Chapter 86
BELIEVING YOU SHALL RECEIVE
Matthew 21:18-22
Before we begin this study let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, as we go through Your Word please open our ears, our eyes and our heart so we can clearly understand what You are teaching us. Father God, we also ask that You not only enable us to hear and understand Your Word but also, through the power of the Holy Spirit, please move upon us to do and follow Your teaching.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
To begin this study let us read about the incident of Jesus and the fig tree. To do this we go to the theme of this study which is,
Matthew 21:18-22
[18] Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. [19] And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. [20] And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” [21] So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. [22] And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Let us notice the following verses,
21 … It must be pointed out that when Jesus said to have faith and do not doubt, He is not saying we are to have faith in our own power to bring about what we asked for. No! Jesus is saying we are to have faith in God that He will do it. To see this let us read this portion of the incident as it is recorded in,
Mark 11:20-22
[20] Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. [21] And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” [22] So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.
To keep us from falling into a self-serving false doctrine or into cultic visualization methods, such as “New Age Thinking”, we must be careful and proceed with great care in our prayer life.
To help us to remain true to God’s Word, we will:
1. See that God will hear and answer our prayers that are in His will.
2. Review two Old Testament examples of how the prophets and some of the Israelite kings prayed in God’s will.
3. Discover that for true born-again believers in Jesus Christ to pray in God’s will, they must abide in Christ and in His Word.
4. Read two examples of prayers that are within God’s will.
We begin by exploring the fact that,
WE ARE TO PRAY IN GOD’S WILL
To see this, let us read one of the major reasons why our prayers will not be answered. To do this we go to,
James 4:3
[3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
As you can see, the Bible does not support the “name it/claim it” teaching.
With this in mind let us now confirm that if we do pray in God’s will, we can be assured, and that God will indeed hear us and grant us our requests.
To see this let us read from,
1 John 5:14-15
[14] Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [15] And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
To amplify upon this truth let us explore,
TWO OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES
In the Old Testament we discover that: (1) God spoke directly to His prophets, (2) the prophets spoke God’s word to the people and (3) some of the Israelite kings knew God’s Word/promises that were recorded in the Scriptures.
To see this, we will first explore the example of,
THE PROPHET ELIJAH
To do this, we begin in the New Testament and read from,
James 5:17-18
[17] Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. [18] And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
The question arises as to: ”Were these prayers motivated by Elijah’s will and desires or were they in accordance with God’s will and desires?” To find out, let us first read the situation that existed under the reign of King Ahab.
1 Kings 16:30-33
[30] Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. [31] And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. [32] Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. [33] And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Let us notice the following verses,
31 … Not only did Ahab violate the law of marrying a woman who was not of the Israelite faith, but he also worshipped the false Canaanite god, Baal.
32 … By building a temple and altar to Baal, King Ahab had effectively enticed the people of Israel into the sin of idolatry.
33 … King Ahab’s actions were more grievous than the kings before him.
Under this state of affairs, the prophet Elijah went to Ahab and foretold there was going to be a three-year long drought. This is recorded in,
1 Kings 17:1
[1] And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
By saying he stood before God, Elijah was prophesying on God’s behalf.
As we continue to read about this incident, we find that God’s purpose for this drought was to get the attention of the people of Israel. He did this to not only bring His people, the Israelites, back to Him, but also to destroy the false prophets of Baal and false prophets of Asherah (a false female deity).
To see this, we begin by going to the time when the Lord told Elijah to return to Israel and read what God said as it is recorded in,
1 Kings 18:1
[1] And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
Notice, it was the Lord who told Elijah to go to King Ahab. In addition, the Lord told Elijah that He was going to send rain.
To read what transpired between Elijah and King Rehab we go to,
1 Kings 18:17-20
[17] Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” [18] And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. [19] Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” [20] So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
After everyone gathered on Mount Carmel, Elijah presented the following proposition to the people of Israel. To read what he said we go to,
1 Kings 18:21-24
[21] And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. [22] Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. [23] Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. [24] Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
In reading 1 Kings 18:25-29 we find that with all of the false prophets’ chanting, crying and the customary mutilations to Baal, fire did not come down.
In 1 Kings 18:30-35 it is recorded that Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord and made preparations for the evening sacrifice to God. To read what happened after the preparations were made, we go to,
1 Kings 18: 36-40
[36] And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. [37] Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” [38] Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” [40] And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
Let us notice the following verses,
36 … All that Elijah said and did were according to the Lord God’s Word.
37 … It was the Lord who turned the people’s hearts back to Himself.
