FRAMEWORKS:
Psalm 37
Of
David.
[Preliminary
Comments: It seems that throughout David's life, difficulties
with other people was a characteristic that prevailed. In his
early days working for Saul, he was a soldier fighting off the
Philistines. Later, on the run, he was fighting off Saul. When
he eventually became king, he was fighting off enemy neighbours.
During his reign, he suffered the rebellion of Absalom and was
fighting off his own people. It is not surprising therefore that
so many of David's psalms has such difficulties at their heart.
However,
as we will see in this psalm, so much of the time David's struggling
to cope with such people was more on an ethical or moral basis.
This, longer than most of his psalms, is all about coping with
such people, especially those he would simply designate as ‘the
wicked' [v.10-17,20,21,28]. His strategy for dealing with such
people involves
•
being at peace because they won't last
long [v.1,2],
•
trusting in God [v.3-8,9b,11,13,17-19,23,24,28a,29,
33,34,39,40]
aware of being those who the Lord looks after,
•
recognising that God will deal with
the wicked [v.9a,10,13,15,17a,20,28b,38].
The
reader will find it especially beneficial to go through and pick
out those positive verses we've noted above.]
v.1,2
David calls us to be at peace about wrong doers
v.1
Do
not fretbecause of those who are evil
or be envious
of those who do wrong;
v.2 for
like the grass they will soon wither,
like green
plants they will soon die away.
v.3-6
He gives us a strategy to cope
v.3
Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell
in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
v.4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will
give you the desires of your heart.
v.5
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in
him and he will do this:
v.6 He
will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication
like the noonday sun.
v.7,8
Again he counsels us, trust in God in all this
v.7
Be
still before the Lord
and wait
patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in
their ways,
when they
carry out their wicked schemes.
v.8
Refrain
from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret
—it leads only to evil.
v.9-11
He contrasts the wicked with those who trust God
v.9
For
those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those
who hope in the Lord will
inherit the land.
v.10
A
little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you
look for them, they will not be found.
v.11
But
the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy
peace and prosperity.
v.12,13
The wicked versus the Lord
v.12
The
wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash
their teeth at them;
v.13
but
the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows
their day is coming.
v.14-19
The wicked versus the righteous
v.14
The wicked draw the sword
and bend
the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay
those whose ways are upright.
v.15
But
their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their
bows will be broken.
v.16
Better
the little that the righteous have
than the
wealth of many wicked;
v.17
for
the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the
Lord upholds the
righteous.
v.18
The
blameless spend their days under the Lord 's care,
and their
inheritance will endure forever.
v.19
In
times of disaster they will not wither;
in days
of famine they will enjoy plenty.
v.20-22
The Lord will deal with the wicked
v.20
But
the wicked will perish:
Though the
Lord 's enemies are like the
flowers of the field,
they will
be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
v.21
The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the
righteous give generously;
v.22
those
the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those
he curses will be destroyed.
v.23,24
The Lord looks after those who trust in Him
v.23
The
Lord makes firm the steps
of the one
who delights in him;
v.24
though
he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the
Lord upholds him with his
hand.
v.25,26
His personal testimony in old age
v.25
I
was young and now I am old,
yet I have
never seen the righteous forsaken
or their
children begging bread.
v.26
They
are always generous and lend freely;
their children
will be a blessing.
v.27,28
You can be confident in being righteous before the Lord
v.27
Turn
from evil and do good;
then you
will dwell in the land forever.
v.28
For
the Lord loves the just
and will
not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers
will be completely destroyed;
the offspring
of the wicked will perish.
v.29-31
The way of the righteous is clear
v.29
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell
in it forever.
v.30
The
mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their
tongues speak what is just.
v.31
The
law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet
do not slip.
v.32-34
The Lord will preserve the righteous
v.32
The
wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on
putting them to death;
v.33
but
the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them
be condemned when brought to trial.
v.34
Hope
in the Lord
and keep
his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the
land;
when the
wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
v.35,36
The Lord will deal with the wicked
v.35
I
have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing
like a luxuriant native tree,
v.36
but
he soon passed away and was no more;
though I
looked for him, he could not be found.
v.37,38
The outcomes for the upright and the wicked is very different
v.37
Consider
the blameless, observe the upright;
a future
awaits those who seek peace.
v.38
But
all sinners will be destroyed;
there will
be no future for the wicked.
v.39,40
The Lord will always be there for the righteous
v.39
The
salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their
stronghold in time of trouble.
v.40
The
Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers
them from the wicked and saves them,
because
they take refuge in him.
[Additional
Thoughts: This psalm contains more than most much fuel
for meditation on the good that the Lord promises for his people,
described variously in this psalm as ‘those who hope in the Lord…
the meek… those whose ways are upright… the righteous … the blameless…
one who delights in Him … the just … and whose lives are contrasted
with ‘the wicked'.]
Continue
to Psa 38