Podcast Introduction

Today we’re going to read Psalms 36-38, and I’m calling the episode “Schemers.”

Comments on Psalm 36

The title of this psalm is “For the choir director. A psalm of David, the Lord’s servant.” There are only two psalms that use the phrase “the Lord’s servant.”: Psalm 18 and Psalm 36. In Psalm 18, David is an old man. Here in Psalm 36, David is a young man. All his life, David saw himself a God’s servant.

Psalm 36 reaffirms something for me that I have often thought of. In verses 1-5, David talks about the evil man, and how he acts…what he does. And in verse 4, David says, “He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.”

Now, I am far from perfect. In fact, there are times that I feel, like the Apostle Paul, that I am the chief of sinners. But I am constantly amazed by how thieves and liars devise schemes. When I hear how they do things to accomplish their evil deeds, I can hardly believe it. How do they come up with such twisted plans? I could never think that way. It’s incredible!

When, for example, I hear about some scheme that someone used to embezzle money or con some old person out of their life savings, I am shocked at how they did it. My mind just doesn’t work that way. I mean, they had to really think in great detail to come up with their plans. My mind just doesn’t work that way.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that I’m without sin. It’s just that my brain just doesn’t think like that. Maybe I’m not smart enough. 

I like to think, though, that because the Holy Spirit lives in me, He protects me from such thoughts. 

As a matter of fact, in chapter 37 verse 4, David says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.”

The way I understand that verse, David is not saying that God will give you whatever you want, but that if you delight in Him, He will cause your heart to desire what pleases Him. He will give you your heart’s desires.

I most certainly do have my share of failures. But in my half-century of following Him, I have discovered, like David, that real joy is found in staying as close as I can to God. And I am so very thankful that I am his.

Beloved, if you don’t have that kind of relationship with Him, I encourage you with everything that is in me to reach out to Him now and ask Him to give you a thirst to know Him, to follow Him, to delight in Him. 

Comments on Psalm 37

The title is a simple one: A Psalm of David. We learn in verse 25 that David wrote this when he was old. Like the book of Proverbs, this purpose of this psalm is to teach wisdom. But unlike Proverbs, this is a song, and it was written as an acrostic with each line beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This arrangement made it easier to memorize.

Comments on Psalm 38

The title is “A Psalm of David. To remember, or to think about.”

David is asking God to remember him, to think about him, to be mindful of him because he is wracked with guilt for some sin that he has committed. We do not know when this psalm was written, so we don’t what sin has him in this state.

This is one of the seven penitential psalms, the others being Psalms 6, 32, 51, 102, 130 and 143.

In Psalm 38, we see a man that is desperately crying out to God, and he seems to be at the end of his rope. He still has faith, but he says, “…do not be so distant from me.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there. I know how David feels. I know what it is to have sinned, and to feel God’s correction. I know what it is to wonder when, or if, I would ever feel God’s blessing on me again. Like David, I cried out, “Come quickly to help me, O Lord, my savior.”

This is a good place to be, beloved, if you have willingly remained in sin. This is a loving Father chastising a misbehaving child. It is a confirmation that you are His. He does it to correct the behavior, to bring you to repentance. Hebrews 12:7-11 tells us, “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His child after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

God’s discipline is meant to bring us to genuine repentance. It is a good thing, beloved. When we confess our sin, He forgives us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. And that is when we can again enjoy the close fellowship and the blessings of God.

Links to the Scott Wesley Brown Interview and YouTube Video

Interview on the Lifespring! Podcast

YouTube video of the interview

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 36-37 HCSB, Ch. 38 GWT

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