Hello there,
This is Bro. Angello Forero, and welcome to another Autism Bible Study article. On this occasion, we’ll explore autistically Psalm 37. As a mere casualty, in difference to the previous articles, this is a Bible passage that was gifted to me by my maternal grandmother. So, to emphasize this Psalm, we’ll do the study as we did before. We’ll study specifically the seven first verses of the Psalm.
Let’s get started.
What is the main idea of the text?
The following Psalm is a Psalm of David (Beyond Suffering Bible, 2016). He starts by saying that we do not have to be envious of the wicked and imitate those who do wrong (v.1). Then, through a metaphor, David encompasses the boundaries of the wicked and those who do wrong (v.2).
The following, as told by King David, is a piece of good advice to those who want to look for God and people, to be blessed and serve the Holy Lord and His beloved community of Holy Ones. He [David] asks the reader to trust in the Lord and do good (to emphasize the best, I would say “Do good without watching anyone”). If we trust in the Lord and serve Him, then we will live safely in the world and prosper. We should always commit ourselves to the Lord as He will make us live safely in this world, prosper, and with always His aid. Even He can make our hearts’ desires come true [unless they’re good] (vv.3-5). Next, King David assures that we often need to follow God’s directions, as He will make our innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of our causes will shine like the noonday sun (v.6).
The v.7 reiterates NOT to be anxious, but instead, to be in the Presence of God, and wait patiently for Him to act (this is indeed, something important I want to clarify later in this Bible study!). He also reiterates NOT to follow evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
In summary, these seven verses of the 37th Psalm are part of what would be called “Trusting in the Lord”. First, it must be worried not about the prosperity of the wicked, as the Lord has seen fate in them. Second is the trust in God because He will make living in this earthly world safe, making those who land it. The followed-up verses (vv.4-5) are some advice on trusting and taking delight in the Lord, and He will give one’s heart’s desires, committing itself to the Lord is the synonym for His spiritual aid. As a final advice, v.7 addresses directly to us to have stayed still in the Presence of God, so we could wait patiently for Him to act, giving an end by saying not to worry about wicked prosperity.
What is the meaning of the text?
“In the first six verses of the psalm, the emphasis is on persevering in the faith, especially because of the promise for righteousness (see Proverbs 24:19; 3:31; and 23:17). The section begins with the admonition ‘fret not’. It is paralleled with “Do not envy”. These warnings understand how easy it is to be affected by the prosperity and influence of the world, but that is not detailed here. All that is mentioned is “because of evil-doers” (See Proverbs 10:15) and not be a worry to the faithful; whatever they have should not be envied by the faithful. To fret or envy would be a weakness of faith, so the psalm will call on the people of God to trust in Him and live faithfully […]
Verse 3 signals the proper alternative to anxious fears and desires: trust (cf. Psalm 4:5) in the LORD and do good (Psalm 34:8). The idea is that believers submit to the will of the LORD and trust Him to sort out the inequities and conflicts of life. Their faith will be evidenced by their preoccupation with doing what is in harmony with God’s will […] The second command (v.4) is for the faithful to delight in the LORD and he will give them the petitions. As explained in Psalm 1, if the righteous delight in the LORD, their petitions will be in harmony with His will. This is not a blanket promise that God gives people anything they desire; if their desire is in the LORD their petitions will be fitting. Then they will enjoy his faithfulness.
Verses 5 and 6 expand the call to trust. The reason they can and should do this is that He will act. How He will act is the expectation of the faith: He will bring forth their righteousness and justice ‘like the light’ and ‘like the noonday’. Their righteousness and faithfulness will triumph over the world and its grim prospects. The smiles associate the display of justice with the dawning of a new age when God acts (see Proverbs 4:18; Malachi 4:2). This dramatic change in the order of things, the destruction of wickedness and the triumph of righteousness, will display the sovereign rule of God and vindicate the way of faith” (Ross, 2011, ps.805-807)
Key Principles in terms of suffering and God’s character in this passage
Before highlighting the key principles in the first verses of the present Psalm, the principal highlight of the studied Psalm is the commentary embedded in the following article. Now, we will study the key principles of Psalm 37 from other passages cited by such a commentary’s author. It is a matter of fact that I am a theologian from a non-sectarian university. I would think those who are non-sectarian theologians tend to study the Bible from an academic perspective. But somehow, not everybody should be a theologian. Many emerging theologies have been created from the Protestant Reformation. Well, some theologies (like the Liberation Theology), have been linked to Catholic Social Teaching. This reminds me of when I wanted to create an immigration and cultural immersion program between the Archdiocese of Barranquilla and the U.S. Catholic Church, but they never were interested in the program. Well, such a program was a non-sense program for my benefit…
Now, we’re going to point out those specific key principles endowed in this Bible passage from the passages cited by the author:
Key Principle #1: Wishing not the evil-doers prosperity (vv.1-2)
Proverbs 24:19
“Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked”
Proverbs 3:31
“Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways”
Proverbs 23:17
“Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD”
So, based on the above proverbs and the first verses of the passage in question, what are the evildoers? What are the wicked? Those are good questions to ask about. Because we would have to go to the Hebrew Bible and point out specifically the original meaning of what an evildoer is.
