This Psalm deals with the age-old question “Why do the ungodly prosper while the godly painfully struggle through life?” Let’s get real today, the prosperity of sinners, and the distresses of good men sometimes makes us mad. You follow God, and nothing seems to be working out for you, your co-work don’t do their job, as a matter of fact, they complain and they get a promotion.

Your neighbor brags to you about how he cheats on his taxes each year. His home is full of the best furniture and appliances. He has two new cars and all the latest toys. They vacationed in Hawaii last year. You are honest and pay your taxes. You give faithfully to the church. If you would try to give the furniture in your home Goodwill would reject it. Your one clunker of a car has over 100,000 miles. And the closest thing to vacation that you could afford last year was to take your family downtown to the park. Irritating, isn’t it?

You’re single and trying to follow the Lord. You will only date Christian guys. Your last date was ten years ago. The girl next door has no moral standards and she’s got good-looking guys lining up to see her. Irritating, isn’t it?

You have been preaching and teaching the Word of God, and no one is listening, but the preacher down the street, on the radio, and T.V, isn’t talking about nothing, but everyone is running to hear him.

Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t pay to be good! When the wicked prosper and the good suffer, you can be tempted to doubt God, especially if you are doing with is right! If you’re not careful to cultivate the right perspective, you can be tempted to say “Forget it!” and join the evildoers. The success of evildoers troubled David a great deal. It is a subject that is dealt with in Psalm 73 and one that is presented elsewhere in the Old Testament. Why do the godless people seem to prosper?

David concluded, as Asaph did in Psalm 73, that someday the wicked would be cut down just like the grass. Many years ago, when I was working for the Alabama Department of Correction, someone told me, they could not understand why God would permit Hitler to do the things he did. Why he almost won World War II. Why would God permit a man like Mussolini to do some of the things he did? But where are these men today? Just give God time. He will deal with the wicked. It is the end of the ungodly that we need to consider.

The wealth of sinners, and the distresses of good men, have been in all ages a stumbling block even to the faithful. The prophet Jeremiah puts this down as an unquestionable conclusion, that God is righteous; In Jeremiah 12: 1 Jeremiah says Righteous are you, O LORD when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are deceitful prosper?

If it disturbs you when you look around today and see the wicked prospering, there are several things you can do to solve your problem. One is to remember not to fret over evildoers, for they are temporary, and will fade quickly like grass under the hot sun (verses 1-2) Here-today-gone today, beloved people are unmoved to the briefness of life and the reality of God’s wrath. People pass away like plants under the hot breath of an east wind, James used this illustration to teach the folly of trusting in material wealth (James 1:10-11). Peter used it to illustrate the passing nature of everything related to humanity (1Peter 1:24-25).

Psalm 37 is a psalm of instructions, and these are the instructions for God’s people, in these last days of trouble.

First, do not fret yourself, (verses 1-2) Listen, it is a common thing for the righteous to fret or be envious of the wicked. The words ‘do not fret’ plainly mean ‘do not get heated, ‘Don’t get all worked up. ‘You remember the commercial that said “never let them see you sweat” Brother and sis