Psalms 37

David had written about the wicked in Psalm 36 (see vv. 1, 11), and he will pick up the theme again in Psalm 39. He wrote Psalm 37 in his mature years (v. 25), and in it he discussed the age-old problem of why the righteous suffer, while the wicked seem to prosper. Perhaps this psalm was part of David’s preparation of Solomon for the throne (1 Kings 2:3; see Prov. 23:17–18; 24:19–20). Honest atheists and agnostics don’t have to wrestle with this problem because their philosophy of relativism forbids them to use words like good, bad, righteous, and wicked. However, those who believe in God sometimes wonder why He allows the wicked to succeed while the righteous suffer. The word wicked is found fourteen times in the psalm (kjv). The theological foundation for the psalm is the covenant God made with Israel, recorded in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27—30. God owned the land, and if the nation obeyed Him, they could live in the land and enjoy its blessings. But if Israel disobeyed the Lord, He would first chasten them in the land (invasion, drought, famine), but if they continued to rebel, He would then take them out of the land (captivity). (See Deut. 11; 33:28; Lev. 26:3–10.) But it seemed that the wicked were prospering and that God wasn’t doing anything about it (see Jer. 12). The righteous could fret over the problem (vv. 1, 7–8), leave the land (v. 3), or go on being faithful, trusting the Lord to keep His Word (vv. 3, 5, 7, 34, 39). Like any mature believer who had been through his own share of suffering, David took the long view of the situation and evaluated the immediate and the transient in terms of the ultimate and the eternal. He encouraged Solomon and the people to believe God’s promises and wait on Him. In the psalm, he gave four encouraging assurances to believers who question how God is running His world. (See also Ps. 49 and 73.)

David gave one negative instruction—“Don’t fret” (vv. 1, 7, 8)—and four positive instructions: trust in the Lord (v. 3), delight in the Lord (v. 4), commit yourself to the Lord (vv. 5–6), and rest in the Lord (v. 7).

Fret not (vv. 1–2). The word translated “fret” means “to burn, to get heated up.” David’s message was, “Cool down and keep cool!” When we see evil in the world, we ought to feel a holy anger at sin (Eph. 4:26), but to envy the wicked only leads to fretting, and fretting leads to anger (v. 8). His argument is that the wicked are temporary and will one day be gone (see vv. 9, 22, 28, 34, 38). They are like grass that either fades away or is cut down and burned. In the East, vegetation is abundant during and immediately after the rainy seasons, but it quickly vanishes when the moisture is gone. (See 90:5–6; 102:11; 103:15–16; Isa. 40:6–8; James 1:10–11; 1 Peter 1:24.)

Trust in the Lord (v. 3). A fretful heart is not a trusting heart, because it lacks joy and peace (Rom. 15:13). Faith and works go together, so we should also do good as we wait on the Lord (34:14; Luke 6:35; Gal. 6:10). Some of God’s people were tempted to leave the land (see Ruth 1; 1 Sam. 26:19), which was tantamount to saying that God wasn’t faithful and couldn’t be trusted. But David urged them to stay in the land and trust God for what they needed (v. 27). Each tribe, clan, and family in Israel had its assigned inheritance, which was not to pass into other hands, and the Lord promised to care for the land of the faithful (vv. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34). The promise in verse 3 is variously translated: “enjoy safe pastures” (niv), “feed on His faithfulness” ( margin; nkjv), “enjoy security” (). If we are faithful to God, He will be faithful to us. Trusting the Lord is a key theme in this psalm (vv. 4, 5, 7, 34, 39).

Delight in the Lord (v. 4). The word translated “delight” comes from a root that means “to be brought up in luxury, to be pampered.” It speaks of the abundance of the blessings we have in the Lord Himself, totally apart from what He gives us. To enjoy the blessings and ignore the Blesser is to practice idolatry. In Jesus Christ, we have all God’s treasures, and we need no other. If we truly delight in the Lord, then the chief desire of our heart will be to know Him better so we can delight in Him even more, and the Lord will satisfy that desire! This is not a promise for people who want “things,” but for those who want more of God in their lives.

Commit your way to the Lord (vv. 5–6). The verb means “to roll off your burden” (1 Peter 5:7). God doesn’t take our burdens so that we can become irresponsible, but so we can serve Him better. Sometimes less care means we become careless, and that leads to failure. One of the things He will “bring to pass” is the vindication of His servants who have been slandered by God’s enemies (v. 6 niv; see vv. 28, 32–33).

