Psalm 37:1-11

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading & Sermon — Psalm 37:1-11
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: What Meekness Looks Like

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11

I. Meekness Is Cool

A. Verses 1, 7, and 8 each contain the command "fret not yourself" — in Hebrew, literally "be not heated" B. The meek person does not burn with impulsive anger at the wicked's success C. A cool head allows for instructive, loving response rather than evil repaying evil

II. Meekness Is Forward-Looking

A. The reasoning behind "fret not" is that the wicked will have their day of judgment

1. They will fade like the grass (Psalm 37:2)
2. The evildoers will be cut off (Psalm 37:9) B. David writes as an old man (Psalm 37:25) — his idealism has given way to reorienting his clock to God's timing, not man's timing C. Getting heated results in evil (Psalm 37:8); cooling down allows for instructive discipline and response

III. Meekness Is Stubbornly Wedded to Goodness

A. "Trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm 37:3) — trusting is not purely passive; it involves actively doing good B. Faith is like a child leaping into a father's outstretched arms — not a leap into the abyss, but into the arms of a known and trusted God C. Jesus expands this theme in Luke 6:32-36: love enemies, do good, lend expecting nothing in return

1. Even sinners love those who love them
2. The meek imitate God who sends rain on the just and the unjust alike D. Meekness never allows the world to become wicked enough to stop loving — evil is always repaid with good

IV. Meekness Is Happiness in the Lord

A. "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4) B. God's immutability and impassibility anchor the meek person amid the shifting seasons of life under the sun

1. God does not wake up on the wrong side of the bed; he is not reactive as fallen humanity is
2. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever C. The order matters — delight in God first, then desires are shaped by what God loves
3. Imperatives (commands) must flow from indicatives (who God is and what he has done)
4. Recommended resource: Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves

V. Meekness Is Liberating

A. "Commit your way to the Lord" (Psalm 37:5) — the Hebrew word for "commit" literally means to roll, as in rolling a burden off oneself B. Echoes Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: Christian's burden rolls off at the foot of the cross C. Peter draws on this theme in 1 Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you"

1. The incentive to cast burdens is not to earn God's care — he already cares
2. Swim in the delight of his affection, then roll your burdens onto him

VI. Meekness Is Triumphant

A. God will vindicate the righteous: "He will bring forth your righteousness as the light" (Psalm 37:6) B. The evildoers will be cut off; those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land (Psalm 37:9, 11) C. Progressive revelation heightens the promise: Jesus in Matthew 5:5 expands the inheritance from a strip of land to the whole earth D. "The meek shall delight themselves in abundant peace" (Psalm 37:11) — the same Hebrew construction as "delight yourself in the Lord" (v. 4); to delight in abundant peace is to delight in God's presence E. The ultimate fulfillment is seen in Revelation 21:1-4: the new heaven and new earth, God dwelling with his people, every tear wiped away, death and mourning no more — all made possible through Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