Psalm 37
BSB
Delight Yourself in the LORD
(1 Kings 2:1–9)
Of David.
1Do not fret over those who do evil;
do not envy those who do wrong.
2For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender plants.
3Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4Delight yourself in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in Him, and He will do it.
6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday sun.
7Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when men prosper in their ways,
when they carry out wicked schemes.
8Refrain from anger and abandon wrath;
do not fret—it can only bring harm.
9For the evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11But the meek will inherit the land
and delight in abundant prosperity.
12The wicked scheme against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them,
13but the Lord laughs,
seeing that their day is coming.
14The wicked have drawn the sword
and bent the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16Better is the little of the righteous
than the abundance of many who are wicked.
17For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their inheritance will last forever.
19In the time of evil they will not be ashamed,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20But the wicked and enemies of the LORD
will perish like the glory of the fields.
They will vanish;
like smoke they will fade away.
21The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous are gracious and giving.
22Surely those He blesses will inherit the land,
but the cursed will be destroyed.
23The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD
who takes delight in his journey.
24Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
for the LORD is holding his hand.
25I once was young and now am old,
yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
26They are ever generous and quick to lend,
and their children are a blessing.
27Turn away from evil and do good,
so that you will abide forever.
28For the LORD loves justice
and will not forsake His saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
29The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.
32Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
and seek to slay them,
33the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned under judgment.
34Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
and He will raise you up to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off,
you will see it.
35I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
36yet he passed away and was no more;
though I searched, he could not be found.
37Consider the blameless and observe the upright,
for posterity awaits the man of peace.
38But the transgressors will all be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40The LORD helps and delivers them;
He rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take 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