Verse 1

Fret not thyself because of evildoers,.... The saints may be grieved at them and for them, because of their evil doings, and may be angry with them for them; yet are not to show any undue warmth, at least in an indecent way, by calling them opprobrious names; for the words may be rendered, "do not show thyself warm" or "angry" (i): in a sinful way; or fret not at their outward prosperity, as it is explained Psa 37:7. The Targum adds, "to be like them", which agrees with Psa 37:8; neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity; that is, at their present temporal happiness; see Psa 73:3. The Targum adds, as before, to be joined with them; which sense some parallel places seem to incline to, Pro 3:31. (i) "ne accendaris ira", Junius & Tremellius; "ne exardescas", Gejerus, Michaelis.

Verse 2

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Which in the morning looks green, pretty, and flourishing, and in the evening is cut down, and then fades away; see Psa 90:5; and so the wicked prosper and flourish for a while, and then they perish with all their honour, riches, and wealth; so that their happiness is a very short lived one, and therefore need not be envied and fretted at. ; and so the wicked prosper and flourish for a while, and then they perish with all their honour, riches, and wealth; so that their happiness is a very short lived one, and therefore need not be envied and fretted at. Psalms 37:3 psa 37:3 psa 37:3 psa 37:3Trust in the Lord,.... Not in men, who are fading and perishing like the green grass and tender herb; nor in riches, which are very uncertain things; but in the Lord, in whom is everlasting strength; and with whom are riches and honour, yea, durable riches and righteousness; trust in him both for things temporal and spiritual, for soul and body, for time and eternity; the way to have peace and quietness of mind under all dispensations is to exercise faith on a promising God. The Targum is, "trust in the Word of the Lord", in the essential Word of God, the promised Messiah; and do good; in general, all good actions, in faith, and as the fruits and effects of it, without trusting to them, but in the Lord; doing them in his strength, and with a view to his glory; or in particular, acts of beneficence to the poor, to which the encouragement follows; so shalt thou dwell in the land; either in the land of Canaan, a continuance in which depended upon the obedience of the people of the Jews to the commands of God; see Isa 1:19; or rather in the good land which is afar off, the heavenly and better country, which those that trust in the Lord, and have that faith in Christ which works by love, shall dwell in to all eternity; and verily thou shalt be fed; either temporally, shall have food and raiment, even all the necessaries of life; or spiritually, with the word and ordinances, and with Christ the bread of life now; and hereafter shall be fed by him, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, and by him led to fountains of living water: some read the words as an exhortation, and render them, "feed truth" (k), that is, teach it, as Abraham taught his household, and as faithful pastors feed with knowledge and understanding; or "feed by faith" (l), as the just live by it; or, as the Targum renders it, "be strong in faith", as Abraham was, Rom 4:20; or rather, "feed upon truth" (m), the word of truth, the Gospel of salvation, and the several truths and doctrines of it, which are food for faith, and nourish up to everlasting life. (k) "pasce veritatem", Pagninus, Montanus. (l) "Pascere fide", Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius. (m) "Pasce te veritate", Gejerus; "ut alimentum tuum", Gussetius, Ebr. Comment. p. 942. "feed on faith", Ainsworth.

Verse 3

Delight thyself also in the Lord,.... In the persons in God, Father, Son, and Spirit; in the perfections of God, his power, goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, love, grace, and mercy; in his works of creation, providence, and redemption; in his word, his Gospel, the truths and ordinances of it; in his house, and the worship of it; and in his people, the excellent in the earth, in whom was all the delight of the psalmist; and each of these afford a field of delight and pleasure, to attend unto, contemplate, and meditate upon; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart; such as are according to the will of God, and for the good of his people; such as relate to communion with him, and to the communication of more grace from him, and to the enjoyment of eternal glory.

Verse 4

Commit thy way unto the Lord,.... Or "thy works", as in Pro 16:3; that is, all the affairs and business of life, which are a man's ways in which he walks; not that men should sit still, be inactive, and do nothing, and leave all to be done by the Lord; but should seek direction of God in everything engaged in, and for strength and assistance to perform it, and go on in it, and depend upon him for success, and give him all the glory, without trusting to any thing done by them: or, as some render the words, "reveal thy way unto the Lord" (n); not that God is ignorant of the ways of men, and of their affairs, and of their wants and necessities, but it is their duty to ask, and it is his delight to hear; they may come and use freedom with him, and tell him their whole case, and leave it with him, believing he will supply all their need: or, as others render it, "roll thy way on the Lord" (o); see Psa 55:22; meaning not the burden of sin, nor the weight of affliction, but any affair of moment and importance that lies heavy upon the mind; trust also in him; it is an ease to the mind to spread it before the Lord, who sympathizes with his people, supports them under and brings them through their difficulties; and he shall bring it to pass; as he does whatever he has appointed and determined shall be, and whatever he has promised, and whatever will be for his own glory and his people's good. (n) Sept. "revela", V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Targum, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. (o) "Devolve super Jehovam", Tigurine version.

Verse 5

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,.... That is, the good man having committed his cause to him that judgeth righteously, he will, in his own time, clearly make it appear that it is a righteous one, both to himself and others, in whatsoever obscurity it may have lain; and thy judgment as the noonday; the same as before, unless rather the righteousness of Christ, which is the believer's by imputation, and is a justifying one in the judgment of God, should be meant; see Mic 7:9; and the phrases may denote not barely the revelation of it in the Gospel, but the more clear manifestation of it to the believer himself, from faith to faith; or as it will be still more clearly revealed and declared at the day of judgment, when those who are clothed with it shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and be clear of all those charges and imputations which they have lain under in this life.

Verse 6

Rest in the Lord,.... Or "be silent to the Lord" (p); be still, and know that he is God; quietly submit to his will, and acquiesce in all the dispensations of his providence: it does not design a stupid indolence, or a stoical apathy, that we should be like sticks and stones, without any concern at the hand of God upon us; nor an entire silence under afflictions; we should own that they are of God, and that we are deserving of them; we should pray to him to sanctify them, to support under them, and deliver out of them; we should bless his name that they are no worse, and that they are any ways useful to us; and we should speak to others of the divine goodness experienced under them; but this stands opposed to an arraigning or murmuring at the providence of God, and intends a patient bearing the hand of God, and a resignation of will to his will; for it follows, and wait patiently for him: for the enjoyment of him, help from him, and deliverance by him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass; this explains the sense of Psa 37:1; it being often an additional uneasiness to the people of God under affliction, when they observe the prosperity of men that go on in a sinful way, and have all or more than heart can wish; and whatever they contrive and devise, though wicked and criminal. (p) "tace Domino", Pagninus, Montanus; "sile", Musculus, Piscator, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

Verse 7

Cease from anger,.... Either at these wicked men who are so prosperous, or at God, who for the present suffers it; see Jon 4:9, Pro 19:3; and forsake wrath; which is anger wrought up to a greater degree; and the rather to be shunned and avoided, as being very disagreeable to the character of a good man; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; evil may be done by fretting at the prosperity of wicked men, or by imitating them, doing as they do, in hope of being prosperous as they are; from which the psalmist dissuades by reasons following.

Verse 8

For evildoers shall be cut off,.... Though they flourish for a while, they shall be cut down like the grass or flower of the field, or they shall be cut off as branches from a flourishing tree; they shall be cut off from the earth, and rooted out of it by death or some desolating judgment; see Pro 2:22; and therefore not to be envied and fretted at; but those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth; such who attend his word, worship, and ordinances; obey his commands, trust in his grace and mercy; or, as the Targum, "trust in the word of the Lord"; who wait upon him for the manifestations of himself, for the performance of his promises, for answer of prayer, for supplies of grace, and live in the expectation of the heavenly glory; these shall have for their inheritance, not the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, which the obedient Jews enjoyed; but either this world and the necessaries of it, which such persons have the promise of, a right unto through Christ, are heirs of, and do enjoy what they do with a blessing; or else the new earth after this, in which only righteous ones, those that wait upon the Lord, and trust in him, will dwell; unless the heavenly country, the good land afar off, is meant, often called an inheritance.

Verse 9

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be,.... Not that they shall be annihilated or reduced to nothing, because nonentities have no place nor being any where; when they die they shall lift up their eyes in hell; their bodies will rise again at the last day; they shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and go into everlasting punishment; but they shall be no more in the world, and in the same flourishing and prosperous circumstances they were: and this their destruction will be in a short time, very quickly; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be; his dwelling place, called after his own name, to perpetuate the memory of him; see Job 7:10; an instance of this the psalmist gives of his own knowledge, Psa 37:35.

Verse 10

But the meek shall inherit the earth,.... See Gill on Psa 37:9; of this character See Gill on Psa 22:26. Our Lord seems to refer to this passage in Mat 5:5; and shall delight themselves is the abundance of peace; of spiritual peace enjoyed in a way of believing, arising from a comfortable view of interest in the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ; and of all happiness and prosperity in the kingdom of Christ here on earth, at which time there will be abundance of peace, Psa 72:7; or of eternal peace in the world to come, which will be a state of uninterrupted and unspeakable peace; see Psa 37:37; all which afford inconceivable delight and pleasure; and therefore such have no need to fret and be envious at the fading happiness of wicked men.

Verse 11

The wicked plotteth against the just,.... Forms schemes to make him uneasy, uncomfortable, and unhappy: and gnasheth upon him with his teeth: which expresses his malice and hatred, as David's enemies did upon him, Psa 35:16; and Stephen's, Act 7:54.

Verse 12

The Lord shall laugh at him,.... Have him and his plots in derision, confound his schemes, and disappoint him of his designs, bring him into calamity, and laugh at it; see Psa 2:4; for he seeth that his day is coming; either the day of the Lord, which he has appointed to judge the world in, and which comes suddenly, at unawares, as a thief in the night, and is known unto the Lord, though to none else; or the day of the wicked man's ruin and destruction, to which he is appointed, and which is the same; and so the Targum is, "the day of his calamity": which the Lord observes is hastening on, when he will be for ever miserable.

Verse 13

The wicked have drawn out the sword,.... That is, out of the scabbard; they drew upon the righteous, in order to sheath it in them; or they sharpened the sword, as Aben Ezra observes some interpret the word; it may be literally rendered, "opened the sword" (q), which before lay hid in the scabbard: and have bent their bow; having put the arrow in it, in order to shoot. The former expression may design the more open, and this the more secret way of acting against the righteous; and their view in both is to cast down the poor and needy, who are so, both in a temporal and spiritual sense; to cause such to fall either into sin, or into some calamity or another: and to slay such as be of upright conversation; who walk according to the rule of the word of God, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: nothing less than the blood and life of these men will satisfy the wicked; and it is an aggravation of their wickedness that they should attempt to hurt men of such character who are poor and needy, holy, harmless, inoffensive, and upright; and this points at the reason why they hate them, and seek their ruin, because of the holiness and uprightness of their lives; see Joh 15:19. (q) "aperuerunt gladium", Gejerus.

Verse 14

Their sword shall enter into their own heart,.... As Saul's did into his, Sa1 31:4; and their bows shall be broken; the meaning is, that their efforts shall be fruitless, and their attempts in vain; the mischief they have contrived and designed for others shall fall upon themselves; see Psa 7:15; and therefore the saints should not be fretful and envious.

