Psalm 36 (37)

Do not be envious of those who do evil,
Nor be jealous of those who work
Lawlessness;
For like grass they shall be dried up
Quickly,
And like green vegetables they shall
Swiftly wither.
Hope in the Lord, and work goodness;
Dwell in the land, and you shall be
Nurtured by its riches.
Delight in the Lord,
And He will give you the requests of
Your heart.
Reveal your way to the Lord,
And hope in Him; and He will do it.
He shall bring forth your
Righteousness as light,
And your judgement as the noonday sun.
Submit to the Lord, and supplicate Him;
Do not be envious of him who
Prospers in his way,
Nor of him who transgresses the law.
Cease from wrath and forsake anger;
Do not be envious so as to do evil;
Because evildoers will be destroyed,
But those who wait on the Lord, these
Shall inherit the earth.
For in a little while the sinner shall no
Longer be present,
And you will look for his place, but
Not find it.
But the gentle shall inherit the earth,
And they will delight in the fullness of peace.
The sinner will closely observe the just
Man
And gnash at him with his teeth.
But the Lord shall laugh at him,
Because He foresees his day will come.
The sinners draw the sword
And stretch their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay the upright in heart.
May their sword enter their heart,
And may their bows be shattered.
Better the little with the just man
Than the great riches of sinners;
For the arms of sinners shall be
Shattered,
But the Lord supports the righteous.
The Lord knows the ways of the
Blameless,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in an evil
Time,
And in days of famine they shall be
Filled.
But the sinners shall perish,
And the enemies of the Lord altogether,
When they glorify and exalt
Themselves;
Like smoke they shall vanish away.
The sinner borrows but will not repay;
However, the righteous man is
Compassionate, and gives;
For those who bless Him shall inherit
The earth,
But those who curse Him shall be
utterly destroyed.
The steps of a man are guided aright
By the Lord,
And he shall desire His way.
When he falls, he shall not be broken
To pieces,
For the Lord supports him with His
Hand.
I was young, but indeed I grew old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous
Forsaken,
Nor his seed begging bread.
Day in and out, he is merciful and
Lends,
And his seed shall be a blessing.
Turn away from evil, and do good,
And dwell unto ages of ages;
For the Lord loves judgment,
And He will not abandon His holy ones;
They shall be kept forever.
But the lawless shall be banished,
And the seed of the ungodly shall be
Utterly destroyed.
The righteous shall inherit the earth
And dwell upon it unto ages of ages.
The mouth of the righteous shall
Meditate on wisdom,
And his tongue shall speak of
Judgment;
The law of God is in his heart,
And his steps shall not be tripped up.
The sinner observes the righteous man
And seeks to put him to death;
But the Lord will not leave him in his
Hands,
Nor condemn him, when He judges
Him.
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the
Earth;
You shall see the sinners when they
Are utterly destroyed.
I saw the ungodly greatly exalted
And lifting himself up like the cedars
Of Lebanon;
And I passed by, and behold, he was
Not;
And I sought for him,
But his place was not found.
Keep innocence, and behold
Uprightness,
For this is the remnant for the peaceful
Man.
But transgressors shall be utterly
Destroyed together;
The remnants of the ungodly shall be
Utterly destroyed.
Now the salvation of the righteous is
From the Lord,
And He is their protector in time of affliction;
And the Lord shall help them, and
Deliver them;
And He shall deliver them from
Sinners,
And save them, because they hope in
Him.

Commentary from the Orthodox Study Bible

Ps 36 shows why the martyrs were willing to die: they were “looking for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” (Creed). The world to come is the theme throughout this psalm. Prior to their martyrdom, the martyrs lived a godly life in light of the new world. Therefore, they are the best examples to encourage God’s people to live the Christian life in the same anticipation of the world to come. But the ungodly shall not inherit the world.

