Psalm 37 A Psalm of David

 ¹Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

⁶He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹For evildoers shall be cut off;

But those who wait on the Lord,

They shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;

Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,

But it shall be no more.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the just,

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword

And have bent their bow,

To cast down the poor and needy,

To slay those who are of upright conduct.

¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,

And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶A little that a righteous man has

Is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the upright,

And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish;

And the enemies of the Lord,

Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.

Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,

But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

²²For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,

But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

²⁴Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

²⁶He is ever merciful, and lends;

And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice,

And does not forsake His saints;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,

And his tongue talks of justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.

³²The wicked watches the righteous,

And seeks to slay him.

³³The Lord will not leave him in his hand,

Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴Wait on the Lord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a native green tree.

³⁶Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;

For the future of that man is peace.

³⁸But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

And save them,

Because they trust in Him.

 

Preamble: Psalm 37 is a Psalm of God’s Justice, of what God does and what He will do to uphold it. And so, every Christian who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and hopes and trusts in His Word should keep this Psalm at ready hand when things go wrongly against them, especially when this comes at the hands of unjust and wicked people whom they see prospering in their ways, while they are doing so. For this Psalm reassures us all that their prosperity is always temporary, that their “peace and safety” is only for a very short season, for their end always comes; and often in ways that they themselves could not foresee nor plan for. For it is always of the Lord to orchestrate or allow their lives circumstances to overtake and overwhelm them, whether this is for their repentance and salvation or their finial end. For in His Perfect timing and in His Perfect way, the Lord always deals justly with all!

Commentary

¹Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

Because God is Sovereign over all the affairs of mankind, indeed all of creation, we must not fret because of evil doers, we must not let their evil actions and unjust words towards us have control in our thoughts and lives. For this accomplishes nothing, neither justice nor peace do we get from fretting about them, about what they have done, or will do. Instead, we need to go forward in faith and live our lives courageously, and commit these things to the Lord, and not keep reliving the evils and wrongs that have been done to us, over and over again, for none of it can now be changed. And holding onto these things only plays into the Adversary’s hand, it only gives him the upper hand, when they see us broken, or defeated, or dismayed by what they have schemed or done. And for many of us this takes time, takes courage, takes faith, to believe and trust in God’s ultimate Goodness towards us un spite of them (Rom. 8:31-39). Therefore, we must never be envious of the workers of iniquity, of all of those who live brazenly sinful and wicked lives, and yet no evil ever seems to find them, even while the scheme or do harm to others. For though they prosper for a season, and though they seemingly are at ease while troubling others, rest assured when God judges them, as He always does, they will be cut down like the grass, and wither away like the green herb (vs. 2). Woe, woe to them when He judges them!

Vs. 3-4 “Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Turning then from fretting to trusting in the Lord and doing good, even while evil is being done to us is the Christians calling card, for this is what Jesus Christ Himself always does and wants us all to do. To dwell in the land and remain a viable worker for Him wherever we are, to feed ourselves then on His faithfulness, and always enjoy and delight ourselves in Him regardless of our own trials and tribulations, all which are passing things. For when we do, He shall give us the desires of our heart, so that we can do the desires of His heart.

Vs. 5-6 ⁵Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

⁶He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

Here the Lord promises to bring forth our righteousness as the light and our justice for as the noon day when we commit it all to Him. For this is the pathway of peace, of not seeking vengeance when wronged, but rather of trusting Him and confidently laying it all before Him. Therefore, in prayer we can say to Him here is what they have said or done openly to me, and You know whatever else they have said or done or schemed in secret about me. For You know everything, there is nothing hidden from Your eyes, for You know they have no just grounds for doing so. Therefore, I commit it all to You Lord, for I trust in You alone to bring forth my righteousness as the light and my justice as the noonday. For they have damaged my person and ruined my reputation, and still, they watch for and seek my ruin, and they remain utterly unremorseful and unrepentant in it all! Therefore, I commit all to You, Lord for I know that You will always act in the defense of Your servants who walk with You in truth.  

Vs. 7-8 ⁷Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret—it only causes harm.

 Resting then in the Lord, is giving Him the burden and letting Him bear it and is the step of faith that restores peace to us. For fretting over him who apparently prospers while wronging you will do you no good. Yea, for a season the wicked persons schemes very likely will come to pass, for their charm and lies will always seduce and deceive others for a season, and so they will apparently succeed and prosper for a season (vs. 7). And so, the natural response to such an injustice is to be angry about it, however anger unchecked can quickly turn into trying to get revenge, and this will not bring you (nor anybody else) justice or peace. Indeed, it is through these unchecked emotions that more harm than good often comes, especially to the bearer of them (vs. 8). Therefore, one must process them, and then willingly put them away. For clarity of thought and clarity of perspective demands such. For holding onto your anger and your wrath will only give the devil a foothold in your life, and then all kinds of bad decisions are sure to follow (1 John 2:11).

Vs. 9 “For evildoers shall be cut off;

But those who wait on the Lord,

They shall inherit the earth.”

