THE HOLY SPIRIT IN Psalms 37 admonishes us to beware of irritation in our religious lives:"Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity."The word "fret" comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon and carries with it such a variety of meanings as bring a rather pained smile to our faces. Notice how they expose us and locate us behind our disguises. The primary meaning of the word is to eat, and from there it has been extended with rare honesty to cover most of the manifestations of an irritable disposition. "To eat away; to gnaw; to chafe; to gall; to vex; to worry; to agitate; to wear away"; so says Webster, and all who have felt the exhausting, corrosive effects of fretfulness know how accurately the description fits the facts.Now, the grace of God in the human heart works to calm the agitation that normally accompanies life in such a world as ours. The Holy Spirit acts as a lubricant to reduce the friction to a minimum and to stop the fretting and chafing in their grosser phases. But for most of us the problem is not as simple as that.Fretfulness may be trimmed down to the ground and its roots remain alive deep within the soul, there growing and extending themselves all unsuspected, sending up their old poisonous shoots under other names and other appearances.It was not to the unregenerate that the words "Fret not" were spoken, but to God-fearing persons capable of understanding spiritual things. We Christians need to watch and pray lest we fall into this temptation and spoil our Christian testimony by an irritable spirit under the stress and strain of life.It requires great care and a true knowledge of ourselves to distinguish a spiritual burden from religious irritation. We cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us. We dare not rest at ease in Zion when the church is so desperately in need of spiritually sensitive men and women who can see her faults and try to call her back to the path of righteousness. The prophets and apostles of Bible times carried in their hearts such crushing burdens for God's wayward people that they could say, "Tears have been my meat day and night," and "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain. of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain daughter of my people!" These men were heavy with a true burden. What they felt was not vexation but acute concern for the honor of God and the souls of men.By nature some persons fret easily. They have difficulty separating their personal antipathies from the burden of the Spirit. When they are grieved they can hardly say whether it is a pure and charitable thing or merely irritation set up by other Christians having opinions different from their own.Of one thing we may be sure, we can never escape the external stimuli that cause vexation. The world is full of them and though we were to retreat to a cave and live the remainder of our days alone we still could not lose them. The rough floor of our cave would chafe us, the weather would irritate us and the very silence would cause us to fret.Deliverance from a fretting spirit may be by blood and fire, by humility, self-abnegation and a patient carrying of the cross. There will always be "evildoers" and "workers of iniquity," and for the most part they will appear to succeed while the forces of righteousness will seem to fail. The wicked will always have the money and the talent and the publicity and the numbers, while the righteous will be few and poor and unknown. The prayerless Christian will surely misread the signs and fret against the circumstances. That is what the Spirit warns us against.Let us look out calmly upon the world; or better yet, let us look down upon it from above where Christ is seated and we are seated in Him. Though the wicked spread himself like "a green bay tree" it is only for a moment. Soon he passes away and is not. "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble." This knowledge should cure the fretting spirit.

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

Man - The Dwelling Place of God - The Cure for a Fretful Spirit

For Reading and Meditation:      Job 21:11-16We come now to the heart of the issue with which the psalmist is struggling in Psalm 73: "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning" (Psalm 73:13-14). Permit me to paraphrase what I think he is saying: "Here I am, living a godly life, keeping my heart and hands clean, avoiding sin, meditating on the things of God and devoting myself to a life pleasing to God, yet despite this I am facing all kinds of troubles. What's the advantage in serving God if He doesn't protect me?" The problem, then, is not so much the prosperity of the wicked as the fact that he himself is passing through a period of great trial while they are getting off scot-free. We begin now to see the roots of the envy to which the psalmist referred earlier: "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (v. 3). Envy is born out of two things: ignorance and a wrong comparison. Take, first, a wrong comparison. "Almost all our problems," said Dr W.E. Sangster, "begin in a wrong comparison." How true this is. We compare our looks, our height, our income, our homes, our training and our abilities with those of others and soon we lose sight of our own individuality and specialness. To compare ourselves with Christ is a healthy spiritual discipline, but to indulge in comparison with those we think are more prosperous and fortunate than we are is the direct road to envy.O God, save me, I pray, from the habit of wrongly comparing myself with others. Help me to satisfy the impulse I have for making comparisons only in a way that will yield spiritual gain - by comparing myself only with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Psalm 37:1-40</li><li>Proverbs 3:31</li><li>Proverbs 14:30</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What is envy?</li><li>What is the result of envy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Yet they say  'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?'  But their prosperity is not in their own hands " (vv. 14-16) 

