July-17-0470-The Lord establishes the righteous
470_The Lord establishes the righteous Psalm 37:12-26 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 Better is the little that the righteous 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 remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. A man visited a remote village in the Himalayas to volunteer at a small school. One afternoon, as he walked through the mountain paths, he noticed a tree standing alone on the slope, weathered and twisted, yet firmly rooted. The wind howled through the valley, and smaller plants around it were bent and broken. But the tree stood unmoved. As he stood gazing at it in wonder, an old man joined him to explain, “That tree is strong because its roots go deep, deeper than the eye can see. It has grown down through the years. Now it is the mountain that holds it, not just the soil.” The Lord establishes the righteous in just such ways—not through a life of ease, but through faith that has rooted itself deeply in seasons of testing. Psalm 37 reminds us that in times when everything shakes, God upholds His own. David, now an old man looking back on his life, declares timeless counsel: don't fret because of the fleeting prosperity of the wicked; rather, trust in the Lord, who secures and sustains the righteous. David begins by acknowledging the harsh reality that often discourages believers. It is frustrating when injustice prevails, whether against us or others. The wicked not only prosper, but boldly plot against the righteous. Ecclesiastes 8:11 explains this phenomenon: “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” When justice seems silent, wickedness grows arrogant. But the silence of