This is why we do not need to retain our anger and wrath, for evil doers will be cut off, the Day will come when their “heaven on earth” will be turned into their very own hell, and this will be the work of God who will bring it about. “But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” This then is God’s reward for everyone who puts their trust in Him, to give us a future and a hope.

Vs. 10 “For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;

Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,

But it shall be no more.”

What more need be said, the wicked person will come to their end, their place amongst men will end and their name shall rot with them (Prov. 10:7). Their once prosperous place then will end in ruin, their person and name will be forgotten forever. Indeed, you shall look for them, but they shall not be found nor seen, nor heard from ever again!

Vs. 11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

This Promise was reaffirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:5) and is referring to His Reign on earth when He will rule the world in Righteousness. When He does wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of His times (Isaiah 33:6), and there will be an abundance of peace and truth in the earth. 

 Vs. 12-13 ¹²The wicked plots against the just,

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees that his day is coming.

Even though these things are coming, the wicked will not change (even if grace is shown them, in the land of uprightness they will deal unjustly, and not behold the majesty of the Lord, Isaiah 26:10). For they will carry on in their evil plots against the just, they will gnash at us with their teeth (which is an expression of their deep and abiding hatred of us, for they hate us just as fiercely as they hate the Lord). Nonetheless the Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. On that Day he will tremble in fear and terror when the Lord Jesus Christ confronts him face to face!

Vs. 14-15 ¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword

And have bent their bow,

To cast down the poor and needy,

To slay those who are of upright conduct.

¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,

And their bows shall be broken.

In this crooked world the wicked is always well armed and equipped, always having so much more power in this life than the poor and needy whom they set up as their target. Indeed, by their power they even seek to slay those who are of upright conduct, and so, they draw their sword, and confidently bend their bow to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of an upright conduct by their cunning and might. Nonetheless the wages of sin is death, for God has ordained that His law rules us all. Therefore, their sword (and their confidence in it) shall be their own undoing, it shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. For God’s Hand shall be against them all!

Vs. 16-17 ¹⁶A little that a righteous man has

Is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

But the Lord upholds the righteous.

It is far better to live righteously in poverty, than to have the wealth, privileges, and power of the wicked, of those who get their wealth from evil and unjust means. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, the Lord shall bring their might and power down (Isaiah 2:10-12; 3:10-11; Psalm 11:6; Ecc. 8:12-13 etc.)

Vs. 18-19 ¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the upright,

And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

God always watches over the upright; He secures for us an eternal inheritance because we believe in His Son (1 Peter 1:4-5). Therefore, we shall not be ashamed in the evil time, when all the forces of lies and wickedness have so corrupted the earth that the truth, God’s unchanging, everlasting truth, becomes a real scarcity. For in holding onto His truth, we know that God will uphold us as well. Therefore, in the days of famine (the days of scarcity, which is His Judgment on earth) we shall be satisfied by Him.

Vs. 20 “But the wicked shall perish;

And the enemies of the Lord,

Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.

Into smoke they shall vanish away.”

All of the wicked then, all of the Lords enemies, everyone who sets themselves against Him, opposing His Gospel, His Word, His Truth shall see their beauty and wealth and whatever else they loved, acquired, or trusted in come to nothing. For by His Hand, it shall all vanish away, like smoke in the meadows (that is so very temporary) so they too shall all vanish away.

Vs. 21-22 ²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,

But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

²²For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,

But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The wicked person has no integrity, they think nothing of borrowing and not repaying. Again, they have no integrity! For he builds his “empire” by misleading people and by outright deceit. Whether this is his creditors or his investors, or just everyday working people, his concern is not for them, of doing justly towards them, just how he might use them. And so first he charms them with his charismatic nature and speech, and then he seduces them with all kinds of false and misleading claims and promises; and so, they lend to him (or invest in him) believing that they will reap big returns for themselves. But in the end they reap little, for he does not repay his invertors, nor his creditors, as they should be, nor does he intend to, and so even if the investment reaps big gains, trying to secure one’s rightful share for one’s investment and time only becomes a long drawn out and costly legal battle, and that is on the rare occasions that what he has proposed or sold you on has actually succeeded. For, defaulting on loans and making false and misleading claims and promises of high returns is a way of life for him. And so, though he promises great things with his mouth, his hand always delivers very little in the end. Therefore, God’s promise of their being cut off will be their only reward in the end.

In contrast then to that nightmare is the righteous person who steers well clear of him, and all get rich investments and schemes, and instead makes their investments in the Kingdom of heaven by showing mercy and giving to those in need. For we consider the cause of the poor, (we cannot ignore them), for we consider our wealth (whether little or much) as a stewardship that has been entrusted to us by God. Therefore, we strive to make strategic investments in ministries, in outreaches, in people's lives, to bring forth God's life and light through the Gospel. For the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to bring a blessing with any sort of permeance. Therefore, God's blessing also comes to us, to everyone who does so, though that is not our motive, serving Christ with what we have is. For the Lord Jesus Christ sees and knows all things, and He will secure our investments Himself. Therefore, in His Kingdom, we shall inherit the earth, because we have lived justly and want to deal justly with all. 

