“Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”
~~Psalm 37:3~~

So last time, we looked at two out of the FOUR DIRECTIVES found in Psalm 37:3.  Today let’s explore the last two.

Trust in the Lord
Do good
DWELL IN THE LAND
CULTIVATE FAITHFULNESS

DWELL IN THE LAND

The Hebrew word for dwell <shakan> means to let oneself settle down and abide; to inhabit; to repose quietly.

PAUSE TO PONDER the huge impact of the little work “let”.  “To let oneself” indicates that the actions of settling down, abiding, inhabiting, and quietly reposing don’t just happen naturally.  I have to CHOOSE to do them.  So if I have to choose to “let” or allow these to occur, then there must be something within me that causes resistance to <shakan>. Wow…

The word settle means to come to rest; to become fixed, resolved, or established;  to become quiet or orderly.  Ok, my mind is going almost faster than my chubby little fingers can type!  Haha

• “To come to rest” — Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” BAM!
• “To become established ” — Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
• “To become quiet or orderly” — 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace… “
• “To take up an ordered or stable life” — Matthew 7:24-27 “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods, can, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The word abide means to remain stable or fixed in a state : to continue in a place; and the word “inhabit” means to occupy as a place of settled residence or habitat : live in : to be present in or occupy in any manner or form.

PAUSE TO PONDER the phrase “to be present”.  How often are we present in a room without really being mentally present in that room.  Our minds must “be present” to experience the rest that God provides.  He is here with us, in this moment; but are we present enough in this moment to see Him and experience His peace?  Or are we going through the motions of reading this, all the while our minds are racing ahead to what we have to accomplish when we get up from this chair?  Wow…and ouch.

To “repose quietly” indicates a state of resting after exertion or strain : a place of rest : composure of manner.  Life is hard.  Life is hectic.  Life is stressful.  Life is taxing.  Life is draining.  BUT GOD offers a place where, after the doing of life’s challenges, we can find soul rest.  And who doesn’t need soul rest, huh?

When it comes to “dwell in the land”, I really like what Spurgeon wrote.

“So shalt thou dwell in the land.” In “the land” which floweth with milk and honey; the Canaan of the covenant. Thou shalt not wander in the wilderness of murmuring, but abide in the promised land of content and rest. “We who have believed do enter into rest.”

I don’t know about you, but I personally want the rest and contentment that comes with choosing to <shakan> – choosing to have my heart and mind present in the land of peace and contentment that Jesus paid so dearly to obtain for me.  To do this I have to consciously and consistently take captive any thoughts that threaten the “presentness” of a mind that is focused on God’s truth.

PAUSE TO PONDER.  To dwell in the land, in a way that pleases God, would be not to be rocked by all the current affairs of this world, but instead to refocus and redirect my mind toward God and toward doing the things that God would have me do while here in this world.  Be at peace.  Be actively good.  Show kindness.  Be genuine.  Be honest.  And that leads nicely in the last of the four directives of Psalm 37:3

CULTIVATE FAITHFULNESS

In the Hebrew language, cultivate <ra`ah> means to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze a flock so they can seek after food.

PAUSE TO PONDER how “cultivate” can be applied to our thought life.  I must tend the “flock” of my thoughts – guiding them away from those temporal happenings that can steal my peace and toward the things of God and His truthful perspective on those happenings.  I must also give my mind good things to “graze” on, meditating on the Word of God.

Faithfulness <’emuwnah> literally means firmness.  It is often used figuratively to mean security; morally, fidelity.  A faithful person fulfills promises.

PAUSE TO PONDER.  When you take the word “cultivate” (the turning of your thoughts Godward) and faithfulness” (being a promise-keeper manward), it brings to mind what Jesus taught in Matthew 22:36-40 —

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments. 

LOVE GOD ~~~ LOVE PEOPLE