For Reading and Meditation:      Matthew 7:13-20Today we look at the special understanding the psalmist received when he came into the sanctuary of God: "Then I understood their final destiny" (Psalm 73:17). As soon as he considered the final destiny of the ungodly, everything dropped into focus for him. He had looked at the prosperity of the ungodly but he had not looked at their end - he had not taken in all the facts. What are the facts concerning the end of the ungodly? The passage we read today tells us: the broad road which the ungodly travel leads to destruction; the narrow road which the godly travel leads to life. It is as simple as that. Though this passage was not available to the psalmist, the truth underlying it was most certainly known to him. Listen to this from Psalm 37: "The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off" (v. 38, NKJ). The writer of that psalm, King David, described the wicked spreading themselves like a green tree, but when the end came they vanished off the face of the earth and no one could find them. The trouble with us is that so often we dwell too much on the present and fail to consider the future. Do you look at the ungodly, many of whom seem to be having a marvellous time ignoring moral restrictions, and feel envious of them? Well consider their end. Give some thought to the ultimate outcome. The Bible describes it as "destruction". We ought never to forget that it is not how things are at present that is important; it's how they end that matters. Father, whenever I am next tempted to compare my life and its circumstances with that of others who do not know You, help me to remind myself of the fact that it is the end that matters, not the beginning. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Luke 12:15-21</li><li>Proverbs 12:15-16</li><li>Proverbs 28:6</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Jesus call the man in his parable?</li><li>What word keeps occurring in the parable?</li></ul></div></div>

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction " (v. 13) 

If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. § O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. § For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Evening Daily Light

 The Lord, He is the One who goes before you.He will be with you, He will not leaveyou nor forsake you. 

The Lord your God … went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day. § As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him. § The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. § Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. § For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. § We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. § With us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness.

Morning Daily Light

 He … preserves the way of His saints. 

Underneath are the everlasting arms. § When [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” § The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders. § [Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. § He who touches you touches the apple of His eye. They shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all.

 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. 

<blockquote>
A man's goings are established of Jehovah; and he delighteth in His way" (<a id="verse_1632880355559872" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/37/23">Ps. 37:23</a>, ASV.) .
</blockquote>Throughout time and eternity the God of circumstances has every situation planned for our good and for His glory (<a id="verse_1632880355932408" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/28">Rom. 8:28</a>; <a id="verse_1632880355675157909" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/8/29">29</a>). That is all that should matter to us. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee" "For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God" (<a id="verse_1632880355421797" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/76/10">Ps. 76:10</a>; <a id="verse_1632880355359368866" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/76/2">2</a> Cor. 4:15)."What the other person said or did to you was undoubtedly wrong and cannot be justified. Nor did he do it at God's direction; but God permitted him to do it for some wise reason which will yet prove to have been abundantly worthwhile for you. By the time that action reached you it had become the will of God for you, since to a yielded believer there are no second causes."He believes the Psalmist's declaration that every step of his life's pathway has been ordered by the Lord. No trial or affliction can reach you who are abiding in Him, without His permission. You can, therefore, be confident in every circumstance of life, however baffling, that it has been permitted in your own best interest by the wisest and most loving of fathers, who knows our load-limit' (<a id="verse_1632880355120320" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Corinthians/10/13">1 Cor. 10:13</a>)." -O.S."All that we pass through is that we may get a fresh view of the Lord Jesus, or a deepening of a former one; but often we are so occupied with ourselves and the circumstances, that we fail to behold the glory of the Lord.'" -C.T."If the external plannings of men or Satan further God's plans, they succeed; if not, they come to nothing." -J.N.D."Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand" (<a id="verse_1632880355570209" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/37/24">Ps. 37:24</a>).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 The First Cause 

