Father's house, by baptizing us into his body.
He is the tabernacle and temple of the Lord's glorious presence, into which we are placed as "living stones...to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5-6).
Worshiping Jesus, therefore, we find what we are created to do: ..live, flourish, rejoice, have peace, & live in communion with God through the power of his Spirit.
No longer in darkness, we live in the light of his grace, basking in the brilliance of his love.
Continuing on...
Professional drivers are trained in the "Smith System," which has five keys to safe driving, the first of which is "Aim high in steering."
This means to lift your eyes from what is directly in front of you to see where you will be fifteen seconds down the road.
Look up. Aim high. Things are moving fast.
So, direct your eyes to what is coming.
That way, you will be ready to react safely and wisely.
If the Smith System tells drivers to "aim high in steering," then Psalm 37 admonishes us to "aim high in living."
David says, "Fret not because of evildoers."
The Hebrew verb for "fret" carries the connotation of being "heated up" (37:1).
Do not get incensed about wrongdoers, nor be envious of how well they may appear to be doing.
Why? Aim high, look down the road to what is coming in fifteen months or fifteen years.
What do you see?
"[Evildoers] will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb" (37:2).
Proverbs 24:19-20, which repeats this warning almost verbatim, adds this reason, "for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out."
The "fleeting pleasures of sin" are not worth everlasting death in hell (Heb. 11:25).
Let the one who is wise aim high in living. Cultivate an eternal perspective.
Rather than "aiming low" in envy or anger about evildoers, aim to "trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness" (37:3).
Trust in our trustworthy Father. Become engrossed in good.
The Hebrew for "befriend faithfulness" could also be rendered "shepherd faithfulness."
Just as a shepherd feeds, guards, and tends his flock, so we shepherd our fidelity by trusting in the Lord, delighting in him, so that he will give us the desires of our hearts (32:4).
In that way, rooted by faith in our good and gracious Father, living in love by doing good for our neighbors, we will find delight in our life in Christ, who aims to keep us ever as his own.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).
This third beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount is not only a summation of Psalm 37, but Jesus borrows the language of this blessing directly from verses 10-11:
"In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace" (italics added).
If you want a stark portrayal of the final outcomes of the righteous and the wicked, pray all of Psalm 37.
Who are the meek?
Mousy, cowardly, overly submissive people?
No, for the two men in Scripture iconic of meekness are both faithful, courageous, bold, and strong.
Their names? Moses & Jesus.
The Hebrew word translated as "meek" is anav, and its Greek equivalent is praus.
Twice, Jesus is said to be praus.
He says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle [praus] and lowly in heart..." (Matt. 11:29-30).
Jesus fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, which says of him, "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble [praus], and mounted on a donkey, on a c**t, the foal of a beast of burden" (Matt. 21:5).
In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, we read of Moses that he "was very meek [anav], more than all people who were on the face of the earth" (Num. 12:3).
Meekness therefore entails humility, gentleness, & God-dependence, not being a human doormat.
In the Psalms, the meek, who lack earthly power, are often persecuted by the wicked, but they seek God, trust in his word, & lean on him.
In short, they are faithful, humble servants of the Lord.
To be meek means to be in Christ, to be conformed by the Spirit into his image, to trust in him.
Such are the children of God, who will inherit the new heavens and the new earth. Blessed indeed are they.
When Cain murdered his brother, he really wanted to murder God.
With whom was Cain actually angry? The Lord (Gen. 4:5).
On whom did he vent his anger? His brother.
Cain could not get his hands on the Lord, but he could get his hands on his brother.
So, he did. He killed him.
And, in killing Abel, Cain became the first man in history to do what people still do today: ..attack the Lord's people because, in reality, they are attacking God.
David says that the "wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright" (Ps. 37:14).
"The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death" (37:32).
Why do that?
What threat do the poor and needy pose?
What harm are the righteous doing?
Those are understandable questions, but they miss the point.
People are angry with the Lord, with his Word, his will, with the very fact that God has the audacity to exist, so they strike out at his people.
They do so because they are "the enemies of the LORD" (37:20).
