Psalm 37
1Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. 2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. 4Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this: 6he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun. 7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. 8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing. 9For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land. 10For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there. 11But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. 13The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming. 14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path. 15Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken. 16Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked. 17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous. 18Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever. 19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke. 21The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously. 22For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off. 23A man’s steps are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way. 24Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand. 25I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread. 26All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed. 27Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever. 28For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn’t forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever. 30The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice. 31The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide. 32The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him. 33Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. 34Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 35I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. 36But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found. 37Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40Yahweh helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.
Introduction
Psalms 37
This psalm is a sermon, and an excellent useful sermon it is, calculated not (as most of the psalms) for our devotion, but for our conversation; there is nothing in it of prayer or praise, but it is all instruction; it is "Maschil - a teaching psalm;" it is an exposition of some of the hardest chapters in the book of Providence, the advancement of the wicked and the disgrace of the righteous, a solution of the difficulties that arise thereupon, and an exhortation to conduct ourselves as becomes us under such dark dispensations. The work of the prophets (and David was one) was to explain the law. Now the law of Moses had promised temporal blessings to the obedient, and denounced temporal miseries against the disobedient, which principally referred to the body of the people, the nation as a nation; for, when they came to be applied to particular persons, many instances occurred of sinners in prosperity and saints in adversity; to reconcile those instances with the word that God had spoken is the scope of the prophet in this psalm, in which, I. He forbids us to fret at the prosperity of the wicked in their wicked ways (Psa 37:1, Psa 37:7, Psa 37:8). II. He gives very good reasons why we should not fret at it. 1. Because of the scandalous character of the wicked (Psa 37:12, Psa 37:14, Psa 37:21, Psa 37:32) notwithstanding their prosperity, and the honourable character of the righteous (Psa 37:21, Psa 37:26, Psa 37:30, Psa 37:31). 2. Because of the destruction and ruin which the wicked are nigh to (Psa 37:2, Psa 37:9, Psa 37:10, Psa 37:20, Psa 37:35, Psa 37:36, Psa 37:38) and the salvation and protection which the righteous are sure of from all the malicious designs of the wicked (Psa 37:13, Psa 37:15, Psa 37:17, Psa 37:28, Psa 37:33, Psa 37:39, Psa 37:40). 3. Because of the particular mercy God has in store for all good people and the favour he shows them (Psa 37:11, Psa 37:16, Psa 37:18, Psa 37:19, Psa 37:22-25, Psa 37:28, Psa 37:29, Psa 37:37). III. He prescribes very good remedies against this sin of envying the prosperity of the wicked, and great encouragement to use those remedies (Psa 37:3-6, Psa 37:27, Psa 37:34). In singing this psalm we must teach and admonish one another rightly to understand the providence of God and to accommodate ourselves to it, at all times carefully to do our duty and then patiently to leave the event with God and to believe that, how black soever things may look for the present, it shall be "well with those that fear God, that fear before him."
A psalm of David.
Cross-references: Ps 37:1 · Ps 37:7 · Ps 37:8 · Ps 37:12 · Ps 37:14 · Ps 37:21 · Ps 37:32 · Ps 37:26 · Ps 37:30 · Ps 37:31 · Ps 37:2 · Ps 37:9 · Ps 37:10 · Ps 37:20 · Ps 37:35 · Ps 37:36 · Ps 37:38 · Ps 37:13 · Ps 37:15 · Ps 37:17 · Ps 37:28 · Ps 37:33 · Ps 37:39 · Ps 37:40 · Ps 37:11 · Ps 37:16 · Ps 37:18 · Ps 37:19 · Ps 37:22 · Ps 37:29 · Ps 37:37 · Ps 37:3 · Ps 37:27 · Ps 37:34