<blockquote>
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; fret not thyself" (<a id="verse_1632880438701191" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/37/7">Ps. 37:7</a>).
</blockquote>Our Father moves on the basis of His finished work, therefore hurry is not a factor with Him nor should it be with us. We are to walk in the Spirit,' and the blessed Holy Spirit will see to it that we obtain all that our Father has for us, step by step. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in His way" (<a id="verse_1632880438982329" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/37/23">Ps. 37:23</a>). Don't be discouraged - Enoch walked with God for three hundred years before he was translated!"We cannot become spiritual all at once; we must be content to begin as babes. Spiritual maturity and strength do not come by effort but by growth; and growth is the result of being nourished by proper food. But if we do not grow by effort it is important to remember that we do not grow without exercise."God begins by giving our hearts a sense of the blessedness of the grace in which He has called us, that we may be awakened and enhungered to pursue the knowledge of all this with purpose of heart and prayerful study." -C.A.C."Whatever we do accurately must take time and collectedness of mind, and there is no accuracy in all the world like keeping company with God, and yet nothing so free from bondage or tediousness. By going slow with the Lord we accomplish more than by going with a rush, because what we do is done so much better and does not have to be undone. It is done in a better spirit, with deeper motives, and bears fruit far out in the future, when all mushroom performances have been dissipated forever." -G.B.W."Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (<a id="verse_1632880438868489" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/37/4">Ps. 37:4</a>).

 Slow But Sure 

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the righteous be delivered? But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will con- tend with him who contends with you … All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. § Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. § In that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. § The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

 I am with you to save you. 

Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. § The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. § It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. § The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

 Whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. § In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. § Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker. I am with you to deliver you. § Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. § You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

 You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God. 

Thus says the Lord, who created you … “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” § Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. § My delight was with the sons of men. § The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy. § “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

 The Lord delights in you. 