Vs. 23-24 ²³The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

²⁴Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Those then who deal justly, who walk in step with the Lord, will have their steps ordered by Him, for He will prepare their way before them, He will guide and lead them through this life, far away from the pitfalls reserved for the wicked, for He delights in their way. And though he falls, (for no one is promised a life free from adversity, or troubles, or making mistakes down here), he shall not be utterly cast down, (as the wicked will be), for the Lord will uphold him by His hand!

Vs. 25-26 ²⁵I have been young, and now am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

²⁶He is ever merciful, and lends;

And his descendants are blessed.

Looking back on God’s faithfulness one can see when one has lived their life in step with Him just how faithful He truly is. For God does not forsake the righteous, He does not lead and leave them to squalor and misery. Instead, His eyes are always upon us for our good, He even extends His grace and favor to our descendants; therefore, because a righteous person is ever merciful and lends, his descendants are blessed after him, they won’t be found begging bread. It’s a Biblical principal that just as those who hate the Lord are cursed by Him to the third and fourth generation. so, God shows mercy to thousands, to everyone who loves Him and keeps His commandments (Ex. 20:6; 34:6-7; Num. 14:18; Deut. 5:10; 7:9; Jonah 7:9).

Vs. 27-28 ²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice,

And does not forsake His saints;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

In light of such promises the exhortation goes out to us all to depart from evil and do good, for that is repentance, and those who do so because they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, He does not forsake His saints. And so, though we were all once sinners, when anyone repents and believes they shall become God’s saints, they shall be preserved forever! But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off, because they continue in their sins of their forefathers, they shall be cut off.

Vs. 29 “The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell in it forever.”

Once again God’s Word promises that the righteous shall inherit the land, the land He promised long ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The righteous then shall dwell in it forevermore!

Vs. 30-31 ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,

And his tongue talks of justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.

The righteous person speaks with wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice, for when he speaks, he speaks sound truth by God’s Word. Therefore, he upholds what is good and right in the sight of God. And so, he does not propagate, validate, nor endorse the morally degenerate lies of this world, nor anything that is meant to deceive or mislead or manipulate others. Indeed, on his tongue is justice, which is not just reward for the righteous and punishment for evildoers, but justice for the poor, the oppressed, for everyone who is mistreated and wronged and persecuted in this evil world, he defends.

Vs. 32-33 ³²The wicked watches the righteous,

And seeks to slay him.

³³The Lord will not leave him in his hand,

Nor condemn him when he is judged.

The wicked person watches the righteous, but not to learn from him, but only to seek to slay him. For this is what they did to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is what they will do to you if you faithfully follow Him and keep His Word. Because the wicked will always feel “threatened” by anyone who believes Him and keeps His Word. Nonetheless the Lord will not allow the righteous person who trusts in Him to be swallowed up by them, nor will He condemn us when we are judged by them. For though they can kill the body they cannot take our souls away from Him. Their unjust actions and judgments then are only possible for them in this life, after that they can do no more (Matt. 10:24-32; Luke 12:4).

Vs. 34 “Wait on the Lord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.”

Waiting on the Lord and keeping His way is what we must do when faced with such things. For in due course of time he shall exalt you to inherit the land, when the wicked are cut off your eyes shall see it!

Vs. 35-36 ³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a native green tree.

³⁶Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

One thing long life teaches us is that though one will see the wicked in great power, spreading himself out like a native green tree as though his tenure and prosperity will never end. Yet he passed away, (like all others before him), he passed away and behold he was no more; no more a threat, nor a terror, nor oppressor to anyone. Indeed, as David says here “I sought him but he could not be found.” The thought here is that not just in this mortal life will his end, come but when God judges him, he will never be seen nor heard from again!

Vs. 37 “Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;

For the future of that man is peace.”

A Great Truth and Promise in God's Word is that the blameless man and upright person shall have peace. Therefore, mark the blameless man and observe the upright for these are the people to admire and model oneself after, for the future of that man is peace, not only in this life, but for all eternity, peace and everlasting serenity shall be theirs, as it will be for all who follow in their footsteps!

Vs. 38 “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

The future of the wicked shall be cut off.”

In contrast all transgressors shall be destroyed, everyone who did not repent and believe, who wouldn’t receive the love of the truth, shall be cut off in the Day of the Lord’s vengeance (Isaiah 1:28; 13:9-11; Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:7-9; also consider Psalm 104:35; Prov. 2:22 etc.). The imperative then to receive and believe the Gospel should not be lost on anyone!

Vs. 39-40 ³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

And save them,

Because they trust in Him.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; from begging to end, He is the One who accomplishes this for us. Therefore, everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is now declared righteous by God and is being made righteous by Him, by His Spirits renewal of us. For it is He who makes us new creations In Christ the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus giving us a new heart and new desires to do and live righteously for Him! Therefore, He is our strength in time of trouble, He shall deliver us from the wicked and save us for all eternity because we trust in Him!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.