Verse 15

A little that a righteous man hath,.... It is the portion of the righteous, for the most part, to have but little of this world's goods; some indeed have been rich, as Abraham, Lot, David, Joseph of Arimathea, and others; but, generally speaking, the wicked have the largest share of worldly things, and the righteous but little, and are as having nothing comparatively; and yet their little is better than the riches of many wicked; not that a little is better than much, or that poverty is better than riches, or a poor man better than a rich man; but the comparison is between a righteous man and a wicked man; the emphasis lies there; and the sense is, that a "righteous" man's "little" is better than a "wicked" man's "much"; the righteous have a right to what they have, through Christ, who is heir of all things, but not the wicked; they have what they have in love and with a blessing, not so the wicked; they are contented in their state and condition, when the wicked are never satisfied; they possess and enjoy what they have, even all they have, when God oftentimes does not give the wicked an heart to eat and drink of what they are possessed, but a stranger eats it; they have the presence of God with them, and that makes a little sweet, and to go a great way; and they live without any anxious, distressing, burdensome care; not so the wicked; and before long the tables will be turned, and they will have their good things, and the wicked their evil things; see Pro 16:8; wherefore they have no need to fret under present circumstances, nor envy the happiness of wicked men. Arama interprets it, of a little help that a righteous man has, better than the riches of many wicked; and Gussetius (r) understands all this not of the smallness and largeness of the substance of different persons, but of their numbers, the one small, the other large; and Jarchi, that the sense is, that a few persons with the righteous, which was the case of Abraham and Gideon, are better and succeed more than the multitude of many wicked persons; and the church should be content with a small number of believers, and not draw in a multitude of wicked men into their communion. (r) Ebr. Comment. p. 213, 475.

Verse 16

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,.... That is, their sword arm, with which they have drawn it; and so shall not be able to strike with it; and with which they have bent their bows, but shall not be able to shoot: and this proves, what is before suggested, that their efforts shall be fruitless; or their substance shall be taken away from them, in which they trusted, and wherein their strength lay; and this confirms what had been just spoken, that the righteous man's little is better than the wicked man's much; and which is further confirmed by what follows; but the Lord upholdeth the righteous; both in a providential way, by supporting them in their being, supplying their need, preserving them from dangers, and bearing them up under all their afflictions; and in a spiritual way, by maintaining the principle of grace and life in them, by furnishing them with all spiritual blessings, by sustaining them in times of temptation, and by securing them safe from their enemies; upholding them so as that they stand in the grace of God now, and shall stand before Christ with confidence hereafter; and shall not fall here finally and totally, nor in the day of judgment. The Targum is, "the Word of the Lord upholdeth the righteous".

Verse 17

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright,.... Not only how long they shall live, and so fill up their days, the number of them, as Aben Ezra interprets it; but the nature of their days, whether prosperous or adverse; and causes both to work together for their good; and he knows the work of their days, as Jarchi explains it, the actions done by them in faith and love, and to his honour and glory, and which he approves and accepts of in Christ; see Psa 1:6; and their inheritance shall be for ever; in heaven, which is an eternal and never fading one, Heb 9:15; and therefore they ought not to fret and be envious.

Verse 18

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,.... Of affliction and persecution, or of old age, or in the day of judgment, when it will go ill with others; see Jo1 2:28; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied: whether it is understood figuratively of a famine of hearing the word, or literally of a proper famine of bread and water: these God will provide for them, as he did for Elijah, and they shall be sure unto them, and therefore let them not fret nor envy.

Verse 19

But the wicked shall perish,.... In a time of famine, in an evil day, and particularly at the day of judgment: for this is to be understood, not merely of being in bodily distress and want; nor of perishing by death, common to the righteous and the wicked; nor of being in a lost perishing condition, as all men by nature are, but of eternal perdition in hell; and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; that is, either they shall consume away as the fat of lambs burnt upon the altar, which evaporates, or as lambs fattened on purpose to be killed, and so prepared for the day of slaughter; in like manner the wicked, who have waxed fat and kicked, will be destroyed; they being the enemies of God, yea, enmity to him, to Father, Son, and Spirit, to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ, and to his people, and will be treated as such. Some render the word, "like the excellency of pastures" (s); the grass of the field, which is cut down and withers presently; see Psa 37:2; into smoke shall they consume away, or "with" (t) it; that is, as it; see Psa 68:1; or "in smoke" (u); in the smoke of eternal torments, or hell, as the Targum. (s) "sicut pretiosum pratorum", Muis; so some in Piscator; "vel gloria", Michaelis. (t) "cum fumo", Gejerus, Tigurine version; so Ainsworth. (u) "In fumo", Montanus, Musculus, Michaelis.

Verse 20

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again,.... While the wicked live, they are scandalous; they live by borrowing, which was always reckoned mean; see Deu 28:12; and what is worse, as they borrow, they do not design to repay; they take no care nor thought about that, but live upon what they borrow: for this either expresses their incapacity that they cannot pay; or the evil disposition of their mind, which rather seems to be the sense, that they will not pay; but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth; which not only argues capacity and ability, but a kind, merciful, and tender spirit to persons in distress, and is expressive of a generous action.

Verse 21

For such as be blessed of him,.... Not of the righteous man; for he blesses them that curse and persecute him, and despitefully use him; but of the Lord, as the Syriac version expresses it; or by the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; both in a providential way, for it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and puts into a capacity to give to others; and in a way of grace, with an interest in God as a covenant God in Christ; and with the blessings of grace in him, with a justifying righteousness, pardon of sin, and a right to eternal glory. The Septuagint version, and those that follow that, render the words actively, "such as bless him"; either such as bless the righteous, who are blessed also, Gen 12:3; or rather such as bless the Lord, as the righteous do, for all their blessings temporal and spiritual they receive from him; these shall inherit the earth; See Gill on Psa 37:9; and they that be cursed of him; not of the righteous man, but of the Lord, according to the tenor of his righteous law, which they have broken: shall be cut off; out of the land of the living; many of them in the midst of their days, and shall everlastingly perish.

Verse 22

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,.... Or "of a man" (w); such a man as is blessed of the Lord; the steps which he takes in life are ordered by the Lord, both with respect to things temporal and spiritual: his good conduct is not of himself, it is a blessing of the Lord, who directs and keeps the feet of his saints, and inclines them to take such steps, and pursue such methods, which he succeeds and prospers; and he delighteth in his way; which he knows and approves of, guides and directs him in; see Psa 1:6. (w) "hominis", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Verse 23

Though he fall,.... Into temptation, and by it into sins, and these very great ones; from a lively and comfortable exercise of grace, and a degree of steadfastness in the doctrine of grace: he shall not be utterly cast down; because he is in the arms of everlasting love, and in the hands of Christ Jesus; is on him as the sure foundation, and is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, and so shall not perish, but have everlasting life; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand; with the right hand of his righteousness, and keeps him from falling finally and totally; see Isa 41:10; and See Gill on Psa 37:17.

Verse 24

I have been young, and now am old,.... The psalmist makes mention of his age, which takes in the whole compass of his life, to command attention to what he was about to say; which was founded upon a long experience and observation of things, and was as follows; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken; though afflicted of God, and persecuted by men, yet not forsaken; though poor and needy, and often in necessitous circumstances, yet God in his providence appeared for them in one way or another; and so as Apollinarius paraphrases it, "I never knew a just man entirely needy;'' for such might be forsaken by men, and even by their dearest friends and relations, yet not by the Lord: they might indeed, at times, think themselves forsaken of him, and their enemies might conclude and say they were, and yet this was not their case, Isa 49:14; and though they may be forsaken by him for a while, yet not utterly; he will not leave them and forsake them for ever, Isa 54:7; nor his seed begging bread; they being righteous also, which must be supposed; otherwise, as good men have wicked children, these, through their wickedness, may come to poverty, to beggary, as they sometimes do; though a distinction may be made between being poor and beggars; the seed of the righteous may be the one, and not the other: besides, there is a difference between asking bread of others, in some few instances, and constantly begging bread from door to door, in which last sense the psalmist must be understood here; for otherwise he himself in some cases, had asked bread, as of Ahimelech at Nob, and of Nabal, &c. as did also Elijah of the widow of Sarepta: and though there might have been instances of some of the posterity of the righteous who got their bread by begging at the door, as in the case of Lazarus; yet David had never observed any such instance during the time of his life, which shows that such instances are very rare; whereas among wicked men and their offspring the case is frequent and common. Again, it may be observed, that the psalmist is speaking in the context of righteous men that are liberal, and give to the poor freely and largely; and it is seldom if ever known that they or their children come to want and poverty. Once more, the word "forsaken" may be repeated in this clause, thus; "nor his seed begging bread forsaken" (x); or seeking it in vain, and finally destitute of it; though they have been so reduced as to beg their bread, they have not been forsaken; they have find it, bread sufficient to support life, as Apollinarius paraphrases it; their bread has been given and their water sure; see Isa 41:17. In an ancient Midrash (y), or exposition of the Jews, the sense is thus given: "although his seed and his sons are begging bread, yet I have not seen the righteous man, their father, forsaken, because of his fear of the blessed God.'' (x) "Justum non vidi derelictum, et semen justi quaerens panem non vidi derelictum"; so Hopfnerus, Titelmannus, Lorinus, Franzius apud Gejerum; "frustra quaerens panem, et finalitur destitutum", Michaelis. (y) Vajikra Rabba, s. 35. fol. 175. 2.

Verse 25

He is ever merciful, and lendeth,.... He sympathizes with the poor in distress, and shows mercy to miserable objects; not only by words, but deeds: and this is his constant disposition and conduct; of which his lending, as well as giving to persons in necessity, is an instance; and which shows capacity, and is a proof of the observation of the psalmist, that such are never forsaken, nor left to beg their bread: so far from it, that they have to lend and give to others; and his seed is blessed; either his seed sown, his alms deeds, which are blessed to him and his, and to them to whom he ministers, as Jarchi explains it; see Co2 9:6; or rather his offspring, who are blessed of God with things temporal for his sake; and are blessed by men, who say of them, these are the posterity of such and such liberal persons.

Verse 26

Depart from evil, and do good,.... Depart from evildoers, and their evil ways; join not with them, nor fret and be envious at them; but do acts of beneficence, and all good works; since righteous men, and their seed, are not forsaken, but blessed of God; See Gill on Psa 34:14; and dwell for evermore; or "thou shalt dwell for evermore" (z); see Psa 37:3; that is, in everlasting habitations, in the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, Luk 16:9. The Targum is, "that thou mayest dwell in everlasting life". (z) "et habitabis in seculum", Pagninus, Vatablus, Piscator; so Aben Ezra & Kimchi.

