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Psa 37:33 – “The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.”
- God will not leave the righteous in the hand of the wicked.
- Jesus Christ is the prime example of this.
- God delivered Jesus from the hands of the wicked when they attempted to take Him in their hands (Luk 4:29-30; Joh 8:59; Joh 10:31, 39).
- Once the devil thought that he finally had Jesus for good, God raised Him from the dead and delivered Him out his hand (Act 13:27-30; Act 2:23-24; Rom 6:9).
- Paul is a good example of this.
- God delivered Paul out of the hand of the wicked many times (Act 9:23-25; Act 14:4-6; Act 14:19-20; Act 16:19-24, 35-39; Act 18:12-16; Act 20:3; Act 21:27-35; Act 22:22-30; Act 23:10; Act 23:12-24; 2Ti 3:11).
- Paul trusted in God that He would not leave him in their hands, but would deliver him as He had in the past (2Co 1:8-10; 2Ti 4:16-18).
iii. Peter was an example of this.
- God delivered Peter out of the hand of the wicked many times (Act 4:1-3, 13-21; Act 5:17-20; Act 5:25-42; Act 12:1-11).
- Peter learned that when he suffered at the hands of men to commit the keeping of his soul to his faithful Creator (1Pe 4:19).
- As it was with Jesus, Paul, and Peter, God will deliver us from the hand of the wicked when He chooses to.
- As it was with them, God will also sometimes allow us to be taken by wicked men and even killed by them.
- But even then, God will not leave us in their hand, but will deliver us from them and take us to heaven to be with Him (Act 2:36; 2Ti 4:6-8; 2Pe 1:14 c/w Joh 21:18-19).
- God will not condemn the righteous when he is judged by the wicked, but will instead take the side of the righteous and condemn the wicked (Psa 37:12-15).
Psa 37:34 – “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
- Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land (see notes on Psa 37:9).
- When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
- The wicked will be cut off: see notes on Psa 37:9 and Psa 37:28.
- The righteous will see their fall (Pro 29:16; Isa 66:24).
Psa 37:35 – “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.”
- The wicked get in positions of great power because it is in their nature to keep grabbing more power and control.
- The eyes of man are never satisfied (Pro 27:20; Ecc 1:8).
- With power comes money, which they can also not get enough of (Ecc 5:10).
iii. Just as “the fire that saith not, It is enough” (Pro 30:15-16), so are those in great power.
- Haman had great power, but could not be satisfied until Mordecai was subject unto him (Est 5:11-13).
- The spread themselves like a green bay tree.
- Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the empire of Babylon, was pictured as a tree that spread forth its limbs for all the birds to lodge in (Dan 4:19-22).
- Babylon was condemned for its insatiable desire to heap up all nations unto itself (Hab 2:5).
iii. The armies of the Chaldeans spread themselves as they conquered (Hab 1:8).
- “Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing.” (Matthew Henry)
Psa 37:36 – “Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”
- Despite the fact that the wicked attain great power and expand their control, they still die.
- At that time, people will look for them and not find them (see notes on Psa 37:10).
- This is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar who was as a great tree spreading himself before God cut him down (Dan 4:22-25).
- Consider wicked Jezebel who was in great power and yet was cut down and could not be found because the dogs ate her (2Ki 9:30-37).
iii. Consider Adolf Hitler who spread himself and was cut down never to be found by those who sought him.