38-39 … Fire came down from Heaven and consumed everything that was on and surrounded the Lord’s altar. Upon seeing this, the people repented and worshiped the Lord their God.
40 … All the prophets of Baal were then executed for their treachery.
After the return of the Israelites to their Lord and the execution of the false prophets, Elijah announced the drought was now over. This is recorded in,
1 Kings 18:41
[41] Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
Since, Elijah’s prayers and actions was in accordance with God’s will he placed his faith in God and believed He would keep His Word.
The second example is,
KING JEHOSHAPHAT’S PRAYER
Before we review Jehoshaphat’s prayer let us first read about the conditions or situation that led him to pray. To do this we go to,
2 Chronicles 20:1-4
[1] It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. [2] Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). [3] And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. [4] So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
With this situation in mind, let us now read Jehoshaphat’s prayer,
2 Chronicles 20:5-12
[5] Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, [6] and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? [7] Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? [8] And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, [9] ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ [10] And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—[11] here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. [12] O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
Let us notice the following verses,
5-6 … Jehoshaphat recalled and brought to mind who God really is. He remembered there is no power or might who could withstand Him.
7 … Jehoshaphat remembered that God Almighty had forever given them the land they were now dwelling in.
8-9 … Jehoshaphat believed if he and the people of Judah prayed before God’s Temple, God would save them from the impending destruction.
10-12 … At the conclusion of his prayer, Jehoshaphat gave the situation to God and placed it in His hands. This is a great example for us.
The question arises as to; “How could Jehoshaphat be so confident in his prayer?” The answer is he remembered the promise God gave to King Solomon after Solomon built and dedicated the Temple. To read this promise we go to,
2 Chronicles 7:12-16
[12] Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. [13] When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, [14] if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. [15] Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. [16] For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
As we consider the above Scripture, we come to realize this is exactly what King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah did. Thus, Jehoshaphat knew he was in God’s will and He would answer their prayer.
To read how God miraculously fulfilled His promise, let us first read the instructions God, through His prophet Jahaziel, gave to Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. God’s instructions are recorded in,
2 Chronicles 20:14-17
[14] Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. [15] And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. [16] Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. [17] You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
Let us notice the following verses,
15 … First of all, God said that the battle was not Judah’s but His.
17 … God also told King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah they did not need to fight this battle. Instead, they were to stand still and observe the salvation of the Lord.
Let us now return to the Old Testament and read what Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah did after they heard God’s instructions. To do this we go to,
2 Chronicles 20:18-21
[18] And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. [19] Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. [20] So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” [21] And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
As a side note this is also the same for us. Specifically, we should always pray, praise, and give thanks to God for saving us from our sins and the wiles or deceptions of the evil one.
Let us now read how God fulfilled His promise to do this we go to,
2 Chronicles 20:22-23
[22] Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. [23] For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
Thus, we find that King Jehoshaphat prayed in accordance with the promise God gave to His people. Consequently, Jehoshaphat had faith that God would keep His word and believed He would deliver them from their enemies.
We now come to,
THE APPLICATION FOR US
As we read the New Testament, we discover that for the true born-again Christians to pray within God’s will, knowing and believing He will hear us and answer our petitions,
WE ARE TO ABIDE IN CHRIST AND IN HIS WORD
In other words, the Bible teaches us that the born-again believers in Jesus Christ are to pray in His Name.
To see this, let us go to the time when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure or return to Heaven. The following excerpt is from the instructions Jesus gave to them.
John 16:22-24
[22] Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. [23] “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. [24] Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Let us notice the following verses,
22 … Jesus told His disciples that because He will be leaving, they have sorrow. However, He also told them He will see them again. In other words, in addition to His upcoming death, Jesus was also telling them about His resurrection.
23-24 … To pray in Jesus’ Name means we are to pray what Jesus desires not what we desire or want. As Jesus said, if we do this, that is pray in His name, God the Father will hear us and grant us our petition. Consequently, like Jehoshaphat, we are to have faith in God and believe He will hear and answer our prayer.
As we reflect upon this glorious promise one might ask; “How can I know Jesus’ will and desire?” The answer to this question is twofold.
First, we come to know Jesus’ will by spending time with Jesus through the reading of His Word. It is through His Word, the Bible, that God reveals His desires, commands and promises. Thus, as we quietly spend time with Him, allowing Him to teach us and speak to us through His Word, we come to know Him, His ways and His promises.
To see these truths let us read Jesus’ parable of the vine,
John 15:1-5
[1] ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Let us notice the following verses,
4-5 … As long as the branch of a vine remains in the vine, the sap of the vine will flow through it to bring forth its fruit. It is the same with us.”