Verse 27

For the Lord loveth judgment,.... Righteousness, or righteous actions, when done according to his will, from love, in faith, and to his glory; see Psa 11:7; or to minister judgment to the people, and to render to every man according to his works; and forsaketh not his saints; his Holy Ones, who are called with an holy calling, are created in righteousness and true holiness, and have principles of grace and holiness wrought in them; or whom he prosecutes with his favour and goodness, with his everlasting love and mercy, with spiritual blessings, with the blessings of justification, pardon, adoption, and a right to eternal life: these he never forsakes, not their persons, neither in life nor at death, nor at judgment; nor does he ever forsake the work of his own hands in them; but performs it until the day of Christ: nor will he ever so forsake them, as that they shall perish through the strength of sin, the temptations of Satan, or the snares of the world; they are preserved for ever; from the dominion and damning power of sin, from being devoured by Satan, from a total and final falling away, and from being hurt of the second death: they are preserved in Christ, in whose hands they are; and by the power of God, safe to his kingdom and glory, into which they shall have an abundant entrance; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off; out of the earth, in the midst of their days, like withered branches; and be cast into everlasting burnings.

Verse 28

The righteous shall inherit the land,.... See Gill on Psa 37:9 and See Gill on Psa 37:11; and dwell therein for ever; See Gill on Psa 37:27.

Verse 29

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,.... Or "meditateth wisdom" (a); that is, utters the wisdom he has been meditating upon; see Psa 69:3; he meditates and speaks of the wisdom of God, which appears in the works of creation, providence, and grace; and of Christ, who is wisdom itself, and the wisdom of God essentially; and who, as Mediator, has the spirit of wisdom resting on him, the treasures of wisdom hid in him, and is made wisdom to his people: and righteous men meditate upon and speak of the glories of his person, the fulness of his grace, and the works of his hands; as also of the Gospel, which is the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden, ancient wisdom, ordained before the world for their glory; and likewise of that internal wisdom, and experience of divine grace, the Lord has made them to know in the hidden part; which lies in the knowledge of themselves, and in a spiritual, experimental, and saving knowledge of Christ, and the way of salvation by him; and his mouth delivers out wise sayings, and useful instructions, fetched out of the word of God, and founded on experience and observation; and his tongue talketh of judgment; of the judgment which the righteous God ordinarily ministers in a providential way; and of his extraordinary and awful judgments, which have been or are in the earth; these he takes notice of for his own use, and observes them to others for their instruction; and also of the last judgment, the judgment to come, which he speaks of as sure and certain, as universal and inevitable, and at which he must appear before God: and he talks of judgment or righteousness; that is, of the righteousness of Christ; he makes mention of this only as his justifying righteousness before God; he rejoices and glories in it, and desires to be found in it living and dying, and at judgment; and whatsoever things are honest, just, pure, and of good report, he thinks and speaks of them, and instructs his family, his children and servants, in them, that they may do them; see Gen 18:19. (a) Sept. "meditabitur", V. L. so Musculus: Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.

Verse 30

The law of his God is in his heart,.... Which may be understood of the moral law, which was written in the heart of Adam an his creation, and continued there during his state of innocence, but was greatly obliterated by sin: there are some remains of it in fallen man, even in the very Gentiles; who, though without the law, do some things contained in it, which shows the work of it to be written in them; though in some it is scarcely legible, having lost all distinction between good and evil: but in regeneration the law of God is reinscribed, according to the promise of the covenant of grace, Jer 31:33; and such have a real knowledge of the spirituality and perfection of it; of the impossibility of justification by it; and of Christ being the fulfilling end of it: and they have a strong affection for it; they love it; and delight in it after the inward man, and serve it with their minds; in which lies part of their conformity to Christ, and is a branch of their character as good men; see Psa 40:8; moreover, the word here used, signifies any doctrine or instruction, and is sometimes used for the doctrine of the Gospel, Isa 2:3, and may have this sense here, and the meaning be, that that has a place in the hearts or righteous men, dwells richly there, and works effectually in them; and particularly the doctrine of grace which relates to covenant interest in God; for it is the law or doctrine of "his God" that is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide; not that he shall never slip nor fall; for that is supposed Psa 37:24; but he shall never finally and totally go out of the paths of truth, holiness, and righteousness: the Lord keeps the feet of his saints, and orders their steps, and directs them in the way they should go, and preserves them in it; and enables them to walk uprightly, according to the rule of the divine word, and in all his commandments and ordinances; and to hold on and out unto the end: or the clause may be rendered, "it", the law, "shall not cause his steps to slide" (b); neither the law of God, nor the Gospel of Christ, but shall guide him in the right way, and be a lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path. (b) "non vacillat gressus ejus", Cocceius.

Verse 31

The wicked watcheth the righteous,.... All his motions and steps, his works and actions; he watches for his halting, and to take all opportunities and advantages against him; see Jer 20:10; and seeketh to slay him; murder his reputation, destroy his substance, and take away his life: some understand it of the devil, who watches the saints, observes their failings, accuses then, before the throne, and seeks to devour them, Pe1 5:8.

Verse 32

The Lord will not leave him in his hand,.... Or power; but will in his own time deliver him from all the reproach, affliction, and persecution endures by him; as he will also deliver him out of all the temptations of Satan; nor condemn him when he is judged; by the wicked man: he will not join in the sentence, but reverse it, and condemn the tongue that rises up in judgment against him, and save him from him; see Psa 109:31; nor will the Lord condemn him when he is judged by him at the hast judgment; but will acquit him before men and angels, and introduce him into his kingdom and glory.

Verse 33

Wait on the Lord,.... In the way of his appointments and ordinances; where may be learned the design of his providences, and of the prosperity of the wicked, and their end, Psa 73:16; and in a providential way, for the performance of his promises, in which he never fails; and patiently bear whatever he is pleased to lay upon them; waiting for a deliverance out of every affliction, which will be in his own time. The Chaldee paraphrase "trust in the word of the Lord;'' and keep his way: which he has pointed out in his word, and has directed his people to walk in; though tempted by Satan to turn aside to the right hand or the left; though wicked men reproach, persecute, and seek to pervert it; and though a narrow and rough way, yet keep constantly in it, in which there are both pleasure and profit; good comes of it, and in it peace is had, and the presence of God enjoyed; and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: that is, shall raise out of a low and uncomfortable situation of life to a more comfortable one; or however, hereafter, to dwell in the new heavens and new earth, to reign with Christ upon his throne, and to enjoy the eternal inheritance; when the wicked are cut off; as in Psa 37:9; thou shall see it; with joy and pleasure; not as exulting: in the destruction of the wicked, simply considered; but as the glory of divine justice is displayed therein; see Psa 52:5.

Verse 34

I have seen the wicked in great power,.... Meaning some particular person invested with great power, in great authority among men, one of the spiritual wickednesses in high places; such a man as Haman in Ahasuerus's court; and though the psalmist does not choose to mention his name, he doubtless had him in his mind; as either Saul, or Doeg the Edomite, or Ahithophel, or some such man, who was in an exalted station of life; and it may be when he himself was in low and distressed circumstances: the word used (c) signifies one formidable and terrible, striking terror to all around; of whom others are afraid, as Aben Ezra interprets it, Isa 29:20; and spreading himself like a green bay tree: or like one that grows up out of the earth of itself, and is in its native soil, and very flourishing: and the metaphor denotes an increase of riches and honour, and a seemingly settled state in the enjoyment of such outward felicity; so Jarchi interprets it "taking root"; as well as such a man's glorying in and boasting of his affluence and fulness; see Psa 73:12. Aben Ezra explains it of a wicked man's openly committing iniquity, declaring his sin as Sodom, and glorying in his shame; but rather it denotes a man in great authority and esteem, as a man crowned with laurels, and in a very exalted and triumphant state. (c) "terrificam", Montanus, Vatablus; "terribilem ant formidabilem", Gejerus, Michaelis; "daunting, terrible", Ainsworth.

Verse 35

Yet he passed away,.... At once, on a sudden; either his riches and honour, which, in one hour, came to nought, by one providence or another; or he himself by death; in the midst of all his prosperity, and while blessing himself in it, his soul was required of him; and so the Targum is, "he ceased from the world"; he went out of it unawares: the laurel, or bay tree, very quickly grows old (d); and, lo, he was not; he was not reduced to nothing; he did not become a nonentity, though he might wish himself to be so; it being better for him if he had never been born; but he was not in the land of the living, in hell he lifted up his eyes; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found; in the place where he formerly was, that knowing him no more; he could not be found on earth, from whence he was gone; nor in heaven, where no place is found for such wicked men; he was gone to his own place, as is said of Judas, and of whom Jerom interprets the whole of this passage. (d) "Senescit velociter", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44.

Verse 36

Mark the perfect man,.... None are so in themselves, not the most holy man upon earth; for though all grace is implanted at once in regeneration, the seed of grace of every kind is cast into the heart at once; yet it opens and spreads, and gradually increases; nor is any grace in its exercise perfect; not faith, nor hope, nor love: sin is in the best of men, and all stand in need of fresh supplies of grace. None of the saints ever affirmed that they had arrived to perfection, but have disclaimed it: one saint may indeed attain to a greater degree of grace and knowledge than another, and in a comparative sense be perfect; and there is a perfection of parts, though not of degrees, in all; the new man is formed in all its parts, though these are not grown to their full perfection: and whereas perfection often denotes truth and sincerity, such may be said to be perfect, that is, sincere, who have received the grace of God in truth, have the, truth and root of the matter in them; so Noah, Job, and others, are said to be perfect men; but not simply and absolutely in themselves, but as in Christ Jesus; who has obtained complete redemption, perfectly fulfilled the law for them, fully expiated their sins, procured the entire pardon of them, and brought in an everlasting righteousness, by which they are justified from all sin, and are perfectly comely, and a perfection of beauty, through the comeliness of Christ put upon them; and behold the upright; the man that is upright in heart and conversation, who has a right spirit renewed in him, and the uprightness of Christ showed unto him; or, in other words, who has the truth of grace within him, and the righteousness of Christ upon him: such men are to be marked, observed, viewed, and considered, as rare and uncommon men; and to be imitated and followed in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty; and especially the end of such persons is to be marked and beheld, as follows; for the end of that man is peace: such a man now enjoys a conscience peace, which passes the understanding of worldly men; and which he possesses in Christ, and from him, amidst a variety of tribulations, arising from a view of interest in his blood and righteousness; and, generally speaking, goes off the stage of life, if not triumphing, yet resigned to the will of God, and in a serene and tranquil frame of spirit, and even desiring to be gone, and to be with Christ, and to have leave, with good old Simeon, to depart in peace; and as soon as they are departed they enter into peace, into the joy of their Lord, into his presence, where is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore; see Num 23:10.

Verse 37

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together,.... This is to be understood of obstinate and continued transgressors, who live and die in their transgressions; see Pro 11:3; otherwise all men are transgressors in Adam, and sinned and fell with him in his transgression; and are justly called transgressors from the womb; and are guilty of actual transgressions, nor are any clear from them; and are arraigned, convinced, and judged by the law as transgressors; and for many of these Christ died, and makes intercession; and who are converted, and turned from their transgressions; and these are pardoned, and saved, and not destroyed: but stubborn and perverse transgressors are destroyed; not only with a temporal destruction of their substance, and of their names, and they themselves are rooted out of the earth; but with an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power; for this seems to refer to the day of judgment, when all the wicked will be "together"; and shall in a body stand at Christ's left hand, and be bid to go, "ye cursed into everlasting fire", Mat 25:41, and shall be turned into hell at once, and together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off; meaning either their posterity, as the word is rendered in Psa 109:13; or their hope and expectation of good things here and hereafter; when the righteous man receives the end of his faith, hope, and expectation, even the salvation of his soul; but these shall be disappointed and frustrated of their end; see Pro 23:18; or their last end is cutting off from the presence and sight of God, utter ruin and destruction; and so it stands opposed to the end of the perfect and upright man, which is eternal peace and happiness.