Psalms 37:7"Rest in the LORD - and wait patiently for Him."We are told of certain men that they walked with God. If we are walking with anyone, we keep close beside him. We do not fall behind him. We do not go faster than he goes. We keep step and walk by his side. We are to walk with God.The word walk is suggestive. It does not indicate haste. Only once does the Bible show us God running. The father ran to meet the prodigal. He runs to save, to show mercy, to welcome the penitent. But in all His other movements, God walks. He is never in a hurry. He walks slowly, and we are told to wait for Him. Unless we want to go alone, we must wait for Him. He will never hurry to please us. We may be sure, too, that we are not going too slowly if He is with us. "Wait for the Lord."In one marginal reading the words are, "Be silent to the Lord and wait patiently for him." In another it is, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." His work is not yet finished; you see it now only in process .An artist is painting a picture. You come into his studio one day and see him at work. You ask him what the picture is and he tells you. You say: "Well, I cannot see any resemblance. I do not think that the drapery is beautiful. That sky is not natural." So you go on chattering and criticizing. The artist says: "Wait until the picture is finished. You cannot see yet what it is to be. Just wait." That is the thought in this Psalm. The writer was in great perplexity. Things seemed to be going wrong. Evildoers appeared to be prospering. They brought their wicked devices to pass. They slandered the righteous. They crushed the innocent and the defenseless. The writer saw all this, and it fretted him. "Just be silent before God - and wait for Him," was the answer that came to him.We should wait for God in His providences. It takes time to develop them. We are assured that all things work together for good to those who love God. But ofttimes we find ourselves in experiences which we think cannot possibly bring any good to us. They seem full of hurt. But the answer is, "Be silent before God - and wait for Him." This work which seems to our thought so unlike God - is not yet finished. When it is complete, then the beauty and the good will appear.We are all quite sure of being in circumstances, sometime in our life, when things will seem to be against us. We may have wasting sickness, bringing suffering, loss of income, heavy expense. We may have adversity in our business affairs. Death may break in upon our happy circle of love. Our plans may be thwarted. Some day we may sit amid shattered hopes, the broken purposes, and faded flowers of our joys, and say, "There is nothing good in all this!" But then will come to us the divine word, "Be silent - and wait for God." This seeming confusion is not lawless tangle. The threads are in God's hands, every one of them. But His work is not yet finished .We must wait for God also - in all our work. Sometimes we grow impatient at the slowness with which results come. Parents have their experience as they train their children, in watching for the outcome of their discipline. Teachers meet the same trial of faith in their work with their pupils. When a man works in wood or clay or stone or iron, he sees the result of every stroke. He sees the fragments of the marble fly - and the figure of his vision coming out a little more clearly as he hews away. He sees the rough timber grow into smoothness and beauty of form, beneath his saw and plane.But work on minds and hearts is slow. We cannot take a crude life - and make it lovely in a day, as one can dress and carve a piece of wood. We cannot change a fiery, tumultuous, restless spirit - to peace, love, and gentleness in one hour, as the sculptor can hew a block of stone into grace. It takes years ofttimes, to teach one moral or spiritual lesson. Many times we do sad hurt to God's work in human lives - by our want of patience. A boy plants his grains of corn in the garden, and at once begins to look for them to grow. The second morning, seeing no points of green pushing up through the soil, he digs the clay away and lays bare the seeds to see what is wrong. In his impatient haste - he kills the germs and the seeds never grow at all. He ought to have waited for God.A writer tells of his experience in hurrying God with the development of an insect. For nearly a year he kept the cocoon of an emperor moth. It was shaped like a flask, and in the neck end of it was a little opening. That was where the creature was to crawl out when nature's time - God's time - came. But this opening seemed so small, so much smaller than the insect imprisoned within, that one wonders how it is ever going to get out. Then when it begins to come out of its cocoon, it is with great labor and difficulty that it escapes.This man at last saw the first efforts of the moth to break away from its prison. For a whole forenoon he watched it striving and struggling to get out. It did not appear able to advance beyond a certain point. The opening seemed too narrow. He pitied the poor creature, shut up and unable to escape - and thought he would help it. He supposed he was doing a kindness. He took his scissors and snipped the fine threads to make the opening a little wider. In a moment more, without any further struggle or difficulty - out crawled the moth. But it had a huge, swollen body - and little shriveled wings. It had not the graceful form it ought to have had. The gentleman watched to see the transformation take place, the dwarfed wings expand into their radiant beauty. But he looked in vain. The moth did not develop at all into loveliness. It never did. He had destroyed it - in trying to help it. His kindness - had proved the creature's ruin! It was never anything but a stunted abortion, crawling painfully through the brief life which it should have spent flying through the air on rainbow wings. This friend of the little insect, was guilty of cruelty instead of being kind.God's slower way was the right way, and he would better have waited for God. If he had, it would have taken longer time and it would not have been so easy for the moth - it would have had to crawl out with great pain and difficulty - but the result would have been a beautiful butterfly, with brilliant wings, flying through the air - and not a poor, misshapen creature, crawling about on the ground.This is a picture of what we do many a time - in trying to help God bring souls into the light, or to bring out some spiritual beauty in the life we want to help.We are not too eager to do good - we never can be that; our whole soul should be full of the desire to bless others. But we are in too great haste. We have not patience enough to wait for God. We try to hurry the results we seek. We cannot wait for the seeds to grow. We do not give hearts time to develop their love, their confidence, their gentleness; we try to hasten these fruits of the Spirit. The result is, that the lives we thus help to premature development are never so beautiful as they would have been - if we had waited for God.We need to learn the lesson also in the living of our own life. We are apt to grow impatient with our own progress. Many a young person, in his eagerness to get on in his course and enter active life - mars his work and lessens his own