Rest in the Lord (vv. 7–11). The verb means “be silent, be still.” It describes calm surrender to the Lord (62:5). Creative silence is a rare commodity today, even in church worship services. People cannot tolerate silence. A silent radio or TV screen invites listeners and viewers to switch to another station or channel. But unless we learn to wait silently before God, we will never experience His peace. For us to get upset because of the evil schemes of the ungodly is to doubt the goodness and justice of God (vv. 7, 12, 32). “Meekness” does not mean “weakness.” It means force under the control of faith. Moses was meek (Num. 12:3), but he was a man of great power. Jesus quoted verse 11 (Matt. 5:5) but expanded it to include “the earth.” “Inherit the land” (vv. 9, 11, 22, 29) refers to the security of future generations in the Land of Promise, according to God’s covenant (Gen. 12:1–3; 13:14–18; 15:7–17), for God had a great work for His righteous remnant to do in that land, culminating in the coming of Messiah. Eventually, the wicked will be cut off (vv. 9, 22, 28, 34, 38), which in Israel usually meant exclusion from the covenant community (Ex. 12:15; 30:33, 38; 31:14; Lev. 7:20–21), but it could mean execution (Gen. 9:11; Lev. 20:17; Num. 15:30–31).

Since God can be trusted, we should not fret, and since God understands our situation, we should not fear. The wicked plot against the poor and needy (v. 12; and see vv. 7, 32) and act like wild beasts about to devour them (“slay” in v. 14 means “to butcher an animal”), but the Lord laughs at the wicked (see 2:4) for He knows their judgment is coming. He also knows that their own weapons will turn against them (v. 15; 7:15ff.; 9:15ff.). God upholds the righteous (vv. 16–17) and sees to it they have what they need (Prov. 15:16; 16:8). Just as Jesus met a great need with a few loaves and fishes, so the Lord can “make a little go a long way.” “Know” in verse 18 refers to much more than intellectual understanding—“God knows what’s going on”—but indicates that He is involved and caring for us daily (see 1:6; 31:7, 15). “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11).

There is in verse 18 the suggestion of something beyond the needs of this life. The emphasis in Psalm 34 is on Israel’s national life in the land, and the ancient Jew saw his “immortality” in his posterity, but occasionally in The Psalms you catch a glimpse of the eternal. (See 16:11, 17: and the “forever” statements in 37:18, 27–29.) The wicked will perish like smoke at the altar (102:3; Hos. 13:3; the New International Version reads “like the beauty of the fields,” an image used in v. 2). If the punishment of the wicked involves more than suffering and death in this life, will not the blessing of the righteous go beyond this life as well?

He blesses them first of all with provision of their daily needs (vv. 21–22). The wicked may succeed for a time, but eventually they have to borrow in order to survive; while the godly have what they need and can lend to others (Deut. 15:6; 28:12, 44). This isn’t a promise for every believer at all times in all places, for many believers have died in poverty and hunger. Like the statements in the book of Proverbs, it’s a generalization that proves true in so many cases that we can safely apply it to life.

God not only gives provision, but He also gives protection (vv. 23–24). “Ordered” means “secured, established” (119:133), and even if believers stumble, God will pick them up and get them going again. He can keep us from stumbling (Jude 24), and He can restore us if we do stumble. Why? Because the Father delights in His children and wants them to learn to walk.

Along with the blessing of provision and protection is the blessing of the Lord’s presence with His people (vv. 25–26). As an elder saint, David bore witness to God’s faithfulness to him and his descendants. Not only did God meet every need, but He gave enough so that David could share it with others (Luke 6:38). As we pray for daily bread (Matt. 6:11), the Lord answers. God also blesses His people by enabling them to live obedient lives (vv. 27–29), which means righteousness in character and justice in conduct. God’s blessing on the godly continues in the lives of their children, but the descendants of the wicked are cut off. Alas, the sins of ungodly fathers influence their children to disobey God, and the Lord has to punish them as well. Finally, God blesses the righteous with His Word (vv. 30–31). God’s Word in the heart is the secret of a holy life (1:1–3; 40:8; 119:9–16; Deut. 6:6).

Three images illustrate God’s judgment of those who reject Him and rebel against His law: the court trial (vv. 32–34), the tree (vv. 35–36), and the rescue (vv. 37–40). The wicked watched the godly and tried to find some reason for accusing them. In spite of David’s integrity and Solomon’s great wisdom, the judicial system in Israel was far from efficient, and it was easy for the rich to oppress the poor and take what little they possessed (Amos 2:4–8; 4:1–3). But the Lord is the highest judge, and He knows how to deliver the righteous from lying witnesses and judges who have been bribed.

The godly are pictured by the fruitful tree (1:3) and the ungodly by a luxurious (“overbearing and towering”) shrub or tree, planted in its native soil where its roots can go down deep (vv. 35–36). Not only did the tree die and fall, but there was no evidence left behind that there had ever been a tree there at all! So God will do to the wicked, who appear to be successful and permanent but are destined for judgment. God not only judges the wicked but He also rescues the righteous from their clutches (vv. 37–40). The key question isn’t what people look like or what they possess, but what is their final end? (See Prov. 5:4; 14:12–13; 16:25; 24:20.) “There is a future for the man of peace … but the future of the wicked will be cut off” (vv. 37–38 niv). Some see this as referring to posterity, and that may be included, but certainly it describes the final destiny of the righteous and the wicked. The Lord delivers the righteous from eternal judgment, but He also delivers them from the attacks and accusations of the wicked in this world today. Why? “Because they trust in him” (v. 40). Fretting and fear cannot stand before faith in the living God.