This explains why, when the church or individual Christians speak the truth, they are often mercilessly attacked, vilified, and sometimes even killed.
It also explains the crucifixion.
In Jesus, sinners finally got their hands on God himself.
They "crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8).
They put to death the God who had the audacity to exist.
In so doing, unbeknownst to them, they brought to fulfillment our Father's perfect plan.
His Son died to transform us from enemies to friends, foes to family, Cains to Abels.
Leave it to the Lord, in his inscrutable way, to take the worst event in the history of the world, and to use it to reconcile the world to himself.
He calls us to leave behind hatred, abandon enmity, and come to Him…come to the Father who desires nothing but the best for us, his beloved children.
Most translations will render Psalm 37:23 like this: "The steps of a man are estab-lished by the LORD."
That is a correct translation, but in the Hebrew, the order of the line is reversed, "By [or 'from'] the LORD the steps of a man are established."
The change is slight, but it emphasizes those opening words, "By the LORD ...."
By the LORD, we take our first steps of the day, rolling out of bed, pouring a cup of coffee, and taking stock of what God has called us to do.
Caring for our children.
Checking up on friends.
Serving others in our respective jobs.
Interceding for those in need.
By the LORD, We walk into this day "that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. 118:24).
By the LORD, We also take our steps into places where none of us want to be.
The hospital where our mom or dad is undergoing chemo.
The courtroom where marriages end.
The cemetery where we stand before headstones upon which are engraved a month, day, and year when our lives were radically altered.
By the LORD, We walk or limp or crawl into that day, too, knowing that Jesus is no fair-weather friend, but one who sticks by us in good times as well as the very worst of times.
By the LORD, We take steps onto the jagged ground of this world, riddled with potholes of temptation, knowing his promise that even though we may fall, we shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds our hands (37:24).
Holding on to our hands is the one whose wrists were held fast to the cross.
Hand-in-hand with our crucified Lord, we journey up both mountains of delight and down into chasms of grief, borne along by his strength, his love, his ironclad will to see us through this life, no matter what.
"By the LORD the steps of a man are established."
And by that Lord, Jesus the Messiah, we will one day step from earthly life into this glorious presence.
The old adage is true: "You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse."
When we bid adieu to this world, our possessions are not crated and shipped to a celestial address.
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return,” as Job memorably confessed (1:21).
It is equally true, however, that what we leave behind is not insignificant.
We are building up a legacy that will remain in this world.
The closing verses of the 37th psalm starkly contrast two types of legacies: "There is a future for the man of peace...the future of the wicked shall be cut off" (37:37-38).
The man of peace waits for the LORD, keeps his way, takes refuge in God, and is saved (37:34, 40).
The wicked, engrossed in self-aggrandizement, spreads himself like a luxuriant tree - a tree that one day will dry up, lose its leaves, and fade from memory (37:35-36).
He shall be "cut off" (37:34).
In ways ordinarily imperceptible to us, the Spirit is at work in every Christian to leave behind a legacy.
Every prayer we pray will never die in silence but echo unto eternity in the heart of our Father.
Every cup of water held to the lips of the thirsty…
…every word of encouragement spoken to the careworn…
…every boy or girl we teach to sing, "Jesus loves me, this I know”...
…every tiny deed done in love defies time by remaining forever.
There will be people resurrected on the last day, who join Jesus for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth, because the Spirit used you to bring the good news of salvation to them.
How's that for a legacy?
There is a future for the man, woman, and child of peace, for all those who are in the Savior, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Lord Jesus, use us in this world for the good of our neighbor and the glory of your name, that when we depart in peace, our legacy of faith and love will remain to bear fruit in abundance.
Praying through the opening verses of Psalm 38 is like stalking through a battlefield hospital of the 1800's.
There lies some poor bloke shot full of arrows.
There's another fellow with gangrene so horrific his rotting limbs reek.
The stench of halitosis infests the air.
Terror is on every side from sick, dying, feeble men.
Yet in the psalm, there is no "men," but only one man, the "me," the "I" who prays.
And this man is no hospital patient; he is suffering beneath the crushing tonnage of the Almighty's word of judgment.
"O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!" (38:1).