efficiency. It is better to wait for God. Jesus was in no hurry to begin His work. He spent thirty quiet years in preparation, in study, in thought, in simple common duty, waiting patiently for God's time for Him to go forth to His public ministry. Thirty years of preparation - and then only three years of work. But we know what kind of work He did in those brief years! Every word He spoke - was a word of power. Everything He did - left an impression on the ages. Those three years of ministry have been more to the world - than a thousand years of the immature, imperfect, fragmentary work many of us do. If with His sinless humanity and His perfect powers - He waited thirty years, in preparing for three years of ministry; we need far more than He, to be patient and wait for God before we go out to speak and work for Him. If we put more time into preparation, the fewer years left us for work, would count for far more in the end - than do now our many years filled with immaturity, with work that counts for little, with words without wisdom and without weight. Let us wait for the Lord that our work, when the time comes for work, may have power and good in it.We need to wait for God, also, in finding our way in this world. Duty is not always plain for us at once. We come continually to points where we cannot tell which way we ought to go. If we are God's children and are faithfully following Christ, we shall never have to take one step in the dark. Jesus said, "He who follows me - shall not walk in darkness." This means that duty will always be made clear. We shall never have to stumble along in uncertainty. We shall be able to make the right decisions and the right choices. But we must always wait for God. If we insist on running on before Him, of course we shall be in the dark. It is just as dark in advance of God's glorious leading - as it is a way behind Him. If we would know the way and see what our duty is - we must wait for the Lord.For example, if you come to a wise friend with a question about what you should do next year, or next autumn, or even next week, it is probable that all the friend can say will be, "Wait." You are not sure of having any next year, or next autumn, or next week. The question of duty - may be the one that must wait until the time comes. You are sorely perplexed about what you ought to do in some matter that touches your life in a very close and sacred way. Yet the answering of it is beset with difficulties. You cannot tell what you ought to do or say. On neither hand is the way open and plain. The Word of God to you is, "Wait for the Lord."But it seems to you, that the answer must be given now, at once. The question stands clamoring at your door and needs immediate decision. But no clamoring of any question, no pressure of friends for your decision, no impatience of your own heart for action - should he allowed to compel you to decide upon your course in the dark, or until the way is clear and the duty plain. God never requires us to walk in darkness, even for one single step. Therefore, inexorably refuse to answer any question or decide any matter - until you know what you are doing. Guess work and stumbling are never necessary. Wait for God. You are trying to go faster than He is moving. Wait until He comes up, and then the way will no longer lie in darkness.<div class="center-it mtb10">There is a bit of Scripture which says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." Psalms 37:23. Mark, it is our steps that He orders. He does not give us a map of the world with all our paths traced out upon it, so that we can see our whole course for years. He orders our steps. And that means that He will always show us one step - but it is the next step that He shows, not one a mile ahead. And this next step will always lie in the light, although the second step may yet be hidden in the darkness, and must be waited for. But the one step is the only one you need to take this moment.</div>You may think that you must answer some question or decide some matter immediately, even though it is all dark to you, and your answer or decision must be only a guess. Nay, wait for God. When He comes - you will be able to answer or decide clearly. If you compel yourself to make a decision in the dark, in uncertainty, it is not God's leading. You have decided too soon. Tomorrow or a few days or weeks hence - it may appear to you to have been a wrong decision - but then it will be too late to change it. Wait for the Lord.Another application of this lesson is with, reference to suffering wrongs at the hands of others. Naturally we all like to take care of our own rights. We start up quickly in self-defense when we are assailed, when anyone speaks against us or harms us in any way. But this is not the Christian way. The gospel of Christ leaves very small room for self - defense. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." "Do not take revenge, my friends." So runs the law of Christian life.What shall we do, then, when others defame us, or say false things of us, or seek to harm us? Two things: our simple duty, and then, wait for the Lord. Vindication is better left with Him. That is what this same Psalm teaches in verses 5 and 6: "Commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday." We may safely leave our name, our reputation, our character, in God's hands - when we are innocent of the things men charge against us. If we quietly go on with our work and our duty - God will take care that in the end vindication shall come.It is better usually that we should not meddle with the matter at all. Our impatience, our hurry to help God vindicate us, ofttimes only does harm. Be silent and wait for the Lord. We cannot go on without God; to do so is to walk in darkness. But if we would have God with us, we must wait for Him. We must wait for Him to work out His providences, until His purpose has been accomplished; meanwhile trusting Him and resting in His love. We must wait for Him to come to our relief, when we are in circumstances of trial and perplexity. We must wait for Him to answer our prayers, not losing heart because He sometimes delays. We must wait for Him in our work for others, in trying to help them, lest in our eagerness we hasten the processes of His will - and stunt or mar or destroy that which with patience would have been beautiful. We must wait for God in every step of our life.Peace comes in waiting for God. It is our restlessness that makes life so painful for many of us. "Does your limb hurt you severely?" asked one of a friend who lay with a broken leg. "Not when I keep still," was the answer. If we would keep still when trial is upon us, and be silent to God - we would have power.It is a lesson of hope, too, as well as of faith. The things that perplex and try us, are God's unfinished works. When they are finished, there will be no confusion, no evil, no hurt in them. Bear the pain now - for pain is God's way to health. Accept the cross now - for the cross is God's way to the crown. Endure the plowshare that drives now through your field - for it is God's way to a golden harvest. Be patient with the slowness of Providence, for God works for eternal years. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. The finished work by and by, will explain all that is now dark and hard and slow .

