Ps. 37:1- 7 “ Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”
It is now 11:25 A.M., January 3, 1943. But it is not really that, for we are living in these days on so-called “War Time.” It is actually one hour earlier than our clocks tell us. And in Chicago , it is one hour earlier still. And in Denver, it is two hours earlier. In San Francisco, three hours. In Hawaii, seven hours. And in the South Seas, where some of our own boys are at this very minute in the battle lines, it is tomorrow, for they are on the far side of the International Date Line.
I'm mentioning all this because I want to point out that time is a man-made invention. Today's news in our papers is like last week's, and sometimes we pick up an old newspaper and start to read it because we think it is of today. Today's weather is like that of a few weeks ago. We have invented time because we humans try to keep up with the seasons and the stars and the planets. We think it is important that we know what day it is, or how old we are in years. Is it? The solar system is in perfect order. The sun rules this system we live in, and we reckon time by it. Yet there are other suns in the sky, even mightier and more powerful than our own. Millions of the heavenly bodies which we call stars are really suns. What time do they tell?
Time is not so important as it sometimes seems. I am always reminded of the old story of the visitor to New York , who was being shown around by a city-bred friend. Among other things, they traveled on the subway, amid the crowds, noise and confusion that seem inevitably to associate themselves with that form of conveyance. At one stop, the New Yorker shunted his companion off the train and onto the platform, saying “We change to the Express train here. It will save two minutes.” The visitor mildly asked, “And what shall we do with those two minutes?”
There's a lesson for us all in the message of an old sundial. When someone seeking the time looked upon its surface, he was greeted by this warning: “Traveler, it is later than you think.” That is the message of this New Year for us. It is just a change in the calendar, but it teaches us that time slips by; and reminds us that God's universe is orderly.
There's another message these passing days can give us. We can use the New Year to look ahead, and as we do we will see that God's universe is optimistic. The trees not only shed their leaves in a gesture of despair at the ending of Summer . They also sow abroad millions of seeds, bearing the hope of growth and revival in the days to come. In all Nature, there is only hope for the future. There is never despair. Let us use Nature and Nature's God to give us strength and hope for the days to come. “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.”
Of course, we cannot always see the order and the hopefulness of the world. God's plans are often veiled from our sight, as the snows of late winter cover the early buds of the spring flowers. We need to see deeply to find the full promise of God's hope and orderliness. If a snowflake drops on your overcoat, it appears just a whitish, shapeless blob of frozen particles of vapor. But when examined under a microscope, that same snowflake reveals exquisite symmetry of design. Or if you turn up an anthill with your shovel, you see what appears to be a disorganized, aimless, helter-skelter tribe of ants. Yet we are told that shoe ant colonies are highly organized and running as smooth as clockwork. So in our limited vision in this world we cannot always detect the perfection of God's purposes. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” And with our limited vision, we will not always detect the optimism and growing good of God's will for us. Think of the disciples, to whom Jesus said, “Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy.” Their human vision could embrace the coming sorrow, but it took divine foresight to recognize the coming joy.
Let me call to your attention the program God gives us. It is a program of orderliness and hope. It bears within it the rich secret of contentment and happiness. It will be a great help to us, both this year and throughout all of life. It will buoy us up and lift us over the hard spots, and teach us again and again to remember that joy is not really in possessions or positions. The Psalmist records this program for the happy life very ably in the 37th Psalm. There are five simple rules:
1. Fret not - don't worry
2. Trust in the Lord and do good
3. Delight thyself - find joy in your religion
4. Commit your way to the Lord
5. Rest in the Lord.
The late Alexander Woollcott is quoted as saying “We spend half our time wishing for things that we could have if we didn't spend half our time wishing for things.” One of our greatest dangers is in worry and fretting. Basically underlying worry is something wrong in our attitude toward God and man.
It is true that troubles come upon us. We see the wicked prosper and evil men upset the whole life of the world. Like Jeremiah we ask, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” or like Job we complain “Wherefore do wicked men live and become old?” These sentiments are echoed today. “Why doesn't God destroy Hitler?” “Why doesn't God destroy those engaged in evil practices?” Our Psalmist gives an answer. He says “Don't worry and don't be envious.” They will answer for their sins, for they shall be cut down as the grass and wither as the green herb.