Verse 38

But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord,.... Both their temporal, spiritual, and eternal salvation; particularly the latter, which is originally of the Lord, and springs from the thoughts, purposes, and resolutions of his heart: it is of him freely, of his rich grace and abundant mercy; and it is of him fully and completely; it is an entire salvation of soul and body; includes all blessings of grace and glory in it; it is to the uttermost, and from all sin, and every enemy; and it is of him only; there is no salvation in any other; and the glory of it is to be ascribed to him, even to Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; for all the three divine Persons have a concern in it: the determination, contrivance, and settlement of it, is of Jehovah the Father; the impetration or effecting of it is of Jehovah the Son; and the application of it is of Jehovah the Spirit; See Gill on Psa 3:8; he is their strength in the time of trouble; by reason of the hidings of God's face, the temptations of Satan, the prevalence of corruptions, the weakness of grace, and the many afflictions that befall them from God and men; the Lord he is their strong hold and munition of rocks, whither they, betake themselves, and find help, protection, and safety; he puts underneath everlasting arms, bears them up, and upholds them with the right hand of his righteousness; and is the strength of their hearts, of their lives, and of their salvation.

Verse 39

And the Lord shall help them,.... In their distress, and out of their troubles, when none else can, and they themselves cannot; and that seasonably, and sometimes with means, and sometimes without; and deliver them; out of all their afflictions, which he does sooner or later; if not in life, yet at death; he shall deliver them from the wicked; this is repeated both for confirmation and explanation sake, showing who they are the Lord will deliver his people from, even from wicked and unreasonable men; he will not leave them in their hands now to do with them as they shall think fit; and he will free them from them to all eternity in the other world, where they shall cease from giving them any trouble; and save them, because they trust in him; not that there is any saving virtue in faith, or in trusting in the Lord; the saving virtue is in the Lord, the object of faith and trust; but inasmuch as the Lord has appointed salvation to be through faith, or has made that the means of receiving and enjoying salvation, and the blessings of it, and has declared that he that believeth shall be saved, he does accordingly save all such persons; wherefore blessed are they that trust in him. The Chaldee paraphrase is, "he shall redeem them because they trust in his Word.'' Next: Psalms Chapter 38

Verse 1

Olshausen observes, "The poet keeps entirely to the standpoint of the old Hebrew doctrine of recompense, which the Book of Job so powerfully refutes." But, viewed in the light of the final issue, all God's government is really in a word righteous recompense; and the Old Testament theodicy is only inadequate in so far as the future, which adjusts all present inconsistencies, is still veiled. Meanwhile the punitive justice of God does make itself manifest, as a rule, in the case of the ungodly even in the present world; even their dying is usually a fearful end to their life's prosperity. This it is which the poet means here, and which is also expressed by Job himself in the Book of Job, Job 27:1. With התחרה, to grow hot or angry (distinct from תּחרה, to emulate, Jer 12:5; Jer 22:15), alternates קנּא, to get into a glow, excandescentia, whether it be the restrained heat of sullen envy, or the incontrollable heat of impetuous zeal which would gladly call down fire from heaven. This first distich has been transferred to the Book of Proverbs, Pro 24:19, cf. Pro 23:17; Pro 24:1; Pro 3:31; and in general we may remark that this Psalm is one of the Davidic patterns for the Salomonic gnome system. The form ימּלוּ is, according to Gesenius, Olshausen, and Hitzig, fut. Kal of מלל, cognate אמל, they wither away, pausal form for ימּלוּ like יתּממוּ, Psa 102:28; but the signification to cut off also is secured to the verb מלל by the Niph. נמל, Gen 17:11, whence fut. ימּלוּ = ימּלּוּ; vid., on Job 14:2; Job 18:16. ירק דּשׁא is a genitival combination: the green (viror) of young vigorous vegetation.

Verse 3

The "land" is throughout this Psalm the promised possession (Heilsgut), viz., the land of Jahve's presence, which has not merely a glorious past, but also a future rich in promises; and will finally, ore perfectly than under Joshua, become the inheritance of the true Israel. It is therefore to be explained: enjoy the quiet sure habitation which God gives thee, and diligently cultivate the virtue of faithfulness. The two imperatives in Psa 37:3, since there are two of them (cf. Psa 37:27) and the first is without any conjunctive Waw, have the appearance of being continued admonitions, not promises; and consequently אמוּנה is not an adverbial accusative as in Psa 119:75 (Ewald), but the object to רעה, to pasture, to pursue, to practise (Syriac רדף, Hos 12:2); cf. רעה, רע, one who interests himself in any one, or anything; Beduin râ‛â = ṣâḥb, of every kind of closer relationship (Deutsch. Morgenlnd. Zeitschr. v. 9). In Psa 37:4, ויתן is an apodosis: delight in Jahve (cf. Job 22:26; Psa 27:10; Isa 58:14), so will He grant thee the desire (משׁאלת, as in Psa 20:5) of thy heart; for he who, entirely severed from the creature, finds his highest delight in God, cannot desire anything that is at enmity with God, but he also can desire nothing that God, with whose will his own is thoroughly blended in love, would refuse him.

Verse 5

The lxx erroneously renders גּול (= גּל, Psa 22:9) by ἀποκάλυψον instead of ἐπίῤῥιψον, Pe1 5:7 : roll the burden of cares of thy life's way upon Jahve, leave the guidance of thy life entirely to Him, and to Him alone, without doing anything in it thyself: He will gloriously accomplish (all that concerns thee): עשׂה, as in Ps 22:32; 52:11; cf. Pro 16:3, and Paul Gerhardt's Befiehl du deine Wege, "Commit thou all thy ways," etc. The perfect in Psa 37:6 is a continuation of the promissory יעשׂה. הוציא, as in Jer 51:10, signifies to set forth: He will bring to light thy misjudged righteousness like the light (the sun, Job 31:26; Job 37:21, and more especially the morning sun, Pro 4:18), which breaks through the darkness; and thy down-trodden right (משׁפּטך is the pausal form of the singular beside Mugrash) like the bright light of the noon-day: cf. Isa 58:10, as on Psa 37:4, Isa 58:14.

Verse 7

The verb דּמם, with its derivatives (Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6; Lam 3:28), denotes resignation, i.e., a quiet of mind which rests on God, renounces all self-help, and submits to the will of God. התחולל (from הוּל, to be in a state of tension, to wait) of the inward gathering of one's self together in hope intently directed towards God, as in B. Berachoth 30b is a synonym of התחונן, and as it were reflexive of חלּה of the collecting one's self to importunate prayer. With Psa 37:7 the primary tone of the whole Psalm is struck anew. On Psa 37:7 compare the definition of the mischief-maker in Pro 24:8.

Verse 8

On הרף (let alone), imper. apoc. Hiph., instead of הרפּה, vid., Ges. ֗75, rem. 15. אך להרע is a clause to itself (cf. Pro 11:24; Psa 21:5; Psa 22:16): it tends only to evil-doing, it ends only in thy involving thyself in sin. The final issue, without any need that thou shouldst turn sullen, is that the מרעים, like to whom thou dost make thyself by such passionate murmuring and displeasure, will be cut off, and they who, turning from the troublous present, make Jahve the ground and aim of their hope, shall inherit the land (vid., Psa 25:13). It is the end, the final and consequently eternal end, that decides the matter.

Verse 10

The protasis in Psa 37:10 is literally: adhuc parum (temporis superest), עוד מעט ו, as e.g., Exo 23:30, and as in a similar connection מעט ו, Job 24:24. והתבּוננתּ also is a protasis with a hypothetical perfect, Ges. ֗155, 4, a. This promise also runs in the mouth of the Preacher on the Mount (Mat 5:5) just as the lxx renders Psa 37:11: οἱ δὲ πρᾳεῖς κληρονομήσουσι γῆν. Meekness, which is content with God, and renounces all earthly stays, will at length become the inheritor of the land, yea of the earth. Whatever God-opposed self-love may amass to itself and may seek to acquire, falls into the hands of the meek as their blessed possession.

Verse 12

The verb זמם is construed with ל of that which is the object at which the evil devices aim. To gnash the teeth (elsewhere also: with the teeth) is, as in Psa 35:16, cf. Job 16:9, a gesture of anger, not of mockery, although anger and mockery are usually found together. But the Lord, who regards an assault upon the righteous as an assault upon Himself, laughs (Psa 2:4) at the enraged schemer; for He, who orders the destinies of men, sees beforehand, with His omniscient insight into the future, his day, i.e., the day of his death (Sa1 26:10), of his visitation (Psa 137:7, Oba 1:12, Jer 50:27, Jer 50:31).

Verse 14

That which corresponds to the "treading" or stringing of the bow is the drawing from the sheath or unsheathing of the sword: פּתח, Eze 21:28, cf. Psa 55:22. The combination ישׁרי־דּרך is just like תמימי־דוך, Psa 119:1. The emphasis in Psa 37:14 is upon the suffix of בלבּם: they shall perish by their own weapon. קשּׁתותם has (in Baer) a Shebג dirimens, as also in Isa 5:28 in correct texts.

Verse 16

With Psa 37:16 accord Pro 15:16; Pro 16:8, cf. Tobit 12:8. The ל of לצּדּיק is a periphrastic indication of the genitive (Ges. 115). המון is a noisy multitude, here used of earthly possessions. רבּים is not per attract. (cf. Psa 38:11, הם for הוּא) equivalent to רב, but the one righteous man is contrasted with many unrighteous. The arms are here named instead of the bow in Psa 37:15. He whose arms are broken can neither injure others nor help himself. Whereas Jahve does for the righteous what earthly wealth and human power cannot do: He Himself upholds them.

Verse 18

The life of those who love Jahve with the whole heart is, with all its vicissitudes, an object of His loving regard and of His observant providential care, Psa 1:6; Psa 31:8, cf. Psa 16:1-11. He neither suffers His own to lose their heritage nor to be themselves lost to it. The αἰώνιος κληρονομία is not as yet thought of as extending into the future world, as in the New Testament. In Psa 37:19 the surviving refers only to this present life.

Verse 20

With כּי the preceding assertion is confirmed by its opposite (cf. Psa 130:4). כּיקר בּרים forms a fine play in sound; יקר is a substantivized adjective like גּדל ekil evitcejda, Exo 15:16. Instead of בעשׁן, it is not to be read כּעשׁן, Hos 13:3; the ב is secured by Psa 102:4; Psa 78:33. The idea is, that they vanish into smoke, i.e., are resolved into it, or also, that they vanish in the manner of smoke, which is first thick, but then becomes thinner and thinner till it disappears (Rosenm׬ller, Hupfeld, Hitzig); both expressions are admissible as to fact and as to the language, and the latter is commended by בּהבל, Psa 78:33, cf. בּצלם, Psa 39:7. בעשׁן belongs to the first, regularly accented כּלוּ; for the Munach by בעשׂן is the substitute for Mugrash, which never can be used where at least two syllables do not precede the Silluk tone (vid., Psalter ii. 503). The second כּלוּ has the accent on the penult. for a change (Ew. 194, c), i.e., variation of the rhythm (cf. למה למה, Psa 42:10; Psa 43:2; עורי עורי, Jdg 5:12, and on Psa 137:7), and in particular here on account of its pausal position (cf. ערוּ, Psa 137:7).