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Psalms 37:7

Waiting for God

When his Son was on the earth, clothing humanity with a perfection it had not known since it had forfeited paradise, the beautiful spectacle attracted the regard of God, and nothing would do but that he should send his voice down into the ranks of men exclaiming, " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." When Christ was about to depart out of the world, he took steps to have this pleased regard of the Father continue towards those whom he was to leave behind, even to his disciples of all future time. He offered up the prayer, " That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. For I am no more in the world, but they are in the world; and I am glorified in them." The Father could not resist these arguments. And so the Lord delighteth in the way of the good man, of him whose steps are ordered by him, and who follows in the footsteps of Christ. For he only is a good man in the estimation of heaven, whose steps are ordered by the Lord, who is led by the Spirit of God, to whom the word of God is a lamp.

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way." - Psalms 37:23. 

A good man is one whose steps are ordered by the Lord. Having come to the conclusion that there is none good but God, he has sought such an alliance with God as secures to him the benefit of the divine goodness. A good man is one in whom you can behold the goodness of the Lord. To the world's apprehension a good man is one who is able to order his steps aright, able of himself to know and to pursue the best path. This is a fundamental error; and religion can only begin with its overthrow. God has a book in which is written the ideal history of every man; the biography as it would have been had the man's steps been ordered by the Lord; and another in which is written the actual history of every man. The books are open side by side, and what a contrast do they present. " Oh that they had hearkened to my commandments! " saith the Lord; nor is it possible for any one to look upon these two records without taking up the lamentation. What a hallowed and beautiful path is traced in the one; what honorable conflicts and glorious victories; what nobleness of enterprise, what steadfastness under difficulties, what beneficence, what usefulness! What a sublime romance! What genuine heroism! What a utilization of the man's faculties! What wealth of influence poured around! In comparison with this divine romance, behold the actual life portrayed in the other book. How mean! how contemptible! how disordered! What fearful confusion! What awful plunges into vanity! What wild pursuit of phantoms! What Herculean strife with windmills! What a waste of faculties! What blundering even in the matter of doing good! What shipwreck of unpiloted affections! What torment of unintelligible aspirations! Suppose the book of your ideal biography should drop from heaven upon your path. You, with your worldly and gross heart, take it up and look into it; at first seeing a good deal about tribulation, privation, persecution, bonds, defamation, poverty, and tears, you are ready to throw it away. But stay, my friend; it is from heaven; see if there be not something precious coupled with these expressions. At one end of a sentence you find, " they that mourn," " poor in spirit," " they that are persecuted," "through much tribulation;" but what at the other end? "Joy," "blessedness," "kingdom of heaven." Remember the disordered steps of your past life. See how much misery you have experienced, even in the path of your own gratification. How unsatisfactory is the retrospect. Are you not willing to live the life that God has sketched for you? Take this book and live this life; and your biography will be a valuable contribution to the libraries of heaven. Angels will read it and find in it all the elements of beauty, nobleness, sublimity. This, your ideal life, is written in the Gospel. May God help you to see it there, and to give it actuality in what remains of your mortal term.

" The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way." -  Psalms 37:23. 

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalms 37:23

 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Psalms 37:23 KJV

Psalms 37:23 KJV

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