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1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret – it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
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16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD
and their inheritance will endure for ever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the field,
they will vanish – vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 If LORD delights in a man’s way
he makes his step’s firm;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.[d]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land for ever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected for ever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it for ever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utter wisdom,
and his tongue speak what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his hearts;
his feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.[f]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future[g] of the wicked. will be cut off
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
(NIV)
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Psalm 37: is an acrostic psalm (see Psalm 9) thought to be written by David. It is believed that this psalm has been preserved almost perfectly. It has a pattern of two double line (stich) verses to each letter of the Jewish alphabet. Acrostic psalms tend to produce psalms without any obvious structure.
The underlying belief of David is, that God will intervene in His time. No matter how bad things look, God will intervene in His time. The good will prosper and the wicked will get their punishment. The commentaries agree that the psalm has no connection with any cult or one person.
This psalm can be seen as a warning, or maybe pointing out us, to wait and see what God will do. In every age we find there are people who disobey God’s law, they seem to prosper but the psalm is telling us continue to do good. We are to be patient, and trust God to deal with those who do evil. We are to look after those who suffer and do what we can to help them be strong again.
Our world is going through some bad times with war between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Gaza strip. Many may be wondering if the world is coming to an end, but day by day we still go on. We can only pray for God’s help and help those in need.
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