Verse 21

It is the promise expressed in Deu 15:6; Deu 28:12, Deu 28:44, which is rendered in Psa 37:21 in the more universal, sententious form. לוה signifies to be bound or under obligation to any one = to borrow and to owe (nexum esse). The confirmation of Psa 37:22 is not inappropriate (as Hitzig considers it, who places Psa 37:22 after Psa 37:20): in that ever deeper downfall of the ungodly, and in that charitableness of the righteous, which becomes more and more easy to him by reason of his prosperity, the curse and blessing of God, which shall be revealed in the end of the earthly lot of both the righteous and the ungodly, are even now foretold. Whilst those who reject the blessing of God are cut off, the promise given to the patriarchs is fulfilled in the experience of those who are blessed of God, in all its fulness.

Verse 23

By Jahve (מן, ἀπό, almost equivalent to ὑπό with the passive, as in Job 24:1; Ecc 12:11, and in a few other passages) are a man's steps made firm, established; not: ordered or directed (lxx, Jerome, κατευθύνεται), which, according to the extant usage of the language, would be הוּכנוּ (passive of הכין, Pro 16:9; Jer 10:23; Ch2 27:6), whereas כּוננוּ, the Pulal of כּונן, is to be understood according to Psa 40:3. By גּבר is meant man in an emphatic sense (Job 38:3), and in fact in an ethical sense; compare, on the other hand, the expression of the more general saying, "Man proposes, and God disposes," Pro 16:9; Pro 20:24; Jer 10:23. Psa 37:23 shows that it is the upright man that is meant in Psa 37:23: to the way, i.e., course of life, of such an one God turns with pleasure (יחפּץ pausal change of vowel for יחפּץ): supposing he should fall, whether it be a fall arising from misfortune or from error, or both together, he is not prostrated, but Jahve upholds his hand, affords it a firm point of support or fulcrum (cf. תּמך בּ, Psa 63:9, and frequently), so that he can raise himself again, rise up again.

Verse 25

There is an old theological rule: promissiones corporales intelligendae sunt cum exceptione crucis et castigationis. Temporary forsakenness and destitution the Psalm does not deny: it is indeed even intended to meet the conflict of doubt which springs up in the minds of the God-fearing out of certain conditions and circumstances that are seemingly contradictory to the justice of God; and this it does, by contrasting that which in the end abides with that which is transitory, and in fact without the knowledge of any final decisive adjustment in a future world; and it only solves its problem, in so far as it is placed in the light of the New Testament, which already dawns in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Verse 27

Psa 37:27-28 The round of the exhortations and promises is here again reached as in Psa 37:3. The imperative שׁכן, which is there hortatory, is found here with the ו of sequence in the sense of a promise: and continue, doing such things, to dwell for ever = so shalt thou, etc. (שׁכן, pregnant as in Ps 102:29, Isa 57:15). Nevertheless the imperative retains its meaning even in such instances, inasmuch as the exhortation is given to share in the reward of duty at the same time with the discharge of it. On Psa 37:28 compare Psa 33:5. Psa 37:28-29 The division of the verse is wrong; for the ס strophe, without any doubt, closes with חסדיו, and the ע eht dna strophe begins with לעולם, so that, according to the text which we possess, the ע of this word is the acrostic letter. The lxx, however, after εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα φυλαχθήσονται has another line, which suggests another commencement for the ע strophe, and runs in Cod. Vat., incorrectly, ἄμωμοι ἐκδικήσονται, in Cod. Alex., correctly, ἄνομοι δὲ ἐκδιωχθήσονται (Symmachus, ἄνομοι ἐξαρθήσονται). By ἄνομος the lxx translates עריץ in Isa 29:20; by ἄνομα, עולה in Job 27:4; and by ἐκδιώκειν, הצמית, the synonym of השׁמיד, in Psa 101:5; so that consequently this line, as even Venema and Schleusner have discerned, was עוּלים נשׁמדוּ. It will at once be seen that this is only another reading for לעולם נשׁמרו; and, since it stands side by side with the latter, that it is an ancient attempt to produce a correct beginning for the ע strophe, which has been transplanted from the lxx into the text. It is, however, questionable whether this reparation is really a restoration of the original words (Hupfeld, Hitzig); since עוּל (עויל) is not a word found in the Psalms (for which reason Bצttcher's conjecture of עשׁי עולה more readily commends itself, although it is critically less probable), and לעולם נשׁמרו forms a continuation that is more naturally brought about by the context and perfectly logical.

Verse 30

The verb הגה unites in itself the two meanings of meditating and of meditative utterance (vid., Psa 2:1), just as אמר those of thinking and speaking. Psa 37:31 in this connection affirms the stability of the moral nature. The walk of the righteous has a fixed inward rule, for the Tפra is to him not merely an external object of knowledge and a compulsory precept; it is in his heart, and, because it is the Tפra of his God whom he loves, as the motive of his actions closely united with his own will. On תּמעד, followed by the subject in the plural, compare Psa 18:35; Psa 73:2 Chethמb.

Verse 32

The Lord as ἀνακρίνων is, as in Co1 4:3., put in contrast with the ἀνακρίνειν of men, or of human ἡμέρᾳ. If men sit in judgment upon the righteous, yet God, the supreme Judge, does not condemn him, but acquits him (cf. on the contrary Psa 109:7). Si condemnamur a mundo, exclaimed Tertullian to his companions in persecution, absolvimur a Deo.

Verse 34

Let the eye of faith directed hopefully to Jahve go on its way, without suffering thyself to be turned aside by the persecution and condemnation of the world, then He will at length raise thee out of all trouble, and cause thee to possess (לרשׁת, ut possidas et possideas) the land, as the sole lords of which the evil-doers, now cut off, conducted themselves.

Verse 35

עריץ (after the form צדּיק) is coupled with רשׁע, must as these two words alternate in Job 15:20 : a terror-inspiring, tyrannical evil-doer; cf. besides also Job 5:3. The participle in Psa 37:35 forms a clause by itself: et se diffundens, scil. erat. The lxx and Jerome translate as though it were כארז הלבנן, "like the cedars of Lebanon," instead of כאזרח רענן. But אזרח רענן is the expression for an oak, terebinth, or the like, that has brown from time immemorial in its native soil, and has in the course of centuries attained a gigantic size in the stem, and a wide-spreading overhanging head. ויּעבר does not mean: then he vanished away (Hupfeld and others); for עבר in this sense is not suitable to a tree. Luther correctly renders it: man ging vor׬ber, one (they) passed by, Ges. ֗137, 3. The lxx, Syriac, and others, by way of lightening the difficulty, render it: then I passed by.

Verse 37

תּם might even be taken as neuter for תּם, and ישׂר for ישׁר; but in this case the poet would have written רעה instead of ראה; שׁמר is therefore used as, e.g., in Sa1 1:12. By כּי that to which attention is specially called is introduced. The man of peace has a totally different lot from the evil-doer who delights in contention and persecution. As the fruit of his love of peace he has אחרית, a future, Pro 23:18; Pro 24:14, viz., in his posterity, Pro 24:20; whereas the apostates are altogether blotted out; not merely they themselves, but even the posterity of the ungodly is cut off, Amo 4:2; Amo 9:1; Eze 23:25. To them remains no posterity to carry forward their name, their אחרית is devoted to destruction (cf. Psa 109:13 with Num 24:20).

Verse 39

The salvation of the righteous cometh from Jahve; it is therefore characterized, in accordance with its origin, as sure, perfect, and enduring for ever. מעוּזּם is an apposition; the plena scriptio serves, as in Sa2 22:33, to indicate to us that מעוז is meant in this passage to signify not a fortress, but a hiding-place, a place of protection, a refuge, in which sense Arab. ma'âd‛llh (the protection of God) and m‛âḏwjh‛llh (the protection of God's presence) is an Arabic expression (also used as a formula of an oath); vid., moreover on Psa 31:3. The moods of sequence in Psa 37:40 are aoristi gnomici. The parallelism in Psa 37:40 is progressive after the manner of the Psalms of degrees. The short confirmatory clause kichā'subo forms an expressive closing cadence.

