Psalms 37:3-16

3 ¹Trust in the LORD and do good; ²Dwell in the land and ³cultivate faithfulness.

4 ⁴Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will ⁵give you the desires of your heart.

5 ⁶Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth ⁷your righteousness as the light And your judgment ⁸as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD and ⁹wait patiently for Him; ¹⁰Do not fret because of him who ¹¹prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

8 Cease from anger and ¹²forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

9 For ¹³evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will ¹⁴inherit the land.

10 Yet ¹⁵a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for ¹⁶his place and he will not be there.

11 But ¹⁷the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in ¹⁸abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked ¹⁹plots against the righteous And ²⁰gnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord ²¹laughs at him, For He sees ²²his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and ²³bent their bow To cast down the ²⁴afflicted and the needy, To ²⁵slay those who are upright in conduct.

15 Their sword will enter their own heart, And their ²⁶bows will be broken.

16 ²⁷Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.

Psalms 37:3-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 37

\\<<[A Psalm] of David>>\\. This psalm, it is very probable, was written at the same time, and upon the same occasion, with the former; and describes the different states of good and bad men; and is full of exhortations, instructions, and advice to the people of God; intermixed with various encouraging promises. A late learned writer {h} thinks it was written for Mephibosheth's consolation under Ziba's calumny. {h} Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 219.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 62:8
• 2. Deuteronomy 30:20
• 3. Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:13, 14
• 4. Job 22:26; Psalms 94:19; Isaiah 58:14
• 5. Psalms 21:2; Psalms 145:19; Matthew 7:7, 8
• 6. Psalms 55:22; Proverbs 16:3; 1 Peter 5:7
• 7. Psalms 97:11; Isaiah 58:8, 10; Micah 7:9
• 8. Job 11:17
• 9. Psalms 40:1; Psalms 62:5; Lamentations 3:26
• 10. Psalms 37:1, 8
• 11. Jeremiah 12:1
• 12. Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8
• 13. Psalms 37:2, 22
• 14. Psalms 25:13; Proverbs 2:21; Isaiah 57:13; Isaiah 60:21; Matthew 5:5
• 15. Job 24:24
• 16. Job 7:10; Psalms 37:35, 36
• 17. Matthew 5:5
• 18. Psalms 72:7
• 19. Psalms 31:13, 20
• 20. Psalms 35:16
• 21. Psalms 2:4
• 22. 1 Samuel 26:10; Job 18:20
• 23. Psalms 11:2; Lamentations 2:4
• 24. Psalms 35:10; Psalms 86:1
• 25. Psalms 11:2
• 26. 1 Samuel 2:4; Psalms 46:9
• 27. Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 16:8

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "feed securely" or "feed on His faithfulness"
• [b]. Or "Be still"
• [c]. Or "longingly"