Week 4 - Fall Focus 2024
Week Four: The Problem of Other People
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
(Psalm 37:3)
Opening Question
What are some of your most important relationships?
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
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 Take delight 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 righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 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.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
Note that this Psalm has a series of commands, and it gives us a reason for each command.
Work your way through it verse by verse. Identify the commands and the principles behind them.
For example, v. 1 commands that we do not fret or be envious—Then verse 2 tells us why–success and prosperity for those who do wrong is like a plant that quickly fades away…
Work through the rest of the Psalm and discuss in each case how the connected promises help us live up to the commands.
What is the connection between our interior relationship with God and our ability to deal with difficult people?
IF You Have Time
Reread v. 11–have you heard that verse before?
It is quoted by Jesus (Matthew 5:5) as part of one of his famous sayings known as the Beatitudes (or “Blessings”).
The word “meek” is unusual. What do you think it means?
Scholar Derek Kidner writes, “The context (in Psalm 37) gives the best possible definition of the meek”
Look again at the words of Psalm 37. If this is a description of the meek, what does that look like?