Principles from Psalms—Part I
“God’s Way is Best!”
April 7th, 2002
Psalm 37:3-6
Intro:
Today we begin a five part series titled, “Principles From Psalms”
As we look into the Psalms for incredible principles, we’ll find great application to our lives today.
- I think we’ll all be very encouraged by this series as well.
Story:
When I was growing up, my mother would administer morning devotions before we went to school.
We always had our morning devotions and prayer.
It would start off with the Proverb for the day, then we would march through one or two Psalms.
After that we would all pray and rush out the door!
Much of what we talk about this morning found its roots in those small, simple, and sometimes powerful devotions.
Background:
Interesting Facts:
1. Psalms is a collection of 150 spiritual songs and poems used by the church in all ages of worship and devotional exercises.
2. It became the hymn book of the second temple (Jesus’ time)
3. The Psalms is quoted more frequently in the New Testament than any other book except Isaiah.
4. The two predominant themes are prayer and praise.
Writings &Authors
King David: is responsible for writing 44-45 of the 150 Psalms.
This is why the Psalms is called the “Psalms of David.”
- Asaph: (Chief musician to David) is responsible for writing 12 Psalms.
- The Sons of Korah: (The family of main singers) is responsible for writing 11chapters of poetry.
- Solomon: is responsible for writing 2 of the Psalms (Chapters 72 & 127)
- Jeremiah: (The prophet) is responsible for writing 8.
Historians and theologians know for certain, that various people author 78 chapters of spiritual songs and poetry.
The other 72 chapters are collections of poetry and songs written throughout different historical periods of Israel’s history.
Division into Five Books:
Book One: Consists of chapters 1-41
Book Two: Consists of chapters 42-72
Book Three: Consists of chapters 73-89
Book Four: Consists of chapters 90-106
Book Five: Consists of chapters 107-150
Point: The chapter we are discovering this morning has been written by—King David
Pause:
One more interesting fact: This Psalm is an acrostic poem, which means the
stanzas (or lines) begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 37:3-6:
Pray:
I. God’s Way Requires Trust.
I am learning that at the core of every relationship is trust.
- With trust you can depend on a person.
- Without trust, you cannot depend on them.
When trust is broken, it is very hard to earn it back.
Proverbs 18:19 says,
“An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city”
Like any other relationship, God asks that we trust Him.
What kind of trust does he desire?
We all know various kinds of trust, but which one does God require of us?
I can best illustrate it this way:
• My daughters love to jump into daddy’s arms.
• When they were younger, which wasn’t very long ago, they would perch themselves on the highest object they could find and say;
“Daddy Dump! Daddy Dump!”
• Each time my job was to catch them as they leaped into my arms.
• They possess a blind trust of me.
One Time:
- I was walking by my daughter who was standing on a chair, and she leaped out towards me unexpectedly.
- Had I not spun around and caught her, she would have been seriously hurt.
Point:
- God is the same way with us. We should always be able to take a leap of faith when he tells us something.
- I guess what God is asking is that we have “Implicit Trust” of Him.
Simply Put: God requires that our relationship with him, displays an attitude of blind
trust; to the point where we can leap into his arms at any moments notice.
Trust Helps:
- There are some things that trust helps one to achieve.
1. Trust helps one to do ________good________.
Think about it…
o If a person can trust in a relationship, there is great possibility that only good can come from the relationship.
2. Trust helps one to ___________Dwell_______.
The phrase “Dwell in the Land” here refers to the promised land or blessing God gave to the nation of Israel.
• In OT times the land was associated with an ongoing relationship with God.
God said in 1 Kings 9:6-7,
"If you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them.”
• Simply put: “to dwell” here in the Psalms, means to remain in a relationship with God.
• One cannot stay in a relationship if there is no trust.
• The only way we can “dwell” or “continue” in our relationship with God is if He can be found trustworthy.
Hebrews 6:18 says,
“…It is impossible for God to lie…”
• This verse releases fears of not being able to trust Him.
3. Trust helps one to __________Enjoy________.
Illustration: Super spiritual people who think un-enjoyable people are their
“ministry.”
* How can a person stay in a relationship with God if it isn’t enjoyable?
• How can it be enjoyable if it isn’t trustworthy?
• The Bible challenges and teaches us by saying,
“Taste and see that the Lord, He is Good!”
Illustration: I love Starbucks coffee!
- In fact I had some this morning…
- I can’t even get around the smell without wanting a taste of it!
- Some would say it has a possessive quality to it!
- When you taste it, you’ve got to gulp it all Amen!
• We might even want to look at placing a table in the foyer for people to drink some Starbucks and cookies.
• It may encourage more fellowship and make visitors feel more welcome.
Read: Psalms 37:4
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!”
II. God’s Way Asks That We Delight in Him!
Webster’s Dictionary Defines “Delight” as:
“…To give great joy or pleasure, to be highly pleased; rejoice:”
Delighting in God gives us a promise…
Vs. 37:4 “He will give you the desires of your heart!”
Question: What is so special about delighting in God?
Why is delighting in God so special to Him?
A. One who delights Seeks the Lord’s will.
Illustration: Many of you helped us move our stuff into the house a few weeks ago and we say thanks to all of you who helped.
- During that time, Mike Vickers made an incredible statement.
- He said,
“You can tell a lot about a man by the stuff he owns!”
• How true this is because I am a great sports and outdoors fan.
• If you were to look at all my stuff you would see that like Mike did that day.
• You seek out what you love
B. One who delights Listens for His voice.
My wife and I enjoy listening to you all.
There are times when we cannot listen all the time due to time constraints.
However, if we could, we would love to spend all our time listening to you all.
Many Ministers today want to just listen to themselves speak.
I’m learning true “Delight” places the other person before oneself.
God is the same way, he asks us to place Him before ourselves and listen
C. One who delights Studies God’s written Word.
• In order to understand God’s character, his love, and his purpose for our lives we have to study His word.
Studying is more than memorizing scripture.
I know all kind of people you can quote the scriptures backwards and forwards, but they have no clue how to apply them to their lives.
D. One who delights Cares for others.
Why? When we spend time with someone or something we begin to:
o Like what they like…
We call this commonality, because all relationships have to start out with something in common.
o See what they see…
If you hang around me long enough you’ll find we can always do better being relevant to outsiders and that I am a visionary.
Illustration:
When our family goes on trips I see churches everywhere!
- There will be a warehouse, a plot of land, or a broken down church and I’ll tell my wife there could be a great church!
- We continue to drive along and I say, “Honey look there…”
“I know, I know, there’s a great church!”
o Hurt what they hurt in…
God cares for people!
- When I see starving little children, hopeless people, and mistreated women my heart breaks inside.
- I’ve got the greatest answer they’ll ever need.
- God cares for people!
- This is why he sent Jesus his son to die on the cross
Read: Psalms 37:5
“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him…”
III. God’s Way Needs a Commitment to His plans for your life.
Question: What plans does he have for us?
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future!”
These plans God has for us requires us to:
A. Yield our Way .
B. Yield our Will .
C. Yield our Work .
D. Yield our Walk .
Read: Psalms 37:5b
“And He will bring it to pass”
IV. God’s Way Always Brings Blessings !
• I am learning that walking in God’s way is always the best for me.
• What is the way he’s chosen for us?
Micah 6:8
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Zech 3:7
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: ’If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these.”
Two things happen when we fulfill these scriptures:
We are blessed by God for our faithfulness.
We become a Blessing to others!
Pray:
