Psalms 37
37
PSALM 37
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
A Psalm of David.
1For evil-doers fret thou not
thyself unquietly;
Nor do thou envy bear to those
that work iniquity.
2For, even like unto the grass,
soon be cut down shall they;
And, like the green and tender herb,
they wither shall away.
3Set thou thy trust upon the Lord,
and be thou doing good;
And so thou in the land shalt dwell,
and verily have food.
4Delight thyself in God; he'll give
thine heart's desire to thee.
5Thy way to God commit, him trust,
it bring to pass shall he.
6And, like unto the light, he shall
thy righteousness display;
And he thy judgment shall bring forth
like noon-tide of the day.
7Rest in the Lord, and patiently
wait for him: do not fref
For him who, prosp'ring in his way,
success in sin doth get.
8Do thou from anger cease, and wrath
see thou forsake also:
Fret not thyself in any wise,
that evil thou should'st do.
9For those that evil doers are
shall be cut off and fall:
But those that wait upon the Lord
the earth inherit shall.
10For yet a little while, and then
the wicked shall not be;
His place thou shalt consider well,
but it thou shalt not see.
11But by inheritance the earth
the meek ones shall possess:
They also shall delight themselves
in an abundant peace.
12The wicked plots against the just,
and at him whets his teeth:
13The Lord shall laugh at him, because
his day he coming seeth.
14The wicked have drawn out the sword,
and bent their bow, to slay
The poor and needy, and to kill
men of an upright way.
15But their own sword, which they have drawn,
shall enter their own heart:
Their bows which they have bent shall break,
and into pieces part.
16A little that a just man hath
is more and better far
Than is the wealth of many such
as lewd and wicked are.
17For sinners' arms shall broken be;
but God the just sustains.
18God knows the just man's days, and still
their heritage remains.
19They shall not be asham'd when they
the evil time do see;
And when the days of famine are,
they satisfy'd shall be.
20But wicked men, and foes of God,
as fat of lambs, decay;
They shall consume, yea, into smoke
they shall consume away.
21The wicked borrows, but the same
again he doth not pay;
Whereas the righteous mercy shews,
and gives his own away.
22For such as blessed be of him
the earth inherit shall;
And they that cursed are of him
shall be destroyed all.
23A good man's footsteps by the Lord
are ordered aright;
And in the way wherein he walks
he greatly doth delight.
24Although he fall, yet shall he not
be cast down utterly;
Because the Lord with his own hand
upholds him mightily.
25I have been young, and now am old,
yet have I never seen
The just man left, nor that his seed
for bread have beggars been.
26He's ever merciful, and lends:
his seed is bless'd therefore.
27Depart from evil, and do good,
and dwell for evermore.
28For God loves judgment, and his saints
leaves not in any case;
They are kept ever: but cut off
shall be the sinner's race.
29The just inherit shall the land,
and ever in it dwell:
30The just man's mouth doth wisdom speak;
his tongue doth judgment tell.
31In's heart the law is of his God,
his steps slide not away.
32The wicked man doth watch the just,
and seeketh him to slay.
33Yet him the Lord will not forsake,
nor leave him in his hands:
The righteous will he not condemn,
when he in judgment stands.
34Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,
and thee exalt shall he
Th' earth to inherit; when cut off
the wicked thou shalt see.
35I saw the wicked great in pow'r,
spread like a green bay-tree:
36He pass'd, yea, was not; him I sought,
but found he could not be.
37Mark thou the perfect, and behold
the man of uprightness;
Because that surely of this man
the latter end is peace.
38But those men that transgressors are
shall be destroy'd together;
The latter end of wicked men
shall be cut off for ever.
39But the salvation of the just
is from the Lord above;
He in the time of their distress
their stay and strength doth prove.
40The Lord shall help, and them deliver:
he shall them free and save
From wicked men; because in him
their confidence they have.
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Psalms 37: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 37
37
A Song of Wisdom
Poetic praise by King David # 37 Psalm 37 is an acrostic psalm, in which every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
1Don’t follow after the wicked ones or be jealous of their wealth.
Don’t think for a moment they’re better off than you.
2They and their short-lived success
will soon shrivel up and quickly fade away,
like grass clippings in the hot sun.
3Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes.
Fix your heart on the promises of God, and you will dwell in the land,
feasting on his faithfulness.
4Find your delight # 37:4 The word delight means “to be soft or tender.” and true pleasure in Yahweh,
and he will give you what you desire the most.
