In the preceding Psalm the Psalmist found relief and hope in the presence of high-handed iniquity by the contemplation of the inexhaustible lovingkindness of God. Here he assumes the character of a teacher, and bids the godly man not be disquieted by the sight of the prosperity of the wicked, for th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fret net thyself_ Lit., _incense not thyself:_be not angry or indignant or discontented. _neither be thou envious_&c. Neither be envious of them that do unrighteousness, and for the time prosper (Psalms 37:7). The severity of the temptation is attested by Psalms 73:3. The warning, repeated in Psalm... [ Continue Reading ]
Warnings and counsels for times of temptation.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Aleph_, stating the theme of the Psalm; an exhortation against discontent and envy at the prosperity of the wicked, on the ground that it is only transitory.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The grass_and _the green herb_are a common image for what is transient and perishable. See note on Psalms 37:20; and cp. Psalms 90:5 f.; Psalms 103:15 f.; Isaiah 40:6 ff. _be cut down_ Or, _fade_. Cp. Job 14:2; Job 18:16 (R.V. marg.).... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Beth_. The antidote to envious discontent is patient trust in Jehovah, and perseverance in the path of duty. Render Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and follow after faithfulness: So shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah, And he shall grant thee thy heart's petitions.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Commit_&c. Lit. _Roll thy way upon Jehovah:_shake off and devolve upon Him all the burden of anxiety for life's course. Cp. Proverbs 16:3; 1 Peter 5:7. _and he shall bring_it _to pass_ With forcible brevity in the Heb. simply, and HE (emphatic) will do (_ipse faciet_, Vulg.) all that is needful. Cp... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Gimel_. The reward of faith.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he shall make thy righteousness go forth as the light, And thy judgement as the brightness of the noonday. The result of that divine working. The justice of thy cause has been hidden, but it shall shine forth like the sun rising out of the darkness of night; thy right has been obscured, but it... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Daleth_. The remedy for impatience. _Rest in the Lord_ Or, _Be still before_(Heb. _be silent to) the Lord_(R.V. marg.), in the calmness of faith. Cp. Psalms 62:1; Psalms 62:5; and for illustration see Isaiah 7:4; Isaiah 30:15. _who bringeth wicked devices to pass_ Lit. _who doeth_(cp. Ps... [ Continue Reading ]
Render with R.V., Fret not thyself, _it tendeth_only to evil-doing. Discontent is not only foolish and useless, but dangerous. It may lead the man who yields to it to deny God's providence, and cast in his lot with the evil-doers. See Psalms 73:2 ff., Psalms 73:13 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Hê_. The warning of Psalms 37:1 repeated and emphasised.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the earth_ Rather, as in Psalms 37:3, the land; and so in Psalms 37:11_; Psalms 37:22; Psalms 37:29; Psalms 37:34_. As the nations were "cut off" before Israel (Deuteronomy 12:29; Deuteronomy 19:1), that Israel might possess the Promised Land, so will the wicked be destroyed, that the true Israel m... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 37:36: Isaiah 29:20. _his place_ His abode. Cp. Job 7:10; Job 8:18; Job 20:9. _and it_shall _not_be] Better, as R.V., and he shall not be.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Vâv;_expanding the preceding verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
The promise is reaffirmed in a larger sense in the beatitude of Matthew 5:5, the language of which reproduces the rendering of the LXX here: οἱ δὲ πρᾳεῖς κληρονομήσουσιν γῆν. _in the abundance of peace_ Cp. Psalms 72:7; Psalms 119:165; Isaiah 32:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
The wicked deviseth mischief against the righteous. Cp. Psalms 37:7_; Psalms 37:32_. _gnasheth_&c. Like a furious wild beast, eager to seize its prey. Cf. Psalms 35:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Zayin_. The impotent rage of the wicked.... [ Continue Reading ]
Disappointment and destruction are the destiny of the wicked.... [ Continue Reading ]
Doth laugh (Psalms 2:4 note) … for he hath seen. The punishment of the wicked has been foreseen and foreordained from the first. _his day_ The appointed day of retribution and ruin. Cp. Psalms 137:7; Oba 1:12; 1 Samuel 26:10; Job 18:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sword_and _bow_are not merely figurative expressions for any means of inflicting injury. The Psalm deals with a state of society in which the poor and defenceless were in constant danger of actual violence (Psalms 37:32). Cp. Proverbs 1:10 ff. _the poor and needy_ Or, _the afflicted and needy_. See... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Cheth_. The machinations of the wicked recoil upon themselves. Cp. Psalms 7:15 ff.; Psalms 9:15 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
Better is a little that the righteous hath Than the abundance of many wicked. (R.V.) _Abundance_, lit. _tumult_(a different word from that in Psalms 37:11), suggests the idea of noisy, ostentatious opulence. Cp. Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 16:8; and Tob 12:8; "a little with righteousness is better th... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Teth_. The nature of true wealth.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the arms_&c. All the power which they have misused for evil will be rendered impotent. Cp. Psalms 10:15; Job 38:15. _upholdeth_ When the wicked strives to make him fall (Psalms 37:14), and at all times. See Psalms 37:24_; Psalms 37:31_. Cp. Psalms 3:5; Psalms 54:4; Psalms 71:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah knoweth, and the Omniscient is also the All-Sovereign (see on Psalms 1:6), the days of the perfect: each fraction of the lives of those who are devoted to Him (see on Psalms 15:2), with all that it brings. Cp. _my times_(Psalms 31:15); Matthew 6:8. _and their inheritance shall be for ever_ T... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Yôd_. Jehovah's care for the godly.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Job 5:19-20. _in the evil time_ R.V. in the time of evil, i.e. calamity.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Kaph_. The end of the wicked. _the enemies of the Lord_ For His people's enemies are His enemies. Cp. Psalms 92:9. _as the fat of lambs_ A rendering derived from the Targum. But the consumption of the fat of the sacrifice upon the altar would be a strange simile for the evanescence of t... [ Continue Reading ]