But meanwhile, what shall we do? God's time takes too long for our impatient spirits. We always feel the need of doing something. How shall we face the time of trouble and adversity? This is a more pertinent question for us to answer.
Shall we then complain and fret, and accuse God and men of making life unbearable? God forbid! Look to the lowly oyster, one of the most menial of God's creations. The oyster takes an intruding grain of sand that annoys, bruises and cuts it, and makes it into a pearl. One of God's greatest men, Paul, used his illness, which he called his “thorn in the flesh,” to glorify and magnify God. So we too can use adversity to help us face the future bravely.
In these days we really have only slight personal troubles to plague us. Probably our greatest concern is for others, who are far-called in military service. Their absence strikes into many a home. Yet even there, evil can be turned into blessing. Let us be more tender to those who are around us; and let us care for those who have no one to care for them. At any rate, don't eat your heart out by worry and care. It helps nobody and is a loss to the whole world. Rather, trust in the Lord and do good !
When we lean upon an arm of flesh we often find it to be weak and yielding. When we turn to our own understanding we often find “blind spots” or shallow places, wherein we gain no help. The Bible wisely advises independence from worldly aids when it says “Put not your trust in princes.”
That same Scripture advises, however, “Whosoever putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” It is true, for in the Lord is everlasting strength. Our text from the 37th Psalm refers to Israel and aims to give advice to that Nation. It reminds them that when they trusted in the Lord they gained great good. They were “fed” by the fertility of the Jordan Valley , and by manna on their journey from Egypt . When they trusted in the Lord, good things happened to them. When they trusted in their own strength, or even in their princes, they faltered and failed.
How appropriate it is today to hear these words. For trust in the Lord is not just a mental act of a mere acceptance of a word. Real trust requires an active expression of faith. God's promises are to be taken at their face value if they are to be made of worth in our lives. And God's promises cover every conceivable need of our lives. In the index of my Bible I find 45 specific items regarding which God has made definite promises. There are promises of guidance, comfort, health, long life, safety, protection, strength, wisdom, and many others. The fault with many is that they regard these words of promise as mere general admonitions, or spiritual instruction, and not as personal guarantees from the source of all good gifts and of all power. The only way to acquire the true value of these promises is to test them in your own life. In every case, if you will give an honest and comprehensive test, you will find that God makes good all His promises.
Look at a five dollar bill sometime. You will see an utterly worthless piece of paper that is not even intrinsically worth one penny. The only thing that makes that slip of paper valuable is the fact that a promise is written upon it. It reads, “The United States of America will pay to the bearer on demand five dollars.” That bill is not five dollars. It is a promise of five dollars. But don't throw away your five dollar bills now! On the strength of that promise you can buy things, satisfy debts, pay taxes and accomplish much good. Suppose you said “This paper is only a promise! Throw it away! How foolish you would be. How unlikely it is that you would ever do such a foolish thing. You are convinced that the promise on that paper is good, and therefore you benefit from it.
Remember this: God's promises are good, too. You can appropriate them, and use them, and benefit much through them. God honors the person who trusts in Him. Trust in the Lord, and do good, for yourself and for others.
There are many meanings possible for the next item our Psalmist presents to us. To “delight thyself in the Lord” may mean to find joy and happiness in your religion. Many people don't. The religion of some folks always makes me think of the prayer of the little girl who said, “God, pleas make all the bad people good and all the good people nice.” From the gloom and inhibitions of some people, we would come to believe that religion is really a depressing thing. It seems a series of “thou shalt nots ,” with nothing joyous or constructive about it. It ties them down to a life of petty pietism with no hit of a strong exulting faith.
That's not the right kind of religion. It is not the kind which Jesus taught. He said He came “that men might find life more abundant.” Today we are linking religion and freedom together, and often thinking of religion in terms of liberty. It is a source of our personal liberty, and a bringer of freedom to others. Liberty and happiness go together, and when the freedom of religion helps us to find our best selves, it leads us directly into joy. The true Christian is free and unshackled, not chained to a drudging earth-bound existence but enjoying an eternal victory. This will not make of him a libertine, using his freedom in a sensual way. Quite the contrary! But as we know from the teaching of life itself, “Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.” Jesus would say, “Live for the things that are worthy living for.” That kind of living is joy itself. True religion, or, to be more definite, true Christianity, consists in that kind of living.