5Give # 37:5 The Hebrew word used here can be translated “commit,” which means “to roll over your burdens on the Lord.” God the right to direct your life,
and as you trust him along the way,
you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!
6He will appear # 37:6 The Hebrew verb found here is also used for giving birth. Perhaps this is a reference to the birth of Christ, our righteousness. as your righteousness,
as sure as the dawning of a new day.
He will manifest as your justice,
as sure and strong as the noonday sun.
7Quiet your heart in his presence
and wait # 37:7 The root word of the word for “wait” can mean “to whirl” or “to be in labor [give birth].” What an unusual concept for waiting on God. We may feel like we’re being whirled around by our circumstances, but in the end, our season of waiting gives birth to greater things. patiently for Yahweh.
And don’t think for a moment that the wicked, in their prosperity,
are better off than you.
8Stay away from anger and revenge.
Keep envy far from you, for it only leads you into lies.
9For one day the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord
will inherit the land.
10Just a little while longer and the ungodly will vanish;
you will look for them in vain.
11But the humble of heart will inherit every promise # 37:11 See Matt. 5:5.
and enjoy abundant peace.
12Let the wicked keep plotting against the godly
with all their sneers and arrogant jeers.
13God laughs at the wicked and their plans,
for he knows their day is coming!
14Evil ones take aim at the poor and helpless;
they are ready to slaughter those who do right.
15But the Lord will turn all their weapons of wickedness back on themselves,
piercing their pride-filled hearts until they are helpless.
16It is much better to have little
combined with much of God
than to have the fabulous wealth of the wicked and nothing else.
17For the Lord takes care of all his forgiven ones
while the strength of evil men will surely slip away.
18Day by day the Lord watches the good deeds of the godly,
and he prepares for them his forever-reward.
19Even in a time of disaster he will watch over them,
and they will always have more than enough
no matter what happens.
20All the enemies of God will perish.
For the wicked have only a momentary value, a fading glory.
Then one day they vanish! Here today, gone tomorrow.
21They break their promises, borrowing money
but never paying it back.
The good man returns what he owes with some extra besides.
22Yahweh’s blessed ones receive the land,
but the cursed ones will be cut off
with nothing to show for themselves.
23When Yahweh delights in how you live your life,
he establishes your every step.
24If they stumble badly they will still survive,
for the Lord lifts them up with his hands.
25I was once inexperienced, # 37:25 Or “immature.” The Hebrew word na’ar has a homonym that means “to be driven out,” which may be a reference to David being driven out of Jerusalem by Absalom. but now I’m old.
Not once have I found a lover of God forsaken by him,
nor have any of their children gone hungry.
26Instead, I’ve found the godly ones
to be the generous ones who give freely to others.
Their children are blessed and become a blessing.
27If you truly want to dwell forever in God’s presence,
forsake evil and do what is right in his eyes.
28The Lord loves it when he sees us walking in his justice.
He will never desert his devoted lovers;
they will be kept forever in his faithful care,
but the descendants of the wicked will be banished.
29The faithful lovers of God will inherit the earth
and enjoy every promise of God’s care,
dwelling in peace forever.
30God-lovers make the best counselors.
Their words possess wisdom and are right and trustworthy.
31The ways of God are in their hearts
and they won’t swerve from the paths of steadfast righteousness.
32Evil ones spy on the godly ones, stalking them
to find something they could use to accuse them.
They’re out for the kill!
33But God will foil all their plots.
The godly will not stand condemned when brought to trial.
34So don’t be impatient for Yahweh to act;
keep moving forward steadily in his ways,
and he will exalt you to possess the land.
You’ll watch with your own eyes
and see the wicked lose everything.
35I’ve already seen this happen.
Once I saw a wicked and violent man
overpower all who were around him,
a domineering tyrant with his prideful and oppressive ways.
36Then he died and was forgotten.
Now no one cares that he is gone forever.
37But you can tell who are the blameless and spiritually mature.
What a different story with them!
The godly ones will have a peaceful, prosperous future
with a happy ending.
38Every evil sinner will be destroyed, obliterated.
They’ll be utter failures with no future!
39But the Lord will be the Savior of all who love him.
Even in their time of trouble, God will live in them as strength.
40Because of their faith in him, their daily portion will be
a Father’s help and deliverance from evil.
This is true for all who turn to hide themselves in him!
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