As we, the branches remain in Jesus; the Holy Spirit will flow through us to bring forth His fruit.
The question arises; “How do I remain or be in Jesus Christ?” The Apostle Paul provides us the answer by providing us with a summary of his walk with the Lord. It is recorded in,
Galatians 2:20
[20] I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
In other words, we are to live our lives by faith in Jesus Christ so that, through the Holy Spirit, He will live His life in and through us.
Let us now return to the parable of the vine and read from,
John 15:6-8
[6] If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. [8] This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
Let us notice the following verses,
6 … Notice the serious consequence of not remaining in Jesus. As the Scripture says, we become a dried-up branch destined for the fire.
7 … Not only are we to abide, that is remain, in Him, but His Words are also to abide in us. Notice, if we do this, we are now able to pray in harmony with His will and it will be given us.
8 … It is the will of God the Father that we bear much fruit.
In addition, as we spend time reading the Bible, we will also find many prayers given by God's people that can be used as models for our situation. Consequently, just as in our example of King Jehoshaphat, we also will be in a much better position to know and pray in accordance with His will. Then, when we do pray we can place our faith in God and believe He hears us and will grant us the petition.
Secondly, there will be times when it is not clear what God's will is for a particular situation. Thus, we will be unsure of what to pray for. During these times the Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit, living within the born-again believer, will intercede for us with groans that words cannot express.
Romans 8:26
"[26] … the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Does this mean that in every situation that comes our way we will always be praying in God’s will? In short, the answer to this question is no. There may be times when we think we know what to pray for --- and in reality we don’t. Or, we may be so emotionally involved in a situation we may be motivated by our emotions and not in harmony with God’s will for us. For an example, let us read the Apostle Paul’s prayer/petition as recorded in,
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
[7] And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. [8] Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. [9] And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … Paul realized that to prevent him from exalting himself, a thorn in the flesh was given to him, a messenger of Satan to buffet him.
8 … Three times Paul prayed to God for relief.
9 - 10 … After God told Paul that it was not His will for him to be free from this affliction, Paul gladly accepted God’s will for him.
What is the point of this incident of Paul and the thorn of the flesh? The answer to this question is that we are not perfect and may not always have a perfect understanding of God’s will. Or, we may be impatient and forget to wait and listen for Jesus’ direction or wait and rely upon God the Holy Spirit to intercede for us.
However, when we do find out God’s will, let us follow the example of Paul and joyfully accept it. Let us never forget the wonderful promise God has given to those who love Him. To remind us, let us read from,
[8] And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Before we close this study let us read,
TWO PETITIONS THAT ARE WITHIN GOD’S WILL
The first is,
God’s promise to give us wisdom is recorded in,
James 1:5
[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
With this in mind, let us now read the importance of praying with faith in God and believing He will be true to His Word. To do this we go to
James 1:6-8
[6] But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. [7] For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; [8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
To determine whether or not we are operating with the wisdom God gives, let us read the difference between His wisdom and the world’s wisdom. This difference is recorded in,
James 3:13-17
[13] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. [15] This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. [16] For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. [17] But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
The second is,
God’s promise to deliver us from a temptation to sin is in,
Ephesians 6:10-17
[10] “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…”
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … So we can stand firm against the devil’s schemes we must put on the full armor of God.
12-13 … Our struggle is not among ourselves, which is not between flesh and blood or fellow human beings. Our struggle is with all the spiritual forces of evil. This is why it is so necessary for us to wear the full armor of God and stand firm. Notice the Scripture does not tell us to attack, but tells us to stand firm. This brings us to,
THE ARMOR OF GOD
14a … We have God’s Word, the Truth, fastened around our waist.
14b … As a born-again Christian we carry Jesus’ righteousness as a breastplate around our heart.
15 … We step into shoes of readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.
16…. We take up the shield of our faith in God that will extinguish the flaming arrows or lies of the evil one.
17a … Next, we put on our head the helmet of knowing that we are saved and belong to God Almighty.
17b … To refute the attack, we pick up the sword, which is God’s Word.
18 … Once we have shored up our defenses, we are to humble ourselves and pray.
To further encourage us, let us read the following exhortation from,
Hebrews 4:14-16
[14] Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
After we have submitted to God, put His armor and resisted, prayed, and stood firm, for a period of time, God promises that the devil will flee from us. This is recorded in,
James 4:7
[7] Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
CLOSING
Let us now close this study by prayerfully reading the following Psalm.
Psalm 1
[1] Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
[2] But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
[3] He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
[4] The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[6] For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Amen!