Verse 1

The instructions here given are very plain; much need not be said for the exposition of them, but there is a great deal to be done for the reducing of them to practice, and there they will look best. I. We are here cautioned against discontent at the prosperity and success of evil-doers (Psa 37:1, Psa 37:2): Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. We may suppose that David speaks this to himself first, and preaches it to his own heart (in his communing with that upon his bed), for the suppressing of those corrupt passions which he found working there, and then leaves it in writing for instruction to others that might be in similar temptation. That is preached best, and with most probability of success, to others, which is first preached to ourselves. Now, 1. When we look abroad we see the world full of evil-doers and workers of iniquity, that flourish and prosper, that have what they will and do what they will, that live in ease and pomp themselves and have power in their hands to do mischief to those about them. So it was in David's time; and therefore, if it is so still, let us not marvel at the matter, as though it were some new or strange thing. 2. When we look within we find ourselves tempted to fret at this, and to be envious against these scandals and burdens, these blemishes and common nuisances, of this earth. We are apt to fret at God, as if he were unkind to the world and unkind to his church in permitting such men to live, and prosper, and prevail, as they do. We are apt to fret ourselves with vexation at their success in their evil projects. We are apt to envy them the liberty they take in getting wealth, and perhaps by unlawful means, and in the indulgence of their lusts, and to wish that we could shake off the restraints of conscience and do so too. We are tempted to think them the only happy people, and to incline to imitate them, and to join ourselves with them, that we may share in their gains and eat of their dainties; and this is that which we are warned against: Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. Fretfulness and envy are sins that are their own punishments; they are the uneasiness of the spirit and the rottenness of the bones; it is therefore in kindness to ourselves that we are warned against them. Yet that is not all; for, 3. When we look forward with an eye of faith we shall see no reason to envy wicked people their prosperity, for their ruin is at the door and they are ripening apace for it, Psa 37:2. They flourish, but as the grass, and as the green herb, which nobody envies nor frets at. The flourishing of a godly man is like that of a fruitful tree (Psa 1:3), but that of the wicked man is like grass and herbs, which are very short-lived. (1.) They will soon wither of themselves. Outward prosperity is a fading thing, and so is the life itself to which it is confined. (2.) They will sooner be cut down by the judgments of God. Their triumphing is short, but their weeping and wailing will be everlasting. II. We are here counselled to live a life on confidence and complacency in God, and that will keep us from fretting at the prosperity of evil-doers; if we do well for our own souls, we shall see little reason to envy those that do so ill for theirs. Here are three excellent precepts, which we are to be ruled by, and, to enforce them, three precious promises, which we may rely upon. 1. We must make God our hope in the way of duty and then we shall have a comfortable subsistence in this world, Psa 37:3. (1.) It is required that we trust in the Lord and do good, that we confide in God and conform to him. The life of religion lies much in a believing reliance on God, his favour, his providence, his promise, his grace, and a diligent care to serve him and our generation, according to his will. We must not think to trust in God and then live as we list. No; it is not trusting God, but tempting him, if we do not make conscience of our duty to him. Nor must we think to do good, and then to trust to ourselves, and our own righteousness and strength. No; we must both trust in the Lord and do good. And then, (2.) It is promised that we shall be well provided for in this world: So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. He does not say, "So shalt thou get preferment, dwell in a palace, and be feasted." This is not necessary; a man's life consists not in the abundance of these things; but, "Thou shalt have a place to live in, and that in the land, in Canaan, the valley of vision, and thou shalt have food convenient for thee." This is more than we deserve; it is as much as a good man will stipulate for (Gen 28:20) and it is enough for one that is going to heaven. "Thou shalt have a settlement, a quiet settlement, and a maintenance, a comfortable maintenance: Verily thou shalt be fed." Some read it, Thou shalt be fed by faith, as the just are said to live by faith, and it is good living, good feeding, upon the promises. "Verily thou shalt be fed, as Elijah in the famine, with what is needful for thee." God himself is a shepherd, a feeder, to all those that trust in him, Psa 23:1. 2. We must make God our heart's delight and then we shall have our heart's desire, Psa 37:4. We must not only depend upon God, but solace ourselves in him. We must be well pleased that there is a God, that he is such a one as he has revealed himself to be, and that he is our God in covenant. We must delight ourselves in his beauty, bounty, and benignity; our souls must return to him, and repose in him, as their rest, and their portion for ever. Being satisfied of his loving-kindness, we must be satisfied with it, and make that our exceeding joy, Psa 43:4. We were commanded (Psa 37:3) to do good, and then follows this command to delight in God, which is as much a privilege as a duty. If we make conscience of obedience to God, we may then take the comfort of a complacency in him. And even this pleasant duty of delighting in God has a promise annexed to it, which is very full and precious, enough to recompense the hardest services: He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. He has not promised to gratify all the appetites of the body and the humours of the fancy, but to grant all the desires of the heart, all the cravings of the renewed sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him. 3. We must make God our guide, and submit in every thing to his guidance and disposal; and then all our affairs, even those that seem most intricate and perplexed, shall be made to issue well and to our satisfaction, Psa 37:5, Psa 37:6. (1.) The duty is very easy; and, if we do it aright, it will make us easy: Commit thy way unto the Lord; roll thy way upon the Lord (so the margin reads it), Pro 16:3; Psa 55:22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, the burden of thy care, Pe1 5:7. We must roll it off ourselves, so as not to afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events (Mat 6:25), not to cumber and trouble ourselves either with the contrivance of the means or with expectation of the end, but refer it to God, leave it to him by his wise and good providence to order and dispose of all our concerns as he pleases. Retreat thy way unto the Lord (so the Septuagint), that is, "By prayer spread thy case, and all thy cares about it, before the Lord" (as Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, Jdg 11:11), "and then trust in him to bring it to a good issue, with a full satisfaction that all is well that God does." We must do our duty (that must be our care) and then leave the event with God. Sit still, and see how the matter will fall, Rut 3:18. We must follow Providence, and not force it, subscribe to Infinite Wisdom and not prescribe. (2.) The promise is very sweet. [1.] In general, "He shall bring that to pass, whatever it is, which thou hast committed to him, if not to thy contrivance, yet to thy content. He will find means to extricate thee out of thy straits, to prevent thy fears, and bring about thy purposes, to thy satisfaction." [2.] In particular, "He will take care of thy reputation, and bring thee out of thy difficulties, not only with comfort, but with credit and honour: He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon-day." (Psa 37:6), that is, "he shall make it to appear that thou art an honest man, and that is honour enough." First, It is implied that the righteousness and judgment of good people may, for a time, be clouded and eclipsed, either by remarkable rebukes of Providence (Job's great afflictions darkened his righteousness) or by the malicious censures and reproaches of men, who give them bad names which they no way deserve, and lay to their charge things which they know not. Secondly, It is promised that God will, in due time, roll away the reproach they are under, clear up their innocency, and bring forth their righteousness, to their honour, perhaps in this world, at furthest in the great day, Mat 13:43. Note, If we take care to keep a good conscience, we may leave it to God to take care of our good name.

Verse 7

In these verses we have, I. The foregoing precepts inculcated; for we are so apt to disquiet ourselves with needless fruitless discontents and distrusts that it is necessary there should be precept upon precept, and line upon line, to suppress them and arm us against them. 1. Let us compose ourselves by believing in God: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him (Psa 37:7), that is, be well reconciled to all he does and acquiesce in it, for that is best that is, because it is what God has appointed; and be well satisfied that he will still make all to work for good to us, though we know not how or which way." Be silent to the Lord (so the word is), not with a sullen, but a submissive silence. A patient bearing of what is laid upon us, with a patient expectation of what is further appointed for us, is as much our interest as it is our duty, for it will make us always easy; and there is a great deal of reason for it, for it is making a virtue of necessity. 2. Let us not discompose ourselves at what we see in this world: "Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his wicked way, who, though he is a bad man, yet thrives and grows rich and great in the world; no, nor because of him who does mischief with his power and wealth, and brings wicked devices to pass against those that are virtuous and good, who seems to have gained his point and to have run them down. If thy heart begins to rise at it, stroke down thy folly, and cease from anger (Psa 37:8), check the first stirrings of discontent and envy, and do not harbour any hard thoughts of God and his providence upon this account. Be not angry at any thing that God does, but forsake that wrath; it is the worst kind of wrath that can be. Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil; do not envy them their prosperity, lest thou be tempted to fall in with them and to take the same evil course that they take to enrich and advance themselves or some desperate course to avoid them and their power." Note, A fretful discontented spirit lies open to many temptations; and those that indulge it are in danger of doing evil. II. The foregoing reasons, taken from the approaching ruin of the wicked notwithstanding their prosperity, and the real happiness of the righteous notwithstanding their troubles, are here much enlarged upon and the same things repeated in a pleasing variety of expression. We were cautioned (Psa 37:7) not to envy the wicked either worldly prosperity or the success of their plots against the righteous, and the reasons here given respect these two temptations severally: - 1. Good people have no reason to envy the worldly prosperity of wicked people, nor to grieve or be uneasy at it, (1.) Because the prosperity of the wicked will soon be at an end (Psa 37:9): Evil-doers shall be cut off by some sudden stroke of divine justice in the midst of their prosperity; what they have got by sin will not only flow away from them (Job 20:28), but they shall be carried away with it. See the end of these men (Psa 73:17), how dear their ill-got gain will cost them, and you will be far from envying them or from being willing to espouse their lot, for better, for worse. Their ruin is sure, and it is very near (Psa 37:10): Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be what they now are; they are brought into desolation in a moment, Psa 73:19. Have a little patience, for the Judge stands before the door, Jam 5:8, Jam 5:9. Moderate your passion, for the Lord is at hand, Phi 4:5. And when their ruin comes it will be an utter ruin; he and his shall be extirpated; the day that comes shall leave him neither root nor branch (Mal 4:1): Thou shalt diligently consider his place, where but the other day he made a mighty figure, but it shall not be, you will not find it; he shall leave nothing valuable, nothing honourable, behind. him. To the same purport (Psa 37:20), The wicked shall perish; their death is their perdition, because it is the termination of all their joy and a passage to endless misery. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; but undone, for ever undone, are the dead that die in their sins. The wicked are the enemies of the Lord; such those make themselves who will not have him to reign over them, and as such he will reckon with them: They shall consume as the fat of lambs, they shall consume into smoke. Their prosperity, which gratifies their sensuality, is like the fat of lambs, not solid or substantial, but loose and washy; and, when their ruin comes, they shall fall as sacrifices to the justice of God and be consumed as the fat of the sacrifices was upon the altar, whence it ascended in smoke. The day of God's vengeance on the wicked is represented as a sacrifice of the fat of the kidneys of rams (Isa 34:6); for he will be honoured by the ruin of his enemies, as he was by the sacrifices. Damned sinners are sacrifices, Mar 9:49. This is a good reason why we should not envy them their prosperity; while they are fed to the full, they are but in the fattening for the day of sacrifice, like a lamb in a large place (Hos 4:16), and the more they prosper the more will God be glorified in their ruin. (2.) Because the condition of the righteous, even in this life, is every way better and more desirable than that of the wicked, Psa 37:16. In general, a little that a righteous man has of the honour, wealth, and pleasure of this world, is better than the riches of many wicked. Observe, [1.] The wealth of the world is so dispensed by the divine Providence that it is often the lot of good people to have but a little of it, and of wicked people to have abundance of it; for thus God would show us that the things of this world are not the best things, for, if they were, those would have most that are best and dearest to God. [2.] That a godly man's little is really better than a wicked man's estate, though ever so much; for it comes from a better hand, from a hand of special love and not merely from a hand of common providence, - it is enjoyed by a better title (God gives it to them by promise, Gal 3:18), - it is theirs by virtue of their relation to Christ, who is the heir of all things, - and it is put to better use; it is sanctified to them by the blessing of God. Unto the pure all things are pure, Tit 1:15. A little wherewith God is served and honoured is better than a great deal prepared for Baal or for a base lust. The promises here made to the righteous secure them such a happiness that they need not envy the prosperity of evil-doers. Let them know to their comfort, First, That they shall inherit the earth, as much of it as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; they have the promise of the life that now is, Ti1 4:8. If all the earth were necessary to make them happy, they should have it. All is theirs, even the world, and things present, as well as things to come, Co1 3:21, Co1 3:22. They have it by inheritance, a safe and honourable title, not by permission only and connivance. When evil-doers are cut off the righteous sometimes inherit what they gathered. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, Job 27:17; Pro 13:22. This promise is here made, 1. To those that live a life of faith (Psa 37:9); Those that wait upon the Lord, as dependents on him, expectants from him, and suppliants to him, shall inherit the earth, as a token of his present favour to them and an earnest of better things intended for them in the other world. God is a good Master, that provides plentifully and well, not only for his working servants, but for his waiting servants. 2. To those that live a quiet and peaceable life (Psa 37:11): The meek shall inherit the earth. They are in least danger of being injured and disturbed in the possession of what they have and they have most satisfaction in themselves and consequently the sweetest relish of their creature-comforts. Our Saviour has made this a gospel promise, and a confirmation of the blessings he pronounced on the meek, Mat 5:5. Secondly, That they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace, Psa 37:11. Perhaps they have not abundance of wealth to delight in; but they have that which is better, abundance of peace, inward peace and tranquility of mind, peace with God, and then peace in God, that great peace which those have that love God's law, whom nothing shall offend (Psa 119:165), that abundance of peace which is in the kingdom of Christ (Psa 72:7), that peace which the world cannot give (Joh 14:27), and which the wicked cannot have, Isa 57:21. This they shall delight themselves in, and in it they shall have a continual feast; while those that have abundance of wealth do but cumber and perplex themselves with it and have little delight in it. Thirdly, That God knows their days, Psa 37:18. He takes particular notice of them, of all they do and of all that happens to them. He keeps account of the days of their service, and not one day's work shall go unrewarded, and of the days of their suffering, that for those also they may receive a recompence. He knows their bright days, and has pleasure in their prosperity; he knows their cloudy and dark days, the days of their affliction, and as the day is so shall the strength be. Fourthly, That their inheritance shall be for ever; not their inheritance in the earth, but that incorruptible indefeasible one which is laid up for them in heaven. Those that are sure of an everlasting inheritance in the other world have no reason to envy the wicked their transitory possessions and pleasures in this world. Fifthly, That in the worst of times it shall go well with them (Psa 37:19): They shall not be ashamed of their hope and confidence in God, nor of the profession they have made of religion; for the comfort of that will stand them in stead, and be a real support to them, in evil times. When others droop they shall lift up their heads with joy and confidence: Even in the days of famine, when others are dying for hunger round about them, they shall be satisfied, as Elijah was; in some way or other God will provide food convenient for them, or give them hearts to be satisfied and content without it, so that, if they should be hardly bestead and hungry, they shall not (as the wicked do) fret themselves and curse their king and their God (Isa 7:21), but rejoice in God as the God of their salvation even when the fig-tree does not blossom, Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18. 2. Good people have no reason to fret at the occasional success of the designs of the wicked against the just. Though they do bring some of their wicked devices to pass, which makes us fear they will gain their point and bring them all to pass, yet let us cease from anger, and not fret ourselves so as to think of giving up the cause. For, (1.) Their plots will be their shame, Psa 37:12, Psa 37:13. It is true the wicked plotteth against the just; there is a rooted enmity in the seed of the wicked one against the righteous seed; their aim is, if they can, to destroy their righteousness, or, if that fail, then to destroy them. With this end in view they have acted with a great deal both of cursed policy and contrivance (they plot, they practice, against the just), and of cursed zeal and fury - they gnash upon them with their teeth, so desirous are they, if they could get it into their power, to eat them up, and so full of rage and indignation are they because it is not in their power; but by all this they do but make themselves ridiculous. The Lord shall laugh at them, Psa 2:4, Psa 2:5. They are proud and insolent, but God shall pour contempt upon them. he is not only displeased with them, but he despises them and all their attempts as vain and ineffectual, and their malice as impotent and in a chain; for he sees that his day is coming, that is, [1.] The day of God's reckoning, the day of the revelation of his righteousness, which now seems clouded and eclipsed. Men have their day now. This is your hour, Luk 22:53. But God will have his day shortly, a day of recompences, a day which will set all to rights, and render that ridiculous which now passes for glorious. It is a small thing to be judged of man's judgment, Co1 4:3. God's day will give a decisive judgment. [2.] The day of their ruin. The wicked man's day, the day set for his fall, that day is coming, which denotes delay; it has not yet come, but certainly it will come. The believing prospect of that day will enable the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to despise the rage of her enemies and laugh them to scorn, Isa 37:22. (2.) Their attempts will be their destruction, Psa 37:14, Psa 37:15. See here, [1.] How cruel they are in their designs against good people. They prepare instruments of death, the sword and the bow, no less will serve; they hunt for the precious life. That which they design is to cast down and slay; it is the blood of the saints they thirst after. They carry on the design very far, and it is near to be put in execution: They have drawn the sword, and bent the bow; and all these military preparations are made against the helpless, the poor and needy (which proves them to be very cowardly), and against the guiltless, such as are of upright conversation, that never gave them any provocation, nor offered injury to them or any other person, which proves them to be very wicked. Uprightness itself will be no fence against their malice. But, [2.] How justly their malice recoils upon themselves: Their sword shall turn into their own heart, which implies the preservation of the righteous from their malice and the filling up of the measure of their own iniquity by it. Sometimes that very thing proves to be their own destruction which they projected against their harmless neighbours; however, God's sword, which their provocations have drawn against them, will give them their death's wound. (3.) Those that are not suddenly cut off shall yet be so disabled for doing any further mischief that the interests of the church shall be effectually secured: Their bows shall be broken (Psa 37:15); the instruments of their cruelty shall fail them and they shall lose those whom they had made tools of to serve their bloody purposes with; nay, their arms shall be broken, so that they shall not be able to go on with their enterprises, Psa 37:17. But the Lord upholds the righteous, so that they neither sink under the weight of their afflictions nor are crushed by the violence of their enemies. He upholds them both in their integrity and in their prosperity; and those that are so upheld by the rock of ages have no reason to envy the wicked the support of their broken reeds.

