Trusting Under An Apple Tree

Psalm 37:12-22

12The wicked plot against the godly;

they snarl at them in defiance.

13But the Lord just laughs,

for he sees their day of judgment coming.

14The wicked draw their swords

and string their bows

to kill the poor and the oppressed,

to slaughter those who do right.

15But they will be stabbed through the heart with their own swords,

and their bows will be broken.

16It is better to be godly and have little

than to be evil and possess much.

17For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,

but the LORD takes care of the godly.

18Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent,

and they will receive a reward that lasts forever.

19They will survive through hard times;

even in famine they will have more than enough.

20But the wicked will perish.

The LORD’s enemies are like flowers in a field—

they will disappear like smoke.

21The wicked borrow and never repay,

but the godly are generous givers.

22Those blessed by the LORD will inherit the land,

but those cursed by him will die.

In the seventeenth century Paul Gerhardt and his family had to flee Berlin because of his religious convictions. As they fled, they stopped at an inn and tried to understand why God was allowing this to happen to them. Gerhardt’s wife was especially concerned about what might lie ahead for their young children.

Gerhardt read Psalm 37 to his family that night. You can imagine him slowing down around verse 16 and emphasizing these verses: “It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and possess much. . . . The Lord takes care of the godly. . . . They will survive through hard times.”

Apparently the psalm struck a chord with Mr. Gerhardt himself, because the next day, sitting underneath an apple tree, he wrote a hymn based on this same theme of trusting God in hard times. That evening two messengers came to Gerhardt and offered him refuge and a church position in nearby Merseberg.

The hymn Gerhardt wrote, “Give to the Winds Your Fears,” became popular in Germany, second only in fame to Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” School children sang it as a graduation hymn, and in the United States, when the first Lutheran church was opened in Philadelphia in 1743, Gerhardt’s hymn was the first to be sung. Translations into English were made by John Wesley and others. It remains a solid testimony to God’s gracious provision in tough times.

Through waves and clouds and storms

His power will clear your way;

Wait for his time; the darkest night

Shall end in brightest day.

PAUL GERHARDT

Bible Networking

Check out other advice that the Bible gives for surviving through hard times (verse 19). See Psalm 73:26; Habakkuk 3:17-18; 2 Corinthians 6:10; and Philippians 4:12-13.

Notable Quotable

“A little blessed is better than a great deal cursed; a black crust blessed is better than a feast cursed; a drop of mercy blessed is better than a sea of mercy cursed; a chimney corner with a blessing is better than a stately palace with a cursing.”

THOMAS BROOKS