What’s more, there are even Christian evildoers! Just like Christian Communists, Christian Fascists, and even Christian Nazis. So, advising not to envy evildoers’ prosperity is understood, because those who pretend to be Christian, tend to judge (cf. Matthew 7:1), and harm those who have a true Christian Heart.
Hence another question, what is the true Christian heart? It’s understood that those who ask for money on the streets tend to be judged and not given any kind of money by those who claim to be Christian and try to evangelize. Whatever the case is, Christians tend to still judge those who are truly Christian, the matter is that those true Christians are bypassing a bad moment at the time the “Christians” judge them. The other comparative issue is that, because of the Christians’ acts, they do not want to receive an evangelism tract, even losing their faith. For example, there is a physically disabled man dwelling down the streets of the neighborhood where I live here in Barranquilla. One day, I and my maternal grandmother tried to give him an evangelism tract; so, do you know what he was up to? He rejected the Christian tract. At the next corner, he was asking for money. Do you understand why the hypocrisy of Christians tends to misbehave in the conduct of those who are marginalized in society?!
The matter of envying the evildoers’ prosperity is a matter of debate because there are many Christians who, according to the exposed anecdote above, tend to judge those who are bypassing a bad moment. Romans 2:24 says:
“No wonder the Scriptures say ‘The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you’”
Hence the idea of Proverb 3:31. Besides those “Christian evildoers”, there are also “violent Christians”. Those who are violent Christians are often watched out into legalism.
Eareckson Tada (2012), points out the following respecting these etiquettes:
“Sometimes people who think like that don’t mind if a person comes or not, with the fact that they meet the Lord is all enough. At the same time, some people aren’t interested in whether a person comes to Christ or not. The important thing is that they eat. This sort of thought is also wrong and is too liberal. It eliminates Salvation from the Kingdom’s word. Christians who think like that do not see any difference between God’s work in the world and His work at the Church. ‘We are all God’s children’, they would say. ‘We’re all under the same shadow and teaching the Bible in reality is not different to teaching about reading and writing. Everything is God’s Word’. The conservative and liberal ways of truth are wrong.
The correct vision is not conservative or liberal either, but transformative. We’re here to transform the kingdoms of this world into kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paige Benton. Christians should have to take Jesus to the media, schools, economy, medicine, as well as to the politics and technology fields. We transform these areas through the work of the kingdom and, as a result, culture is changed”
Key Principle #2: Trust and Confidence in God (vv.3-7)
Psalm 4:5
“Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the LORD”
Psalm 34:8
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!”
Proverbs 4:8
“If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you”
Malachi 4:2
“‘But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings’”
Do you remember what I said at the beginning of this Bible study? I did not select this Bible passage from the lectionary or my regular Bible reading either. Instead, it was given to me by my maternal grandmother. And is the matter of faith found in vv. 3-7 of this psalm.
In certain circumstances of life, we tend to be impatient toward many factors. For example, as a person with an invisible disability, I certainly can’t tolerate waiting for things I must afford urgently. In some instances, those urgent things are not important! I’m currently on the eve of graduating from theologian, and this makes me anxious. It is just because I need the title to get a job at the Vatican. However, if I want to work at the Vatican and at the same time, I wish to volunteer at my local Baptist Church in her partnership with Joni and Friends (I abruptly confess this), what is my definite religion? Well, that “religion” is patience, commitment, and trust in the LORD. In reality, that’s the straight point to the studied passage in question!
In a mere instance, there is something I want to say about v.6:
“He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun”
Hoping to make a redux edition of this Bible Study in the future. But through the allegorical school of hermeneutics, I will surely say that this Psalm encourages us to follow God’s Rules, and we’ll prosper in a very beautiful way.
How can these principles relate to my path with Jesus?
“The closer we grow in our relationship with God, the more the things of God will delight and please us. And as our desires and pleasures come to reflect God’s desires and pleasures, we will find our deepest longings and yearnings fulfilled. This is the key to contentment, peace, and happiness in life.” (Beyond Suffering Bible, 2016)
In my humble opinion, I don’t think I’m saved because of my sinful lifestyle. However, God has been merciful and has had grace for me in all my way of life. However, I must say that reading the Bible is not enough, because we lack biblical literacy in the sense of not knowing anything about the languages the Bible was originally written.
Besides, in my humble opinion again, trust in God is a step forward in obedience. When we are baptized, there is a certain way we need to talk about feeling God’s call and minister to another. However, if we become reluctant as to what God says in His Word, are we obeying God in our lifestyle?
In the same way, which God are we obeying? That’s an important issue I’d want to address in the sense of using biblical languages for the following studies found in religiontheo.blogspot.com.
In some instances, I want to trust in the Lord more confidently and commit myself to the Lord in a way that can be transparent. Nevertheless, I feel lonely when I am the only autistic church boy in my Baptist Church (and in the Independent Fundamental Baptist churches in general). However, God’s grace and mercy have been godly to me. As godliness is only God, what if we follow up the godly God we use to teach and preach?
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Barranquilla, Colombia.
References
Beyond Suffering Bible. (2016). Tyndale House Publishers.
Eareckson Tada, J. (2012). The Disability and Kingdom Matters. In J. Eareckson Tada, S. Bundy, & P. Verbal, Beyond Suffering: A Christian perspective to the Disability Ministry. Joni and Friends.
Ross, A. (2011). A commentary on the Psalms 1-41. Kregel Publications.
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