Verse 21

These verses are much to the same purport with the foregoing verses of this psalm, for it is a subject worthy to be dwelt upon. Observe here, I. What is required of us as the way to our happiness, which we may learn both from the characters here laid down and from the directions here given. If we would be blessed of God, 1. We must make conscience of giving every body his own; for the wicked borrows and pays not again, Psa 37:21. It is the first thing which the Lord our God requires of us, that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is not only a shameful paltry thing, but a sinful wicked thing, not to repay what we have borrowed. Some make this an instance, not so much of the wickedness of the wicked as of the misery and poverty to which they are reduced by the just judgment of God, that they shall be necessitated to borrow for their supply and then be in no capacity to repay it again, and so lie at the mercy of their creditors. Whatever some men seem to think of it, as it is a great sin for those that are able to deny the payment of their just debts, so it is a great misery not to be able to pay them. 2. We must be ready to all acts of charity and beneficence; for, as it is an instance of God's goodness to the righteous that he puts it into the power of his hand to be kind and to do good (and so some understand it, God's blessing increases his little to such a degree that he has abundance to spare for the relief of others), so it is an instance of the goodness of the righteous man that he has a heart proportionable to his estate: He shows mercy, and gives, Psa 37:21. He is ever merciful, or every day, or all the day, merciful, and lends, and sometimes there is as true charity in lending as in giving; and giving and lending are acceptable to God when they proceed from a merciful disposition in the heart, which, if it be sincere, will be constant, and will keep us from being weary of well-doing. he that is truly merciful will be ever merciful. 3. We must leave our sins, and engage in the practice of serious godliness (Psa 37:27): Depart from evil and do good. Cease to do evil and abhor it; learn to do well and cleave to it; this is true religion. 4. We must abound in good discourse, and with our tongues must glorify God and edify others. It is part of the character of a righteous man (Psa 37:30) that his mouth speaketh wisdom; not only he speaks wisely, but he speaks wisdom, like Solomon himself, for the instruction of those about him. His tongue talks not of things idle and impertinent, but of judgment, that is, of the word and providence of God and the rules of wisdom for the right ordering of the conversation. Out of the abundance of a good heart will the mouth speak that which is good and to the use of edifying. 5. We must have our wills brought into an entire subjection to the will and word of God (Psa 37:31): The law of God, of his God, is in his heart; and in vain do we pretend that God is our God if we do not receive his law into our hearts and resign ourselves to the government of it. It is but a jest and a mockery to speak wisdom, and to talk of judgment (Psa 37:30), unless we have the law in our hearts, and we think as we speak. The law of God must be a commanding ruling principle in the heart; it must be a light there, a spring there, and then the conversation will be regular and uniform: None of his steps will slide; it will effectually prevent backsliding into sin, and the uneasiness that follows from it. II. What is assured to us, as instances of our happiness and comfort, upon these conditions. 1. That we shall have the blessing of God, and that blessing shall be the spring, and sweetness, and security of all our temporal comforts and enjoyments (Psa 37:22): Such as are blessed of God, as all the righteous are, with a Father's blessing, by virtue of that shall inherit the earth, or the land (for so the same word is translated, Psa 37:29), the land of Canaan, that glory of all lands. Our creature-comforts are comforts indeed to us when we see them flowing from the blessing of God, we are sure not to want any thing that is good for us in this world. The earth shall yield us her increase if God, as our own God, give us his blessing, Psa 67:6. And as those whom God blesses are thus blessed indeed (for they shall inherit the land), so those whom he curses are cursed indeed; they shall be cut off and rooted out, and their extirpation by the divine curse will set off the establishment of the righteous by the divine blessing and be a foil to it. 2. That God will direct and dispose of our actions and affairs so as may be most for his glory (Psa 37:23): The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. By his grace and Holy Spirit he directs the thoughts, affections, and designs of good men. He has all hearts in his hand, but theirs by their own consent. By his providence he overrules the events that concern them, so as to make their way plain before them, both what they should do and what they may expect. Observe, God orders the steps of a good man; not only his way in general, by his written word, but his particular steps, by the whispers of conscience, saying, This is the way, walk in it. He does not always show him his way at a distance, but leads him step by step, as children are led, and so keeps him in a continual dependence upon his guidance; and this, (1.) Because he delights in his way, and is well pleased with the paths of righteousness wherein he walks. The Lord knows the way of the righteous (Psa 1:6), knows it with favour, and therefore directs it. (2.) That he may delight in his way. Because God orders his way according to his own will, therefore he delights in it; for, as he loves his own image upon us, so he is well pleased with what we do under his guidance. 3. That God will keep us from being ruined by our falls either into sin or into trouble (Psa 37:24): Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. (1.) A good man may be overtaken in a fault, but the grace of God shall recover him to repentance, so that he shall not be utterly cast down. Though he may, for a time, lose the joys of God's salvation, yet they shall be restored to him; for God shall uphold him with his hand, uphold him with his free Spirit. The root shall be kept alive, though the leaf wither; and there will come a spring after the winter. (2.) A good man may be in distress, his affairs embarrassed, his spirits sunk, but he shall not be utterly cast down; God will be the strength of his heart when his flesh and heart fail, and will uphold him with his comforts, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail before him. 4. That we shall not want the necessary supports of this life (Psa 37:25): "I have been young and now am old, and, among all the changes I have seen in men's outward condition and the observations I have made upon them, I never saw the righteous forsaken of God and man, as I have sometimes seen wicked people abandoned both by heaven and earth; nor do I ever remember to have seen the seed of the righteous reduced to such an extremity as to beg their bread." David had himself begged his bread of Abimelech the priest, but it was when Saul hunted him; and our Saviour has taught us to except the case of persecution for righteousness' sake out of all the temporal promises (Mar 10:30), because that has such peculiar honours and comforts attending it as make it rather a gift (as the apostle reckons it, Phi 1:29) than a loss or grievance. But there are very few instances of good men, or their families, that are reduced to such extreme poverty as many wicked people bring themselves to by their wickedness. He had not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread. Forsaken (so some expound it); if they do want God will raise them up friends to supply them, without a scandalous exposing of themselves to the reproach of common beggars; or, if they go from door to door for meat, it shall not be with despair, as the wicked man that wanders abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? Job 15:23. Nor shall he be denied, as the prodigal, that would fain have filled his belly, but no man gave unto him, Luk 15:16. Nor shall he grudge if he be not satisfied, as David's enemies, when they wandered up and down for meat, Psa 59:15. Some make this promise relate especially to those that are charitable and liberal to the poor, and to intimate that David never observed any that brought themselves to poverty by their charity. It is withholding more than is meet that tends to poverty, Pro 11:24. 5. That God will not desert us, but graciously protect us in our difficulties and straits (Psa 37:28): The Lord loves judgment; he delights in doing justice himself and he delights in those that do justice; and therefore he forsakes not his saints in affliction when others make themselves strange to them and become shy of them, but he takes care that they be preserved for ever, that is, that the saint in every age be taken under his protection, that the succession be preserved to the end of time, and that particular saints be preserved from all the temptations and through all the trials of this present time, to that happiness which shall be for ever. He will preserve them to his heavenly kingdom; that is a preservation for ever, Ti2 4:18; Psa 12:7. 6. That we shall have a comfortable settlement in this world, and in a better when we leave this. That we shall dwell for evermore (Psa 37:27), and not be cut off as the seed of the wicked, Psa 37:28. Those shall not be tossed that make God their rest and are at home in him. But on this earth there is no dwelling for ever, no continuing city; it is in heaven only, that city which has foundations, that the righteous shall dwell for ever; that will be their everlasting habitation. 7. That we shall not become a prey to our adversaries, who seek our ruin, Psa 37:32, Psa 37:33. There is an adversary that takes all opportunities to do us a mischief, a wicked one that watches the righteous (as a roaring lion watches his prey) and seeks to slay him. There are wicked men that do so, that are very subtle (they watch the righteous, that they may have an opportunity to do them a mischief effectually and may have a pretence wherewith to justify themselves in the doing of it), and very spiteful, for they seek to slay him. But it may very well be applied to the wicked one, the devil, that old serpent, who has his wiles to entrap the righteous, his devices which we should not be ignorant of, - that great red dragon, who seeks to slay them, - that roaring lion, who goes about continually, restless and raging, and seeking whom he may devour. But it is here promised that he shall not prevail, neither Satan nor his instruments. (1.) He shall not prevail as a field-adversary: The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will not permit Satan to do what he would, nor will he withdraw his strength and grace from his people, but will enable them to resist and overcome him, and their faith shall not fail, Luk 22:31, Luk 22:32. A good man may fall into the hands of a messenger of Satan, and be sorely buffeted, but God will not leave him in his hands, Co1 10:13. (2.) He shall not prevail as a law-adversary: God will not condemn him when he is judged, though urged to do it by the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before our God day and night. His false accusations will be thrown out, as those exhibited against Joshua (Zac 3:1, Zac 3:2), The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! It is God that justifies, and then who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?

