The Ohio Independent Baptist, June/July 1971

snlm nub l\ nem By Ralph T. Nordlund (Read Psalm XXXVII in your Bible first) Fret not \\ hen e,·il doers prosper nd bring their elfi h schemes to pass; Like 111eadow flower they shall perish, nd \\itther like the mown grass. Trt1 t in the Lord - do good! And 1 ou -will have your livelihood. Delight in God and seek His blessings, nd He hall grant your heart's desire; Con1n1it your worries to His wisdom, And He will solve them . . . and inspire. T rt1 t in the Lord - do good! And you will have your livelihood. Re t in the Lord and cease from anger, Keep silent when aroused to wrath; It is the meek who shall inherit The earth and all the wea]th it hath. Trust in the Lord - do good! And you will have your livelihood. time to the study of the psalm itself, and to take all of its comforting truths to heart. How we all need to do that! Even conservative scholars wonder whether this is one of David's psalms. It does not sound like his personal, emotional effusions. It is didactic, and so like psalms Forty-nine and Seventy-three, that we wonder if Korab or Asaph might have written it. The headings to our psalms were added later by uninspired Jewish scholars, and so we dare to disagree on good evidence, so long as we staunchly believe the Holy Spirit inspired the real text and agree that_ all of the psalms, and certainly this one, are relevant to our age. In fact, if our age is more money and power mad, is not this psalm that much more relevant to us? Our brief poem only epitomizes the main thesis of Psalm Thirty-seven that it is foolish for heirs of an eternal kingdom to envy sinners who prosper in time. We were encotiraged in this brevity by the fact the old Scotch paraphrase cut down the forty verses of the psalm to thirty-three stanzas! Also, our brevity should give more For those who prefer to consider the old Jewish rabbis correct, we will agree they lived 2 500 years closer to the original, and that David was versatile enough to have written this poetic sermon-all the more since he was inspired. We would rather agree with the old Jews who were tempted to credit David with too much glory, than with modern critics who try to take almost all of it away. He would never have been called "the sweet singer of Israel' if he had not written most of the psalms ascribed to him. The important matter for us now is not the human author, but the truth of the divine promise that if we ' 'trust in the Lord and do good, we shall have our livelihood." We shall have more, for our "inheritance shall be forever." 16 INCLUDE A CONFERENCE IN YOUR PLANS! This Summer • • • Vacation • ,n Clarks Summit # 1 - PASTORS ' CONFERENCE for pastors and wives. Five full days FREE #2 - TEEN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE* for sharp, dedicated high school iuniors and seniors who want Christian leadership training . #3 - YOUTH MINISTERS ' & YOUTH SPONSORS ' CONFERENCE* for teen workers and wives . Enhance your effectiveness by joining other youth workers in a refreshing, challenging week of study and sharing . *There is a fee for these conferences. Send coupon for informatio n. Dept. 341 - 0 538 Venard Road • Clarks Summit, Pa. 18411 Please send summer conference information to: Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- Address City _________ State__Zip--- JUNE-JULY, 1971 THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST