Psalm 37:12-26

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 37:12-26
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

---

Sermon Title: Meekness in a Wicked World

Scripture: Psalm 37:12-26

I. Meekness Involves Laughing with God

A. The wicked plot against the righteous, but the Lord laughs at them, seeing their coming judgment (Psalm 37:12-13) B. God's people are invited to laugh with him at the folly of those who think they can thwart his purposes

1. Parallel to Psalm 2, where the Lord holds his enemies in derision
2. The Book of Esther as a Hebrew satire — Haman's schemes mocked and overturned; the Festival of Purim celebrates this with satirical flair
3. Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal as another biblical example of sanctified humor C. This is not the laughter of the powerful over the lowly, but the laughter of the lowly who look upward and see who is truly in control D. Luther: if the word of God will not thwart Satan, then mock and jeer him, for Satan cannot stand to be mocked

II. Meekness Involves Being the Object of Cruelty

A. The wicked arm themselves against the poor, needy, and upright — yet their weapons turn against themselves (Psalm 37:14-15) B. Sin is always destructive toward that which is good, not that which is evil

1. God declared all creation good; sin brings decay and destruction to that goodness
2. Sin is never neutral — it always has social and destructive ramifications, even when it seems private C. In this cruel setting, God's people are called to be lowly, meek, humble, and upright — the very things sin is most directed against D. The righteous are called to be generous even while the wicked take and do not repay (Psalm 37:21), mirroring God's own generosity toward his people (Psalm 37:26)

III. Meekness Involves a Generational Perspective

A. From the beginning, Yahweh trained his people to think generationally, not only in the immediate present

1. Adam: called to be fruitful and fill the earth with righteous generations
2. Abraham: all families of the earth blessed through his offspring
3. The many biblical genealogies reflect a distinctly Hebrew generational consciousness B. Key generational language in the passage
4. Verse 18 — their heritage will remain forever
5. Verse 22 — they shall inherit the land
6. Verse 25 — the righteous man's children do not beg for food
7. Verse 26 — his children become a blessing C. Exodus 34 — God forgives iniquity to the thousandth generation for the righteous, contrasted with judgment to the third and fourth for the wicked D. Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) as a New Testament example of generational thinking
8. Verse 48 — all generations will call her blessed
9. Verse 50 — God's mercy from generation to generation
10. Verses 54-55 — the Incarnation viewed through the lens of past generations, back to Abraham
11. The Magnificat closely mirrors Psalm 37 in its themes of the humble exalted and the mighty brought low E. Wickedness has a short view — it seeks immediate benefit; meekness has a long, covenantal view
12. Satan tempted Adam to seize the fruit now rather than look to the future blessedness of obedience
13. Satan always seeks to give God's people a short view; covenant people are called to think in generations

IV. Meekness Involves Older Generations' Reflection

A. David, writing as an old man, testifies: he has never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread (Psalm 37:25-26) B. It is David's gray hairs — his years of accumulated experience — that give him the ability to make this sober, honest reflection C. Objection: what about Christians who suffer want, persecution, and martyrdom?

1. Wickedness and unbelief only see what is immediately in front of them
2. David, with the dust settled and his life nearly complete, looks back and sees God's faithfulness across the whole span
3. The Puritan saying: Providence is best read like Hebrew — backwards D. The older and wiser members of the community are able to bear witness to God's goodness across more years than the young — we are to listen to them E. Job serves as an example: only after his suffering ends and he receives a double portion can he fully testify to God's goodness in retrospect F. In the midst of hard providences, we should lend an ear to older, wise believers who can offer sober, honest reflection drawn from lived experience G. Conclusion: David calls us to look at God's promises and provisions with a long, generational view — only then can one remain meek and humble in a wicked, short-sighted world