Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Jealous of the Prosperity of the Wicked?1
Psalms 37:1-11
of God-fearing people!5 If we are honest we must admit that
even us born again believers are often envious of these “sinners’
possessions”6 and the apparent stability and pleasure it brings
their lives.7
Online Sermon:
http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
Sometimes their prosperity promotes anger
in our hearts that their injustices doesn’t
seem to provoke the Lord who is sovereign
over all things seen and unseen (Colossians
1:16) to give them the just rewards
recompensing their atrocities.
The book of Psalms deals with some of the most
perplexing issues we face such as “life and death, wisdom and
folly, reward, and punishment”2 but
one of the most difficult challenges this
book describes is how to not fret or feel
jealous of the prosperity of the wicked!
It is all too easy to experience negative
emotions when seeing those with
callous hearts and evil imaginations
obtain riches, fame, and power,3 often
by unlawful means4 and at the expense
While we know that these emotions are sins and often only serve
to rob us of being at peace with what God has given us,8 how
are we to “remain cool”9 and not become so envious that we end
up joining them in their evil and folly?
Psalms 37 masterfully
outlines how God would have us view the prosperity of the
wicked.
The first part of this sermon is going to suggest that trust
1
6
The Outline was partially taken from: Croft M. Pentz, Sermon Outlines
from the Psalms, Dollar Sermon Library Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Book House, 1974), 25.
2
Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed.
Frank E. Gaebelein, vol.
5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 297.
3
Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed.
Frank E. Gaebelein, vol.
5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 297–298.
4
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible:
Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994),
793.
5
James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 316.
Croft M. Pentz, Sermon Outlines from the Psalms, Dollar Sermon Library
Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1974), 25.
7
Robert L. Jr. Hubbard and Robert K. Johnston, “Foreword,” in Psalms, ed.
W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston,
Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 2012), 180.
8
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible:
Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994),
793.
9
James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 316.
1|P age
and fellowship with the Lord are crucial in keeping us from
envying the wicked.
The second part of this sermon is going to
suggest that both fretting and anger are sins to be avoided and
the last part of this sermon is going to review the destinies of
both the wicked and the faithful to show how it is folly to be
jealous of those with temporary pleasures but in the end face
eternal damnation!
gives them unspeakable joy despite their harsh circumstances (2
Corinthians 1:4; Psalms 23).
Trusting in the Lord requires
incredible faith that while one often cannot see how one’s
circumstances are for one’s good one still believes beyond a
doubt that since God’s ways are higher than our ways His plan
for our lives is always better any outcome we could achieve by
our own hand (Isaiah 55:8-9)!
It is the kind of faith that fully “relies on
God, His favour, His providence, His
promise, and His grace.”12
It is not selfcentered, nor it is passive but one in which
the person that is quietly trusting in God will
experience the power of God and in their
born-again new life express gratitude by
doing good to others.13
Trusting in the Lord
To ensure one does not give into feelings of envy or anger
at what appears to be unjust blessings for the wicked one must
learn to trust in the Lord.
“We must not let the seeming
prosperity of the “wicked” and “those who do wrong” undermine
our trust in the just character
and sovereign power of
Yahweh.”10
To keep from
“giving into self-pity and
hatred”11 in the face of trials
because the wicked seem to
be on a mountaintop of
blessings, King David says,
requires having trust in the
Lord (Psalms 37:3) that He
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