Advertisers have known for centuries that you can’t convince most of the people of anything the first time they hear it. Human beings are just wired that way. A few people will believe something the first time they see it or hear it but for most of us its takes a while longer. That’s why television marketers run the same commercials over and over. Maybe the twentieth time you see a commercial on television you might become interested enough in the product to give it a serious look and actually buy it. For some people it may be the fiftieth time they hear the message that does the trick. For some people the message never hits the mark and the sale is never made. That’s why selling anything is a volume business requiring repetition of the sales pitch. Salesmen have learned that rejection is part of the selling game because they may only make a sale to one person out of ten that hears the message or maybe only one in a hundred. Being a good salesman takes thick skin and perseverance. As servant’s of God we’re to be salesmen for God and we’re tasked with selling the gospel message of Christ to all people and all nations.
Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.
Proverbs 28:9 – One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
God made us all so he knows all our tendencies better than anyone, which is why the Bible makes ample use of repetition to drive home God’s message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I know for me personally I learn better by repetition. I need to hear information over and over several times for it to sink into my brain so I know it well enough to actually believe it. As a believer reading God’s Word don’t think God is beating a dead horse when he repeats spiritual truths over and over. You may know the truth of God but he is trying to reach those lost souls who need to keep hearing the gospel message of Christ over and over.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Proverbs 4:18 – But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 13:21 – Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
Have patience and bear with God on this. God’s recurring message is meant primarily for those nonbelievers who have received the gospel of Christ one or more times yet still haven’t accepted God’s grace unto salvation even after several attempts. God knows he won’t reach everyone with the truth but he perseveres. God will never give up on you. As servants of the Most High we’re to follow God’s example by continually trying to bring lost souls into the kingdom of God. We must continue to witness for Christ and do good works while we live. It’s why God left us here on earth after our salvation.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.
Ecclesiastes 3:12 – I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
Psalm 37 is a classic example of God using repetition to drive home his salvation message. God says almost the exact same things several times within this psalm to good effect. God also presents the same message in different ways to reach different people. Everyone responds differently to what they read or hear because we’re all individuals in our own right. No two of us are exactly alike. What works for me won’t work necessarily for you and vice versa. God also contrasts what the believer has coming to him and what the believer should be doing versus what the nonbeliever will receive at the hands of God for their wickedness.
Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Acts 4:12 – Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
If you’re a lukewarm Christian a regular reading of Psalm 37 will cure what ails you and keep your faith in God strong. I’m comforted when I read Psalm 37 because I feel as though God is holding my hand the whole time. I feel safe. On the flip side, Psalm 37 should scare the daylights out of all nonbelievers because God provides repeated clear warnings of what will happen to those who reject God’s mercy and grace and die in their sin. Psalm 37 should be a wakeup call to all those who do evil in the sight of God. Let’s break Psalm 37 down verse by verse to see what God is trying to tell us:
Psalm 37:1-2 – Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
In the Bible God tells believers repeatedly to persevere by putting their trust in God and not to worry about the evil that’s in the world. It’s all part of God’s plan and God is in control of his creation. We’re not to be jealous when the ungodly seem to be prospering more than we are. We should actually pity them because a just God will one day send them to hell for their sins.
Psalm 37:3-4 – Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness, delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.
Trusting the Lord means to accept God’s saving grace unto salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus commands believers to share their witness for Christ with all peoples and all nations and also to do good works in his name as part of their reasonable service to God for their salvation. We’re to live our life in obedience to God’s will. We’re to love God for what he has done for us and we’re to meditate on God’s Word and obey his commandments. God will prosper those who are obedient to his word.
Psalm 37:5-6 – Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Once you’ve become a believer committed to living by the precepts of the Bible God will declare you righteous before all the saints and angels of heaven. God himself will sanctify you during your life on earth so that you enter heaven as a righteous son of God.
Psalm 37:7-8 – Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret-it causes only harm.
Twice in the above verses God again commands us not to fret (worry) and not to give in to anger and wrath because it gives Satan a foothold in your life. The Bible tells us to give our cares (worry, anger and wrath) to God to handle. Sinners will get what’s coming to them because God is just. The Bible assures us that worry won’t accomplish anything. It’ll only affect our spiritual and physical health. When we give our problems to God we receive the peace of God but we need to be patient with God because God’s timetable for taking action is not the same as ours.
Psalm 37:9-11 – For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
At the second coming of Christ all nonbelievers who are not already in hell will be removed from the earth and sent to hell. During the millennial kingdom of Christ all believers will inherit the earth and there will be peace for 1000 years.
Psalm 37:12-15 – The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
One of the spiritual laws of heaven we see play out over and over in the Bible is, “a man reaps what he sows”. I’m thinking of the Pharaoh of Egypt; I’m thinking of Haman; I’m thinking of King Herod. In every instance these evil men intended harm to others and God saw that they were repaid in kind. Only God can take sin and evil and use it for his good purpose.
Psalm 37:16-17 – A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
A believer who walks humbly with God is wealthy no matter what material possessions he may have. All the money in the world means nothing without God. There are no true riches, power or peace in this world apart from the grace of God. Eternal life in heaven is the only true wealth.
Psalm 37:18-20 – The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.
God is affirming his promise of salvation for believers and guaranteeing their protection under his mighty hand. God is also affirming nonbelievers will vanish from the earth to be incarcerated in the lake of fire for eternity. In the first half of Psalm 37 (20 verses) I count eleven times where God promises to bless the believer in some fashion and another eleven times where God promises to punish the nonbeliever. Both of those things will surely come to pass because God cannot lie and God’s will cannot be thwarted.