PSALM 37 BE HUNGRY FOR GOD

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
¹ Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
²⁹ the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.
³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives;
³³ but the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
³⁴ Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.
³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Our hope is in the eternal Lord. As temporary as is the fallen world, so too is the prosperity of those who put their trust in the things of the world. In his Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said,

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

The assembly of the wicked and that of the righteous are differentiated not by what they have or do not have, but where their hearts are centered. The wicked are those whose god is “their belly.” They hunger for the things of this world and exploit even the poor in order to feed their appetite for more and more. In contrast, the righteous have a hunger for God, a God who is enormously larger than their capacity to consume. Their heart is on the Lord and he is their hope, for when you focus on God your vision is an eternal vision and places your present circumstances in the proper perspective. As we read in Proverbs:

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

May I hunger and thirst for you Lord, and use the material gifts you have provided to prosper your reconciling love among my neighbors. Help me see that true treasure is in your kingdom…that you are the treasure that exceeds all other. Amen.