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1 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. 12 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. 14The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. 15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. 16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; 17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The blameless spend their days under the LORD's care, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. 20 But the wicked will perish: Though the LORD's enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke. 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; 22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. 23 The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. 25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. 27 Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. 28 For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c]; the offspring of the wicked will perish. 29 The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. 30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. 31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. 32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death; 33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial. 34 Hope in the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. 35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, 36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. 37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. 38 But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked. 39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Trying to trace backwards is a popular today in finding the roots. Going back to Noah's ark, of whom that made it through could any of us be descended from? This is a fun thing but also something that many people take quite seriously. This psalm speaks of the inheritance and its importance and how it needs to be found, followed and adhered to all the way along the road of days upon days. The inheritance is spoken of in this psalm, as more of a real time in the day inheritance, like welcoming the appearance of manna in the desert, where as a matter of faith practice one individual can be turning towards the inheritance or away from the inheritance just as one person can turn towards the presence of the sun or away from the presence of the sun The Prodigal Son, had turned away from the inheritance as he squandered itby his increasing distance from his spiritual home,, but still had the option or the road back in the here and now, and he made his way back when he came to his senses. This story did have a happy ending and the Lord is the giver of all true happy endings, and truly the ending was happy for all concerned as it says elsewhere in the gospels that there is rejoicing in heaven for the return of even one lost soul. This rejoiced though also stamps to the significance of how important it is for the lost sould to make it back to its true home, possibly before it really is too late. But today may be the day as tomorrow is not guaranteed and it says in Scripture, "If today you heard my voice, harden not your heart." Jonah was an example of someone who briefly hardened his heart in the day as per the task of the Lord for him and the voice he did here. The Lord did work with him, in spectacular fashion and it can be this way as well. It might not be just a whisper. Hebrews 11.8 says By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. There was here an example of a step out in faith on the part of Abraham. In that day and age, there was not the vast sway of information that we have now in terms of place but even today people are lacking in information as to what precisely the future holds and what will in fact unfold whether they do this or that. This in fact points to the centrality of faith, in that the voice of the Lord, given within the day itself, is the primary votive and from there things will branch out in some way. The first and primary thing to figure upon is the presence and voice of the Lord and this is the presence of the inheritance that is already there. From this psalm the inheritance is pictured as real time in effect and the benefits of being in and staying with the inheritance are spelled out in this psalm. It is not only better to err on the safe side, but it is better to be on the side of the inheritance early on, rather than waiting for that unknown horizon and uncertain tomorrow and the turn can be made to the inheritance in the here and now for all who believe and come forth in belief. The inheritance, from this psalm is contingent on being turned to the presence of the Lord and away from the devices of wickedness. And this psalm signifies that you can turn away out of freedom from the inheritance. The wicked can flourish profoundly as it says in this psalm, but that does not mean they are in the inheritance. It is not that easy or automatic to say that because one is flourishing, prospering, living is ease and abundance right now that they are in the inheritance of the Lord. This psalm is a cautionary tale as many seem to say follow the glitter, the gold, the money and wolves in fact can be in sheep's attire and indeed there is the need to be wise as serpents and be on guard and watch in prayer and fasting with an eye towards ongoing discernment. Today, there may be for example organizations, corporations, situations that are profoundly on the side of wealth, seeming success and riches but are on the wrong side of the inheritance, and while it is not automatic that by working with them or for them you are in full concert with what might be on the wrong side of the inheritance, there could be a greater possibility or danger of this if you are on what this ultimately sinking ship whose most immediate appearance suggests otherwise. It says in the epistles to discern the spirits and discernment is necessary. The inheritance is found and maintained with faith but it is an active living faith that has real applications and consequences on an ongoing basis. You are either turning towards and in the inheritance or you are turning or tuned away from the inheritance and there is no in between. First and foremost we are on a spiritual journey and should therefore be on a spiritual watch. And we are by nature also involved with the material which lends into the spiritual and the material carries importance as well. The dividing lines put out there and subscribed to in any given or in this day and age created by man may not match up with the inheritance and this psalm continually points out that many characterized as wicked were on a path of luxury and erroneously presumed taht settled things for them for all time. . If I have a house on the hill, a boat in the water, I may be or I may not be operating within the inheritance. Finding yourself in a lap of luxury is not enough to say that you are in the inheritance of the Lord and neither would poverty be that case for being in the inheritance either. The key is not to be on the side of wickedness and there is often if not always the case that some who are holding on to positions of power, prestige and maybe wealth are still in the deepest of trouble in the spiritual sense if they are leveraging this means as devices for evil and wickedness. But, there is the need to take heed and be careful, and not end up outside the inheritance as depicted in the ending chapters of the book of Revelation where some where outside looking in at the city of God and no longer able to make that turnaround, as they had already sealed their fate. The Lord will champion the individual within the inheritance and any guidance the believer does get whether is is strong guidance of gentle guidance is along the lines of the inheritance.. It admonishes here and in proverbs that there may be forks in the road where riches can be had only by stepping out of the inheritance and no matter what you are better off not doing this. In other words there are very nearly