What Will Eternity Look Like For You: Hope or Hate? (Psalm 37:27-40)
GIST: Eternity will be defined by either hope or hate, but hope is offered to all who come to Jesus!
Today, we’re coming to the last sermon in our third summer in the psalms together. I know we’re not moving through these quickly ☺️, but it’s continued to be a blessing diving into them with you.
For the last three Sundays, we’ve been camping out in Psalm 37. It’s a psalm written by an older David reflecting on how to face the natural temptation to envy the lost who prosper in spite of their sin. He has reminded us to really consider their position, which should lead us to pray for their salvation rather than envy their temporary pleasures. He has also directed us to be deliberate about focusing our hearts on Jesus and intentional about throwing off anger. Last week, I told you the rest of the psalm focuses on having a Heavenly or grace-driven perspective and letting that shape how we live right now, and we looked at how we can live fully known and unashamed because of His amazing grace.
As David wraps up Psalm 37, he brings us to one of the central points of the gospel. Namely, that there are two eternal certainties: you will either experience incredible peace because you have placed your hope in Jesus, or you’ll experience what your natural heart wants— to hate and reject His grace while trying to do life your way. The latter will result in eternity apart from His love and surrounded by the wrath and punishment we all deserve—even though He came to rescue us from it! (Yes, I know there were some wordy sentences there ☺️.)
I tried dividing these last verses into categories, but the passage resists that as each section builds on the same driving truth. Therefore, as we have sometimes done in the past, we’re going to walk through the passage without any specific “points” but not without purpose ☺️. Instead, we’ll look at what each section is adding to this final picture. As David closes this psalm, he’s telling us not to envy the wicked but rather to have an eternal perspective. Here’s our gist: Eternity will be defined by either hope or hate, but hope is offered to all who come to Jesus!
Let’s just break down these verses a piece at a time. Look first at 27-29. “27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; He will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.”
This first section jumps straight into the contrast between those who are rescued from their sin and those who aren’t. Immediately, we see this position of provision and belonging for those who repent. We’re told to turn from evil and do good. See, the expectation isn’t just to somehow “stop sinning”, which you’ll never be able to do in your own strength anyway, but to allow our sinful natures to be supplanted by something new. We turn from sin as we turn to God. New natures result in new desires, so we’ll now want to “do good”, which is serving Him, seeking Him, and sharing Him. If you’re saved and living like you’re not, have you ever really repented? I’ll leave that one there for you ☺️.
The other side of this to notice is that dwelling with Him in the land is imagery that points to being in His presence and at the center of His will, and it is something eternally guaranteed for those who have been rescued by Him. That’s love. During my lunch breaks these past few weeks, I’ve been trying to get outside and walk around in some fresh air. After wearing a mask for hours on end, it’s nice to stretch my legs and take some full gulps of oxygen. I’ve also tried to use this time to put everything else aside and just pause and be with Jesus. Please don’t think I’m hyper-spiritual because of this. I’ve spent plenty of time struggling to keep my thoughts from wandering back to what I need to do when I get back in the building. Nonetheless, at one point this week, as I was thinking about these verses, I was really struck by God’s love. We talk about it. I talk about it... a lot. Yet, so often it stays there— just something we say. As I thought about how truly undeserving I am of that love and yet how fully His love extends to me, I was humbled. I want to remember that every day. I want you to, too.
Now, we can’t miss the flip side to this coin. Rejection has consequences. If we choose to run from His love, we will eventually get exactly what we live like we want. We’ll be cut off from His grace. Notice the family impact referenced here. It says the children of the wicked will be cut off. This doesn’t mean children are condemned because of their parents, but they are directly impacted by them. If you haven’t experienced God’s love, what will they grow up seeing? In fact, if you claim to have experienced His love but you don’t prioritize Him in your life, what legacy are you leaving for them? I wouldn’t trade the advantage I had in this area for anything! I grew up seeing parents who loved Jesus and trusted Him. I want every child to grow up with that hope on full display!
Let’s keep moving through. The next three verses point again to the difference salvation will have in our lives. Not only do we look forward to eternal stability, but we can have stability here because of our hearts being transformed and Jesus continuing to stand in the gap for us! “30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.” Why is righteousness coming from our lips? Because we’re filling our hearts with it! Guys, we have to dig into our Bibles. It’s not an optional part of the Christian life.
As we do this, our lives won’t always be peachy. These verses even say that the wicked will try to take us out, BUT our Father is standing with us still and won’t let us be condemned. He will rescue us in His time and in His way. That doesn’t mean we’ll win every earthly battle. Remember, being absent from these bodies is being present with the Lord, so death that seems so final and heart-wrenching to us, is the greatest of graces for those who belong to Jesus. You won’t always understand His grace, but you can trust it!
The next four verses then really hit the certainty of these two possible endings. “34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.” After reminding us to wait, to expect God to be God, we’re given a series of statements with a bunch of definite terminology. He will exalt the saints. We will see the wicked punished. In fact, David says he’d already seen it happen in his time on earth. The man of peace will have a future, but the sinner will be destroyed and cut off. These aren’t just two of a multitude of scenarios. These are the only two eternal options. Hope or hate. Peace or punishment.
The last two verses ice the cake. “39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in the 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.” Salvation is from the Lord. He does it. Jesus came and took Hell for you. He rose again to give you access to His Heaven, and He’ll cover you in His righteousness if you give Him control. Then, you’ll experience Him as your stronghold. Your strength. Your place of belonging and protection which will never fade. He will continue to help you by giving you guidance day-by-day, and deliver you from your sins as you take up your cross daily and follow Him.
Jesus is our hope now and forever if we come to Him! We can allow ourselves to be bogged down by the burdens of this world. We can live controlled by envy and anger as we watch the lives of those around us, or we can commit our lives to these truths and devote ourselves to sharing this hope with the world.
Ok, two quick→
TAKEAWAYS
Jesus came to offer you an eternity of hope.
Will you let Him rescue you or allow hate to rule over you forever? Oh, I know that sounds melodramatic. In fact, I struggled even writing it down because I didn’t want it to seem silly to our modern eyes. Yet, it’s true. Sin is selfish, and it drives you from hope. It causes you to despise what you need most and leads only to destruction—now and forever. If we remain enslaved here, we’ll be enslaved for all eternity by our own sins.
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