To commit our way to the Lord implies a willingness to be humble and restrained. It implies the feeling that Jesus expressed in the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane when He humbly accepted God's plan and said “Thy will, not mine, be done.” One of the most difficult tasks of life is to avoid seeking our own way or our own gain regardless of the will or wish of God. So often our headstrong struggling places us in direct conflict with the desires of the Eternal. We need rather to find peace in submission to His will and His purposes, and to bow in obedience to His authority. We may wonder right now how that kind of humble obedience fits in with the teaching of joy and freedom which I have just discussed. But sober second thought will show us quickly that in all our relationships it is obedience to proper authority that brings happiness. In society, in the family, in community life, we know that there is need for authority and for unquestioning obedience to it if we wish to be really happy. Disobedience brings punishment.
In our lives, true obedience to divine authority is likewise essential. We must obey God's laws, or we shall suffer both physically and morally, spiritually and mentally. On the other hand, we can see that obedience brings blessing. I might quote from Luther's explanation to the ten commandments, where He calls our attention to a statement in the Old Testament, “I the Lord Thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate mew, but showing mercy and every blessing unto thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” The Old Testament brings us also the interesting story of Naaman , the Captain of the Syrian army. To be cured of leprosy, Naaman visited the prophet Elisha , but for a while he revolted against Elisha's instructions. He had no faith in them or in their value, even though Elisha spoke them as from God Himself. But when Naaman was persuaded to humble himself, and to obey, he was healed. When we commit our ways to the Lord, we gain the blessings that make life happy.
The final exhortation, to rest in the Lord, is definitely not an invitation to inactivity or slothfulness. Rest means patience and stillness. We need stillness in order that we may learn. From experience we know that it is impossible to teach effectively in a noisy classroom, or in a noisy atmosphere. We need stillness in order that we may listen intently for God's Word and will. This stillness is not merely the absence of sound waves or other physical noise. It is the stillness of spirit, the silencing of the selfish voices that cry in our hearts.
We need patience, too, ever so badly. Patience is often recommended by the Bible, because God's time is not our time. There is no need to hurry God by the measurements of our clocks, because God's work is always perfect, and we know that the achievement of perfection is not bound by time. The proverb says “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Better is the end... is that true of your life? Is it true of your work? Is it true in your daily task? We ought always to pray that it will be true of this year, and of next year, and of every year and every task. May the end be better than the beginning and may God's perfection crown our work. We can only build imperfectly, whatever the structure. But God can make it perfect. Rest in the Lord!
These five rules can be the basis for a happy and successful life. They can turn our clouds into sunshine and make our days fragrant with the lovely perfume of achievement. They will give us the comfort and the courage that we need and keep us sailing steadily ahead on our true course.
Henry Hudson, the Dutch-English explorer of three centuries ago, was intent upon finding a Northwest passage to the Orient. His last voyage took him to Hudson 's Bay, where severe hardships caused his crew to mutiny and to set Hudson , Captain John King, Hudson 's young son and a few sick sailors adrift on the icy waters of the Bay, while they sailed back to England . Henry Van Dyke has commemorated that event in his poem, “ Hudson 's Last Voyage.” He pictures the indomitable explorer watching the sails of his ship vanish over the horizon, while he and his companions drift helplessly in a small boat. But Hudson is a man of courage and determination. No mutiny causes him to cower. Calling upon God for help, he continues his search despite its apparent hopelessness. He expresses his determination to find that Northwest Passage of whose existence he is so strongly convinced. then turning to John King, his navigator, he gives his final order -- an order we can all take to ourselves, as we try to pilot a true course in this changing world, in this important year that lies before us ...
“So point her up, John King, Nor'west by North.
We'll keep the honor of a certain aim
Amid the peril of uncertain ways,
And sail ahead, and leave the rest to God.”