opportunties to sell out and compromise the inheritance for seeming worldly gain amd this would be considered temptations. The inheritance is to be in and to stay in the fold of the Good Sheperd. Verses 4 and 5 say, 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. This strongly relates to perhaps the most famous psalm , psalm 23, where it says that the Lord is my Sheperd I shall not want. Here is says safe pasture, in psalm 23 it says green pasture. There is individualist at play here, because within this safe and green pasture the Lord can and may give you the desires of your heart, which of course can vary a bit from individual to indvidual even within the more universal desires, I might want to be a movie star, you might want to be a hockey player and green pasture can be provided for both. What the Lord is saying here in this psalm, is that green pasture, safe pasture can be provided and maintained for your hearts desire, so that it can take root and roam the pastures safely and with aliveness. The Lord as Sheperd of your soul has the verdant pastures to your heart desires, he has the ticket to the game or concert that you may want to see. As it continually mentions in this psalm, the Lord is the source within the inheritance and highlighted in verse 29 he is the stronghold in the time of trouble. The lurking shadows on the inheritance of the wickness out there, the ways of the wicked which can spoil things for you to start with and potentially begin to cause you to cast aside the inheritance for in the initial false glow that the way of the wicked can often present. Verse 34 says to exalt in the Lord and keep his way, he will exalt and this is an admonition to find and stay with the ways of the Lord and to keep within the inheritance. Your first atempt and primary attempt is to keep the Lord and his ways foremost and their will be help provided for you and for any weaknesses you may have that are making it difficult for you to keep the focus on the Lord. The Prodigal Son was draped with all sorts of issues but he still had enough left to make the comback and take the road back and perhaps angels were with him as his troubles mounted within his continual straying. Verse 31 says, 1 The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. It is nearly impossible that anyone would not slip up at least somewhat but this verse is telling of just how abudant the gifts and presence of the Lord can be when his favor does rest upon an individual, a group, or a land. The inner man is very important and you keep within the inheritance within the turning of your inner person to the ways of the Lord and the Lord will give you the ground to walk on that is not slippery, narrow and hard to maneuver with. The inheritance is freely chosen. It says 23 The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; As you move away from delighting in the Lord, you are moving away from the inheritance. If you are moving towards delighting in the Lord you are moving into the inheritance The invitation to delight in the Lord goes further than just say worship and has connotations of a close, relationship of the heart and soul, that can be deep and profound as it says in the Song of Solomon to drink deep of love. In the sketch of all that is out there, nothing is guaranteed and only the Lord will make firm the stops and bring those wavy outlines and wavy plans, into something that is firmed up, and worked out and out in the fields of true life, of green and verdant safe pastures.. The Lord will make a way, within the context of the individual turning towards him, delighting in him and therefore staying within the inheritance which is depicted here as a joyful exchange between the Lord and the individual soul, a true one to one relationship. 18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord's care, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty There is a need to check in on the inheritance on a daily basis and this is something to seek and ask for specifically in prayer that the Lord help you and guide you in the inheritance within the day. On any given day, you could be straying from the inheritance and it is importance to keep on a daily watch of prayer, and thanksgiving to the Lord As pointed out in this psalm within the inheritance there is protection from being railroaded by the wicked man or the devil. And this protection is directly from the Lord, in whom you are delighting so the relationship is quite direct and there is no go between separating you. There are contrasting elements out there, possible disasters and famine. Joseph in Genesis was within the inheritance although at first it seemed like he was a castoff but the time of famine showed where he was in the relationship with the Lord and in the Lord's eyes and he made firm Joseph's steps including the heartfelt reunion with his brothers Two linchpins of the inheritance are peace and prosperity. . 1 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity Ask the Lord for any given issue, decision or circumstance that you are praying about to bring in peace and prosperity within this area of concern. You don't know quite what to ask for and part of prayer is maintaining openness to the mysterious ways of the Lord but you can qualify anything you are praying about with a request for peace within it and prosperity within it. and by prosperity we are not talk aboiut the relatively narrow venue of money per se but the lavishness of the Lord's abundance graces which can include things like angels. How that might manifest and be is up to the Lord, he is the one firming up the steps, answering you in his ways not necessarily your ways, but a lack of peace and a lack of prosperity can at times be indicators that you are not in the ways of the Lord for you and the inheritance for you. In the model of discernment presented by St. Ignatius, the presence of peace is important within the consolations and or desolations that might be found in the discerning process. The intellect is involved with all facets of intelligence, and wisdom. The outward reach of the inheritance includes praying for others and seeking the welfare of others and too much self focus, absorption even within prayer itself might be erroneous to a degree and there is the need to keep some outward focus in your prayer life encircling into the presence of others in need. Joseph, and his ministry in the great famine was outward and towards the needs of the famished and there are those who are spiritually famished as well who need to be uplifted in the manner of intercessions and intercessory prayer is an important matter in the inheritance. Specifically there is a call to wisdom, Joseph was noted for his wisdom and there is no need to dumb down. 30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. Daniel was considered a great and wise judge who had situations where he could have bridged away from the inheritance but he held his ground and the Lord sent angels to rescue him from the lions den. Some of the stuff the Lord might send your way could be like a rescue, something just in the nick of time as it was for Daniel in the lions den. Seek to keep all spheres on the side of the inheritance, work efforts, new pursuits, leisure, talents, gifts, imagination, adventures and ventures all can be experienced and at the same time kept on the side of the inheritance. People do sometimes take a walk on the wild side but even if you do this stay within the inheritance of keeping your heart and mind tuned into the presence of the Lrod and his inheritance.l Lots of things are put out there in this day and age as the way to go, the way to be, but the way to go and the way to be is the inheritance and that is the dividing line first and foremost. The words of the prophet Micah, "To act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God" (6:8), relate to this psalm as the walk and turn is to and with the Lord and his inheritance in this day, this time, this hour.
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