Psalm 37:2-12

2 For they will soon ¹fade like ²the grass and wither ³like the green herb.

3 ⁴Trust in the Lord, and do good; ⁵dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. ^[a]

4 ⁶Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will ⁷give you the desires of your heart.

5 ⁸Commit your way to the Lord; ⁹trust in him, and he will act.

6 ¹⁰He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as ¹¹the noonday.

7 ¹²Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; ¹³fret not yourself over the one who ¹⁴prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 ¹⁵Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! ¹⁶Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9 ¹⁷For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall ¹⁸inherit the land.

10 In ¹⁹just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at ²⁰his place, he will not be there.

11 But ²¹the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in ²²abundant peace.

12 The wicked ²³plots against the righteous and ²⁴gnashes his teeth at him,

Psalm 37:2-12 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. 37:2 Job 14:2; See Job 27:13-23
• 2. 37:2 Ps. 90:5, 6
• 3. 37:2 Ps. 129:6
• 4. 37:3 Ps. 62:8; 115:9-11; Prov. 3:5; Isa. 26:4
• 5. 37:3 Lev. 26:5; Prov. 2:21
• 6. 37:4 Job 22:26; Isa. 58:14; [Phil. 3:1; 4:4]
• 7. 37:4 Matt. 6:33
• 8. 37:5 Ps. 22:8; 55:22; Prov. 16:3; 1 Pet. 5:7
• 9. 37:5 [See ver. 3 above]
• 10. 37:6 Isa. 58:8, 10; Mic. 7:9
• 11. 37:6 Job 11:17
• 12. 37:7 [Ps. 62:1; Isa. 30:15; Lam. 3:26]
• 13. 37:7 ver. 1
• 14. 37:7 Jer. 12:1
• 15. 37:8 [Eph. 4:26]
• 16. 37:8 [See ver. 7 above]
• 17. 37:9 ver. 2, 22
• 18. 37:9 Ps. 25:13; Prov. 2:21; Isa. 57:13; 60:21
• 19. 37:10 Job 24:24
• 20. 37:10 Job 7:10
• 21. 37:11 Cited Matt. 5:5
• 22. 37:11 Ps. 119:165; [Isa. 32:17]
• 23. 37:12 Ps. 31:13
• 24. 37:12 See Ps. 35:16

Footnotes

• [a] 37:3 Or 'and feed on faithfulness', or 'and find safe pasture'