Psalms 37:36

36 yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

Psalms 37:36 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 37:36

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 ^F4;

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 "Senescit velociter", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44.

Psalms 37:36 In-Context

34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,

36 yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.

38 But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.