Comments

Hard to follow a commentary like that! This psalm reminds me to hope in God and do good. He is our protector and we wait on Him. We are not to envy and definitely not sin out of envy, trying to one-up each other. Hope in God and do good. . .that is my goal for 2020. For every day, really.

Last Monday, the kids were picked up by their dad. Both Monday and Tuesday were pretty difficult for me. I started feeling better on Wednesday and then finally felt like myself on Thursday. By Friday, I was making plans to go to my favorite East Coast city to see a friend I hadn’t seen in a really long time. She was a wonderful hostess and I had a really good time (it reminded me of the joyous time I had with my friend Iany who generously hosted us in New York). Today, I also had a chance to see a friend I hadn’t talked to in a while, and it warmed my heart. The weather has been fantastic, and I went on a really long a walk with another friend. That felt good for mind, body, and soul. In addition, I actually finished a book yesterday and hope to finish another one today.

Looking back on this month, it definitely had some highs and lows. There were days when I felt absolutely nothing, like I was numb. There were other days, like when we caroled for different classes, that I felt really happy and grateful for my students and the people who support us. This has been an intense semester. I am grateful to my coworkers, especially Zaree. I am grateful for the tutors who help our students. And I am grateful to my parents and friends.

This period of time with no kids is interesting in the sense that I get to ask, what do I want to do? Who do I want to see? What do I want to listen to? What do I want to watch? What do I want to read? What do I want and what do I not want?

It feels really empowering. The reality is, working full time and being a single mom affords few opportunities to breathe. I am grateful to the people spending time with my kids now. I am grateful that I had a few trips this year that gave me time to take a bath and read a book. It sounds silly but I know a lot of people do not have that time. Thank you, God, for allowing me to rest. To relax. To think about what good I want to do and to meditate on letting go of habits that do not serve me or my family.

In 2020, I want to live with eyes wide open, to feel like I can make decisions that affect my life in a positive way. Is there a class I want to take for me? Not cuz someone suggested it but because I want to do it? What good can I do for my family that will help us grow closer and grow stronger so that we can weather any storm?

I feel like when the kids get back, we can sit down and talk about it together. What is working and what is not working? What good can each person do to help our family? One habit I want to break is watching a show together before we go to bed. I feel like I need to read to the kids. I used to read so much, you know, before I started working full-time 😂. Now I read to the kids who aren’t mine (I love them, but you know what I mean). Just like we all got in my bed to watch pbs kids at night, we can go back to reading one book a night, or one chapter a night. And on the days that I am really tired, one of the kids can read. My friend Julie gave me a gratitude journal, and we can fill that out together every night.

At school, I want the kids to feel like they can contribute something—both my own kids and my students. That’s why we have International Day—-to empower the English Learners to share about what they know so well. That’s why we created the first draft of a newcomer book in multiple languages—-to help the newcomers who will arrive this coming semester.

The next month is going to be tough with a lot of WIDA (English test) practice passages, but I am going to frame it as a chance to create a WIDA preparation book (I know they will roll their eyes, but at the same time, they know it’s meant to help them. If you can teach a certain skill or objective to your classmates, then you truly know it. Exit tickets can help inform my feedback to the “student teacher”).

We will also be sharing the folk tales from each native country to learn about the mores of each culture. I will be talking about Baba Yaga! Can’t wait!

Most importantly, I want to delight in the Lord, spend that time with God instead of dragging my tired butt across the finish line in my own strength. I want to put God first in my life, above Man (and Woman), above people who always, always want more thing. One more whatever. The thing is, if I don’t spend time with God and delight in Him, then my good work will be out of my own strength and will lead to resentment. I don’t want to resent the people I love so much ❤️ I want to have the strength for my yes to be yes and my no to be no. Out of wisdom and not frustration. Out of patience and not impulse. Out of love and not apathy. Help me put you first, Lord.

Well, I have managed to make my comments just as long as the super long psalm. Please know I so appreciate your prayers for us! May you accomplish all your hopes and dreams this year! Let’s hope in the Lord and do good together ♥️