Bible Commentary - Psalms 37

Although this psalm has many themes and elements, the central message is to contrast the enduring prosperity of the righteous with the fleeting success of the wicked.

In many psalms, the first verse defines the overarching theme or message of the psalm as a whole. In the case of this psalm, the first verse only really covers half of the message. It says we should not worry or have envy for the wicked, because their destruction is assured. Verses 3-4 give us the second half of the psalm, telling us that those who “do good” and “delight in the LORD” will dwell in the land and enjoy the desires of their hearts.

This presents the first basic theme of contrast between the wicked and the righteous. We are told that, though the wicked may appear successful, their success is a mirage; here today and gone tomorrow. Like the grass of the field, like a “luxurious native tree”, like “the flowers of the field”, they may appear to be prosperous, secure and happy. Yet they pass away. However, the righteous have enduring prosperity. They have “a future” (v. 37), also translated as “posterity”. Not only are the righteous blessed, but their children are also blessed (v. 25-26). This is a multi-generational blessing that reinforces the second theme: endurance.

We see throughout this psalm the notion of blessing represented through endurance or posterity. The idea is that a righteous person is blessed through the persistence and blessing of their descendants. Consider David himself, of whom God says “you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel” (1 Kings 9:5). While in part this can be (correctly) construed as promising the line of kingship in particular, it can also be more generalized as a promise that David’s descendants would endure through all generations. Here in Psalm 37, there is of course no throne promised, but the idea of God blessing the descendants of the righteous has close parallels to David’s promises.

On the contrary, we see temporary blessing in the lives of the wicked, but then they are snuffed out. Like a flower blooming in spring but dead by fall, so is the lives of the wicked. The wicked have “no future” (v. 38). Their present appearance is like an illusion, presenting the appearance of blessing but lacking its substance.

Of course, this whole theme exists to present a contrast between the righteous and wicked; it does so in a very specific way. David is basically telling us to not be deceived; we might see the wicked prosper for a time, but their prosperity would be cut short.

Interestingly, this theology is similar to what’s offered by Job’s three friends. They have a strongly held belief that the LORD punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous, and see Job’s suffering as evidence of the LORD’s punishment (and implicitly, Job’s sin). The difference is that Psalm 37 allows for what I call a “time of confusion”. There is a time when we might see the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. There is a time when the wicked will hunt the righteous like prey (v. 14), plotting against them and preparing disasters for good people (v. 12). However, this is only temporary. The psalm assures us that in the end, things will return to the correct and just order, with the righteous blessed and enduring in the land, and the wicked being cut off and destroyed.

The blessing of the righteous flows from their relationship with the LORD. Verses 3-4 tell us to “trust in the LORD” and “delight in the LORD” as the way to experience God’s blessing. The rest of the psalm continues to repeat this pattern as well, such as verse 5 (“commit your way to the LORD”), verse 7 (“Be still before the LORD”), verse 9 (“hope in the LORD”), verse 18 (“The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care”) and on and on.

A third key theme is the concept of inheriting the land as a symbol of divine blessing. This relates to the overall message of the psalm in two ways. First, inheriting or possessing the land is symbolic of the LORD’s blessing and punishment to righteous and wicked people respectively. Many verses refer to inheritance of the land, such as v. 9, 11, 18, 22, 24, 29 and 34. I could probably find more if I looked more carefully but that should be enough to prove my point. Across all of these verses, possessing or inheriting the land is a blessing from God directed at the righteous and withheld from the wicked. Second, inheriting the land is another way of expressing multi-generational continuity, which I previously discussed. Beyond just having children or security in time of famine, possessing the land is another way to “abide forever” as v. 27 says.

More generally, the promised land is deeply symbolic of God’s covenant with Abraham and Israel. Possessing the promised land and one’s tribal inheritance is another way of connecting with God’s manifest presence and maintaining the covenantal relationship with God. Deuteronomy 28:63-64 makes it clear that if Israel sinned they would be torn from the land. They would be separated from the temple built on that land, separated from the LORD’s presence that dwells in the temple, and as a result they would “serve other gods”. Being torn from the land was the final punishment for disobedience because it was the most severe.

A fourth key theme is borrowing and lending. This borrows (no pun intended) from the language of Deuteronomy 28, which says that if Israel obeys God they will “lend to many nations but will borrow from none” (Deut 28:12). Contrariwise, Deuteronomy 28 also tells us that if Israel is disobedient and sins against the LORD, “they will lend to you, but you will not lend to them”. In essence, the lender is blessed because the lender has extra possessions that he or she can afford to invest. The lender has an abundance. The lender gets to make decisions, choosing who to share with. The lender is in a position of power and overflow.

Finally, the last key theme is understanding the LORD’s role. God’s role in all this, if you observe how he is actually described, is primarily upholding and defending the righteous. Implicitly he does other things, like destroying the wicked, but what the text says most often is that the LORD “upholds” the righteous (v. 24) in one way or another. Although we understand that God is the great judge, upholding his righteous judgments over all people, both good and bad, this psalm emphasizes God’s special relationship with the righteous. While God is distant and hostile towards the wicked, he is caring and loving towards the righteous. This is reflected in the many ways that God helps the righteous: the LORD “sustains” the righteous (v. 17), he “establishes” them and “delights” in them (v. 23), the LORD “holds [the] hand” of the righteous person (v. 24), a particularly intimate expression of affection and blessing. Ultimately, the psalm concludes that the LORD “delivers” the righteous out of the hands of the wicked, and “saves” the righteous (v. 40). The LORD is our salvation from any kind of trouble, “because [the righteous] take refuge in him”.