Verse 34

The psalmist's conclusion of this sermon (for that is the nature of this poem) is of the same purport with the whole, and inculcates the same things. I. The duty here pressed upon us is still the same (Psa 37:34): Wait on the Lord and keep his way. Duty is ours, and we must mind it and make conscience of it, keep God's way and never turn out of it nor loiter in it, keep close, keep going; but events are God's and we must refer ourselves to him for the disposal of them; we must wait on the Lord, attend the motions of his providence, carefully observe them, and conscientiously accommodate ourselves to them. If we make conscience of keeping God's way, we may with cheerfulness wait on him and commit to him our way; and we shall find him a good Master both to his working servants and to his waiting servants. II. The reasons to enforce this duty are much the same too, taken from the certain destruction of the wicked and the certain salvation of the righteous. This good man, being tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked, that he might fortify himself against the temptation, goes into the sanctuary of God and leads us thither (Psa 73:17); there he understands their end, and thence gives us to understand it, and, by comparing that with the end of the righteous, baffles the temptation and puts it to silence. Observe, 1. The misery of the wicked at last, however they may prosper awhile: The end of the wicked shall be cut off (Psa 37:38); and that cannot be well that will undoubtedly end so ill. The wicked, in their end, will be cut off from all good and all hopes of it; a final period will be put to all their joys, and they will be for ever separated from the fountain of life to all evil. (1.) Some instances of the remarkable ruin of wicked people David had himself observed in this world - that the pomp and prosperity of sinners would not secure them from the judgments of God when their day should come to fall (Psa 37:36, Psa 37:35): I have seen a wicked man (the word is singular), suppose Saul or Ahithophel (for David was an old man when he penned this psalm), in great power, formidable (so some render it), the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, carrying all before him with a high hand, and seeming to be firmly fixed and finely flourishing, spreading himself like a green bay-tree, which produces all leaves and no fruit; like a native home-born Israelite (so Dr. Hammond), likely to take root. But what became of him? Eliphaz, long before, had learned, when he saw the foolish taking root, to curse his habitation, Job 5:3. And David saw cause for it; for this bay-tree withered away as soon as the fig-tree. Christ cursed: He passed away as a dream, as a shadow, such was he and all the pomp and power he was so proud of. He was gone in an instant: He was not; I sought him with wonder, but he could not be found. He had acted his part and then quitted the stage, and there was no miss of him. (2.) The total and final ruin of sinners, of all sinners, will shortly be made as much a spectacle to the saints as they are now sometimes made a spectacle to the world (Psa 37:34): When the wicked are cut off (and cut off they certainly will be) thou shalt see it, with awful adorations of the divine justice. The transgressors shall be destroyed together, Psa 37:38. In this world God singles out here one sinner and there another, out of many, to be made an example in terrorem - as a warning; but in the day of judgment there will be a general destruction of all the transgressors, and not one shall escape. Those that have sinned together shall be damned together. Bind them in bundles, to burn them. 2. The blessedness of the righteous, at last. Let us see what will be the end of God's poor despised people. (1.) Preferment. There have been times the iniquity of which has been such that men's piety has hindered their preferment in this world, and put them quite out of the way of raising estates; but those that keep God's way may be assured that in due time he will exalt them, to inherit the land (Psa 37:34); he will advance them to a place in the heavenly mansions, to dignity, and honour, and true wealth, in the New Jerusalem, to inherit that good land, that land of promise, of which Canaan was a type; he will exalt them above all contempt and danger. (2.) Peace, Psa 37:37. Let all people mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; take notice of him to admire him and imitate him, keep your eye upon him to observe what comes of him, and you will find that the end of that man is peace. Sometimes the latter end of his days proves more comfortable to him than the beginning was; the storms blow over, and he is comforted again, after the time that he was afflicted. However, if all his days continue dark and cloudy, perhaps his dying day may prove comfortable to him and his sun may set in brightness; or, if it should set under a cloud, yet his future state will be peace, everlasting peace. Those that walk in their uprightness while they live shall enter into peace when they die, Isa 57:2. A peaceful death has concluded the troublesome life of many a good man; and all is well that thus ends everlastingly well. Balaam himself wished that his death and his last end might be like that of the righteous Num 23:10. (3.) Salvation, Psa 37:39, Psa 37:40. The salvation of the righteous (which may be applied to the great salvation of which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, Pe1 1:10) is of the Lord; it will be the Lord's doing. The eternal salvation, that salvation of God which those shall see that order their conversation aright (Psa 50:23), is likewise of the Lord. And he that intends Christ and heaven for them will be a God all-sufficient to them: He is their strength in time of trouble, to support them under it and carry them through it. He shall help them and deliver them, help them to do their duties, to bear their burdens, and to maintain their spiritual conflicts, help them to bear their troubles well and get good by them, and, in due time, shall deliver them out of their troubles. He shall deliver them from the wicked that would overwhelm them and swallow them up, shall secure them there, where the wicked cease from troubling. He shall save them, not only keep them safe, but make them happy, because they trust in him, not because they have merited it from him, but because they have committed themselves to him and reposed a confidence in him, and have thereby honoured him.

Verse 1

Ps 37 This psalm elaborates on the problems posed in Ps 36: How should the godly respond to the reality of evil? When will the Lord bring justice? Why does he permit the wicked to destroy his created order? Psalm 37 offers clear responses that reduce the tensions of life (37:1-9, 34) and promise that the meek will have a future (37:10-11, 39-40). The alternating contrast between the godly and the wicked emphasizes the futility of folly (37:12-24, 27-33). The personal observations of the psalmist add a human touch (37:25-26, 35-38). He encourages viewing the inheritance of the land from a long-range perspective: The earth belongs to the Lord, who will give it to those he blesses—the lowly and godly who trust in him, put their hope in him, and follow him (see 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34; see also Isa 57:13; Matt 5:5).

37:1-9 The wise respond to evil by trusting in the Lord. Trust includes five dimensions: (1) renouncing irritability and envy (37:1-2); (2) delighting in the Lord (37:3-4); (3) submitting to the Lord (37:5-6); (4) practicing patience in hope (37:7); and (5) avoiding anger (37:8-9).

37:1 envy: The jealous desire to have what others enjoy leads to further sin (73:3; Prov 3:31; Jas 1:14-15; 4:1-2).

Verse 2

37:2 Finite existence is part of the human condition (see 90:5-6; 92:7; 102:4, 11; 103:15; 129:6; Isa 40:7-8).

Verse 3

37:3-4 The antidote to irritability and envy (37:1) is trust in the Lord.

37:3 To do good means cultivating a devotion to wisdom (see 34:14; Prov 3:5-7).

Verse 4

37:4 To take delight in the Lord means aligning with the Lord’s way in order to enjoy him.

Verse 6

37:6 Justice occurs when the Lord’s will triumphs and the godly experience his rescue (Isa 45:8; 51:5-6; 58:8, 10-11).

Verse 7

37:7 Be still: We should let the Lord be God rather than taking matters into our own hands.

Verse 8

37:8 Irritability and anger quickly corrode character.

Verse 9

37:9-11 The wicked will not possess the land; those who trust in the Lord will. The Lord promises an inheritance because he is committed to caring for his people.

Verse 11

37:11 The Lord is the author of peace (85:10)—he brings peace to a chaotic world (29:11; 37:11; 85:8; 147:14). His wisdom guides the lowly into the way of peace (119:165; Matt 5:5).

Verse 12

37:12-17 The wicked seek to destroy the Lord’s order, but he defeats them.

37:12-13 The wicked snarl to express their bitter envy. They plot to bring an end to the godly, but the Lord derides them because they cannot succeed (2:4).

Verse 14

37:14-15 The weapons of the wicked will turn against them (cp. 7:12-13).

Verse 16

37:16 Being wise with modest means is better than having prosperity and power and being wicked (Prov 15:16; 16:8, 19; 17:1; 28:6).

Verse 18

37:18-20 The Lord cares for the blameless in this life and for eternity, but the wicked will perish.

Verse 20

37:20 Smoke depicts the temporary nature of life (68:2; 102:3).

Verse 21

37:21 To borrow and never repay is a behavior of a crooked lifestyle. • Generous givers freely share what they freely receive from the Lord (see 111:5; 112:5).

Verse 23

37:23-24 The rectitude and strength of a godly person’s life comes from the Lord (see Prov 4:12; 14:15; 16:9; 20:24).

Verse 25

37:25-26 The Lord does not abandon his children or their descendants.

Verse 27

37:27-33 The godly are wise; they do good and reject evil. The Lord cares for them, protecting them and ensuring that they receive their rightful portion of the land as their inheritance. The wicked might try to ambush the godly, but they will not succeed.

Verse 30

37:30 The godly base their counsel on the Lord’s wisdom.

Verse 31

37:31 They have made God’s law their own: The godly internalize God’s wisdom and instructions (see 119:11; Jer 24:7; 31:31-34).

Verse 35

37:35-36 The wicked might appear to be flourishing like a tree (cp. 52:8; 92:12-13), but they eventually die and are forgotten (37:2).

Verse 39

37:39-40 The Lord provides strength for his people.