At first sight it may seem that the Psalmist intends to contrast the dishonesty of the wicked with the liberality of the righteous. But Psalms 37:22 makes it clear that this is not the meaning. Looking forward, he foresees the future which awaits them. He sees the wicked man falling into debt and fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Lamed_. The wicked are impoverished, while the righteous are enriched. Cp. Proverbs 3:33.... [ Continue Reading ]
God's care for the righteous.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_&c. The wicked man's ruin and the righteous man's ability to do good proceed respectively from the curse and the blessing of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
It seems best to take Psalms 37:23 in close connexion with Psalms 37:24, as (virtually) the condition of the promise: When a man's goings are established of Jehovah, And he delighteth in his way; Though he fall &c. The second line may be understood of Jehovah's satisfaction in the good man's lif... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Mem_. God's directing and upholding care.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall not be utterly cast down_ Or, shall not lie prostrate. Cp. Proverbs 24:16. _upholdeth_him with _his hand_ Better, as R.V. marg., upholdeth his hand. Cp. Psalms 37:17; Isaiah 41:13; Isaiah 51:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Nûn_. An appeal to the experience of a long life in confirmation of the preceding stanzas. He has never seen the righteous permanently deserted by God, or his children reduced to homeless beggary (Psalms 109:10). Cp. Psalms 37:28_; Psalms 37:33_; Psalms 9:10; Genesis 28:15. Temporary impo... [ Continue Reading ]
All the day long he dealeth graciously and lendeth (R.V.). Cp. Psalms 37:21; Psalms 112:5. The righteous not only have abundance, but know how to use it (Isaiah 32:5-8). 27, 28 _A_ ., _B_. Stanza of _Samech_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Once more the teacher addresses his disciple, as in Psalms 37:3 ff. The first line is identical with Psalms 34:14 _a_(see note): the second line is virtually a promise, and might be rendered _so shall thou dwell_&c. But as Delitzsch observes, the imperative retains its force in constructions of this... [ Continue Reading ]
The mouth of the righteous meditateth wisdom, And his tongue speaketh judgement. Cp. Proverbs 10:31-32. The word rendered _meditateth_combines the ideas of meditation and meditative discourse. Vulg. _meditabitur sapientiam_. Cp. Psalms 1:2; Psalms 35:28; Joshua 1:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Pç_. The secret of security.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 119:11. God's law, treasured in his heart, regulates all his conduct. Without wavering or variation he pursues the path of right. Cp. Psalms 26:1; Psalms 73:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 10:8 ff.: Proverbs 1:11 ff. The next verse shews that wrong by judicial corruption (Isaiah 5:13) as well as actual violence is meant.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Tsadi_. Malice defeated.... [ Continue Reading ]
The final contrast.... [ Continue Reading ]
_will not leave him_ Lit. _will not forsake him_, as in Psalms 37:28, and leave him _in the hand_, i.e. power, of the wicked. _nor condemn him_&c. Will not suffer him to be unjustly condemned. The explanation, that though men may condemn him unjustly, God the supreme judge will acquit him, does not... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Qoph_. The Psalmist again addresses his disciple. For a while he may be crushed and down-trodden, but ultimately he will be exalted and the wicked cut off. _keep his way_ Cp. Psalms 37:33, note; Psalms 18:21. _thou shall see_it] With satisfaction at the vindication of God's righteous g... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have seen_ Comp. the similar appeal to experience in Psalms 37:25; and the close parallel in Job 5:3. _in great power_ Or, in his terribleness, inspiring terror by tyrannical oppression. Cp. the cognate verb in Psalms 10:18 (R.V.). _like a green bay tree_ R.V. like a green tree in its native so... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Resh_. The transitoriness of the wicked. Cp. Psalms 37:10; Psalms 52:5 ff.; Job 8:16 ff... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet he passed away_ R.V. But one passed by. Better, with LXX, Vulg., Syr., Jer.; And I passed by.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Shin_. The future of the wicked and the righteous. _Mark_ I.e. observe. The P.B.V., _Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right_, follows the LXX, Vulg., Symm., Jer., Syr., Targ., in a doubtful rendering. _for the end_&c. R.V. for the latter end &c. But the marginal alter... [ Continue Reading ]
But transgressors are destroyed together: The posterity of the wicked is cut off. Cp. Psalms 37:28; Psalms 109:13; Job 18:13-21. To the Israelite, with his strong sense of the continuity of life in the family, childlessness or the loss of posterity was a virtual annihilation. In the light of N.T.... [ Continue Reading ]
_their strength_ R.V. their strong-hold (Psalms 27:1); or perhaps _their asylum_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Stanza of _Tav_. Jehovah's faithfulness to His own.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord helpeth them, and rescueth them: He rescueth them from the wicked, and saveth them, Because they have taken refuge in him (R.V.).... [ Continue Reading ]