So David begins. And so we begin, making his words our own.
In the gruesome section that follows, with horrific images piled on a sickening metaphor, we are arrested by the reality of sin.
What we think titillating, God declares terrifying.
We demean our humanity when wallowing in spiritual depravity.
And anesthetized though we often are to evil's sway in our lives, Psalm 38 violently shakes us awake to say, "Here is what sin is! Here is what sin does!"
See, shudder, and repent.
We do well to make the words of Psalm 38 part of our regular prayer diet.
Are they hard to swallow? You bet they are.
But we need them, habituated as we are to sweet lies like, "You're OK just the way you are."
No, you are most certainly not.
Just the way you are is precisely the problem.
You, me, all of us are by nature sinful, unclean, rebellious, dead in our trespasses.
What we need is not more of "just the way I am" but more of "just the way Jesus is."
His forgiveness. His cleansing. His redeeming blood that washes us white as wool.
When that happens, we who were prostrate rise.
We who were dead live.
In Christ, we stand forgiven, with all our wrongdoing purged forever from the memory of God.
He will never think of it again, much less bring it up (Isa.43:25). It's that gone.
The LORD God said of Adam. "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18).
But, of course, that was not an absolute statement.
Married or unmarried, there are times in life when being alone is good.
For silent contemplation.
For being absorbed in a book or a hobby.
For being alone with God in silent, meditative prayer and study.
Being alone at times can be, and is, healthy.
Being alone with your sin, however, is not.
This aloneness with sin is sometimes self-chosen, due to fear or shame.
But all too often, it is imposed by others who, for various reasons, keep us at arm's length.
As David laments, "My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand afar off" (Ps. 38:11).
The word "plague" is apropos, for those who commit some wrongs are treated, sometimes even by family and friends, as if they are contaminated, tainted by evil, pariahs.
Such are the people whom Jesus, willingly & mercifully, touches with the hand of his grace.
Much to the distaste of the self-righteously "hygienic," he expresses solidarity with the soiled.
He dines with the religiously disenfranchised.
He embraces the ostracized.
There is no one so dirty that Jesus will not gladly wash clean with the detergent of crucifixion love.
"O LORD, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you" (38:9).
So we & David pray.
Our longing, Jesus, is right before your eyes.
Your ears hear our sighs, the throbs of our hurting hearts. "But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer" (38:15).
And answer he does, forgiving us those things which plague us, absolving us of those things of which we are ashamed.
"He is not ashamed to call [us] brothers" (Heb. 2:11).
He died all alone on that cross, so that we may never be alone with our sin.
He stands by, eager to give us the pardon he purchased with his own blood.
With only ten words in English and a mere five in Hebrew, David sums up his psalm: "I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin" (38:18).
The verb for "con-fess" (nagad) is related to neged, which means "in front of, before the face."
In confession, we are "facing up" to the truth, we might say.
Putting it "in front of us."
No blame-shifting, finger-pointing, or lawyering up.
And the word translated by the ESV as "sorry" is a bit more stringent-more like "anxious" or "in dread of."
As the NASB renders it: "I am full of anxiety because of my sin." That's more like it.
The old proverb says, "Confession is good for the soul." And it is.
Confession trumps concealment.
As an earlier psalm says, "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long" (32:3 NASB).
God already knows our sin.
Vanity of vanities is trying to slip something past an all-seeing Lord!
We too already know our sin. So what's to stop us from confessing?
Simple: the fear of speaking the truth.
Liars hate truth, hide from truth, hide truth itself.
And we are all congenital liars.
Like the proverbial ostrich, we hide our heads in the sand of lies until, by the Spirit's work, we put our sin "in front of us."
Yes, confession is good for the soul, but only to a point.
Confession alone is incomplete.
It does us no good to fess up to the Judge of all, if he merely glares at us or walks away.
What we truly need is for our Father to comfort us when we are finished confessing.
To say, "My child, I love you, I remove your sin as far as the east is from the west (cf. Ps. 103:12).
I have buried it in the crucified body of my Son, who left your iniquity buried in his short-used grave.
Be of good cheer. You are forgiven. ❤
