Psalms 37:29

“The Eternal Inheritance”

Psalms 37:29, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.’’ Psalms chapter 37 is a Psalms which teaches about how desirable it is to pick up your cross and to follow Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again the 3^rd day. God is love and loves judgment. Judgment can mean justice. And judgment can mean to discern between right and wrong. Judgment means to punish the wrong doers and to reward the righteous.

It is no wonder Psalms 37 is a Psalm which shows the contrast between those that live for themselves and those that do not. Man is a sinner and by nature very selfish. There is nothing wrong with being rich. There is nothing wrong with gaining materially as long as you do not do it in a way where you take advantage of others and cause them suffering. There is something wrong with seeking the things of this life above seeking the will of God however.

In speaking about the judgment of God and the God who loves judgment we have to the word inherit. The word inherit is used 4 times in Psalms 37. In the Bible the word inheritance is a great word because it is associated with great promises giving by Jesus, the almighty king of kings, the one true living God, who always keeps his promises.

Consider these verses in the Bible that use the word inheritance. Ephesians 1:18, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.’’ Ephesians 5:5, “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.’’ Colossians 3:24, “Knowing that of the LORD ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the LORD Christ.’’ Hebrews 9:15 “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.’’

When the Bible talks about the inheritance sometimes it is referring to the promise of God given to Abraham regarding the land of Israel. God always keeps his promises. This is why we know that one day God will fulfill the promise given to Abraham and to Israel and to the Jews regarding the Promised Land in the Middle East. This also why Jesus is called the faithful witness. Jesus keeps his promises. If you look at what is going on in the world today you will see a great amount of hatred against both Christians and Jews. In the 1930s and 1940’s Hitler rose to power. Hitler is an example of what the anti-Christ will be like. When he rose to power he did everything in his power to try and exterminate Jews and Christians. He killed millions of them. But he failed to exterminate the Christians and the Jews because God keeps his promises. And as it says in Psalms 37:28, “For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever.’’

If you look at the 7 year period of the time of World War 2 you will see that it is great example of what the 7 year tribulation will be like except the time of the tribulation will be much worse because the judgment of God will be upon all nations. The faithfulness of God in keeping his promises to Israel is a great witness and a great testimony to the world of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness. Jesus keeps his promises. There is no testimony like the testimony of the spotless Lamb of God who became sin for us that we might obtain the righteousness of God. To the righteous, who have righteousness through faith in Christ there is a more important inheritance than that of land. If we are wise, that is the reason we can seek the things of God more than we seek the things of this world. This world is going to pass away and God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth one never touched by sin. This is the land that the children of God will inherit for eternity. This is why Psalms 37 is such a great Psalms. Psalms 37:1 says, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.’’

God is love. God loves judgment. When you think of judgment think of the inheritance of all spiritual blessings in heavenly places that God has reserved for his children. This is why in verse 29 it says of those who receive the inheritance that they shall “dwell therein forever.’’

Most men desire to own their own land and their own home. This is the American dream and the dream of many others in the world to have their own home and own land. Sometimes you even inherit home and land from family when they pass away. But the things of this world are uncertain. Sometimes men lose the inheritance that their family would give them. This is why the inheritance of God is such a great blessing because it cannot be lost or taken away and it lasts for all eternity. How often men and kingdoms fight amongst each other for land and home. God promises an eternal inheritance in heaven for His children; those who turn from their sins to Jesus, This is why Ephesians 1:18 is such a great verse in the Bible. Ephesians 1:18 says, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.’’ The saints of God are God’s inheritance. God is giving to His saints because God is love and God love’s judgment. The judgment of God has made those that repent of their sins and turn to Christ of the Jews a joint heir with Christ.

Psalms chapter 37 warns the Christian do not become angry at the people of this world when they prosper in their wickedness. You may be persecuted. You may be cast down. You may be tortured. You may be slandered and mocked. You may even lose your physical possessions. But a Christian can never lose the eternal inheritance. The world needs a testimony so that it can see its own sinfulness. There is no testimony like the testimony of Jesus of the Jews who died on the cross 2000 years ago and rose from the grave. Jesus is faithful witness. Jesus keeps his promises. Jesus will keep his promises to Israel. And Jesus will keep his promises to all Christians.

It is no wonder Psalms 37 says delight in the LORD. Commit thy way unto him. The word commit speaks of the resurrection of Christ because it is a word that refers to the rolling away of a stone. When Jesus rolled away the stone and rose from the grave he defeated death. Those who trust in Him become a join heir with Christ, a joint-heir of the resurrection from the dead.

Psalms 37:30-31, “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God his in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.’’ Once again we see the word judgment used. God loves judgment. Judgment means to do justly. It means to discern between right and wrong and to do what is right. For God judgment can mean handing out consequence and reward. What a man sows he also reaps. This is why the righteous (who are righteous because they have the righteousness of Christ by grace through faith and not of works) speak of judgment. The righteous know that God loves judgment and therefore they speak of judgment. It is good to talk about the judgment of God. The world needs to hear the message of the judgment of God. There is judgment for sin. You can escape the eternal judgment for sin through Jesus. Knowing that judgment is justice and knowing that God loves judgment makes the eternal inheritance that is gained at salvation an even more amazing truth. It truly is amazing grace that God who loves judgment judged his only begotten son on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world.

Oh to see the judgment of God and to see it at the cross. And to see the inheritance of eternity that is given to those that turn to Jesus for judgment. Perhaps this is why judgment and wisdom are mentioned together in these verses. Most men in the world fail to use good judgment in their decisions in life and most judges in the world fail to judge justly. But there is a righteous judge. His name is Jesus Christ. He was judged for the sins of the world that those who repent of their sins might receive eternal life and an eternal inheritance. Psalms 37:30-31, “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God his in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.’’

Notice also that the word judgment is mentioned in connection with the law of God. The word of God, the Bible, is the law of God. This is where justice is found. The farther you stray from the teachings of the Bible the greater will be your lack of judgment or the worse will be your judgment when you judge. Judgment, wisdom, justice, and truth are found in the law of God. This is why the righteous keep the law of God in their hearts.

Psalms 37:31, “The law of his God his in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.’’ How important the word of God is. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It says in the book of Isaiah 39:8, “Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, good is the word of the LORD.’’ Good is the word of the LORD. Through it we can have faith in the judgment of God because God loves judgment. And the judgment of God reveals that Christ suffered on the cross for the sins of the world. Those who repent of their sins and turn to Jesus will receive an inheritance for all eternity. God loves judgment. God is the Word of the LORD. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus.

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