Psalm 37:3-7

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, and the justice of your cause, like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:3-7)

I commend to your serious consideration this most precious and comforting passage the Spirit has many times highlighted during some of my darkest seasons. I have repeatedly found my way back to these words of Israel’s sweet singer during many of my dearest meditation moments. Though his melody is lost to us, these lyrics and others like them play in my soul like poetic enticements to be at peace in the Presence.

There are nine invitations the song offers to its readers: Trust…do good…dwell in the land…enjoy safe pasture…delight in the Lord…commit our way to him…trust (in case we didn’t get it the first time)…be still…and wait patiently.

Let’s glance at each of these over the next couple weeks, pausing to wait for the Spirit to unveil his heart to each of us in our own circumstances. He might underscore trust or delight, be still or wait patiently. But he always knows just what we need to hear at the moment. I offer these for your own meditation.

Next time we’ll begin where it all begins––with “Trust.”

In the meantime, pour over these five verses, if not the entire Psalm.