Psalm 37 Overview: (NET) The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
(EBC) In a moving way the psalmist deals with the issues of life and death, wisdom and folly, and reward and punishment. He is most sensitive to the question of the future and its rewards and sufferings. The psalmist affirms that the Lord will sustain the righteous and that they will fully enjoy the blessings promised to them. The sage sets before the reader or hearer the highway of wisdom, even as our Lord called on his followers to learn from him the way that pleases our Father in heaven (Matt 5:2–10).
1. 4 Commands:
i. Do not fret (BDB-heat oneself in vexation, anger) when wicked men seem to succeed (lit-over sinners) and do not envy, but trust (imperative) in the LORD
What is the hinderance for D to trust the LORD was his envy over the evildoers. And why did he jealous over them is not stated, but most translation gave us the clue: they were successful. In other words, their success seems to be given by the LORD, but at the same time, they are sinners and evildoers. Why is God so unrighteous and not blesses me, who is righteous? Shall I give up to trust God and maintain a righteous standing before Him? Perhaps, David needed to made some sacrifice to not compromise with the sinful world. At the time he wrote this psalm, he realized that no, I should continue to trust God because v.2 said, the evil doers' lives are quickly dry up and wither away. Why focus only in the temporary?
ii. Do what is right
iii. Settle in the land
iv. maintain your integrity
The envy of the wicked had affected David. He might try to give up to do what is right, not enjoying in the blessed Promise Land and not maintain his integrity.
(EBC) The wise man must carefully watch his response to the wicked (v. 1). It is all too easy to be adversely affected by their prosperity. Evil men may get their way and move up. They may gain power and prestige. They may abuse power, causing great suffering to others. Regardless of how well off the evil are, they are nothing but mortals who live on an earth under God’s just and sovereign rule...Rather than destroying themselves with negative emotions, the godly must keep things in perspective (v. 1; cf. vv. 7–8; Prov 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19). Anger, resentment, and jealousy destroy “faith” in God’s goodness and justice and affect one’s inner attitude toward everything (cf. Ps 73).
Instead of giving in to self-pity and hatred, the wise man develops a trust in the Lord (v. 3; cf. Prov 3:5; 16:20; 28:25; Isa 26:4). Trusting the Lord means faith, especially the more difficult aspect of faith—submission to his will in the hope of his resolution of the dilemma (cf. v. 5; 1 Peter 5:6–7).
2. 2 results
v. (result) take delight in the LORD, and he will answer your prayers
(NET) Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).
(EBC) Instead of giving in to self-pity and hatred, the wise man develops a trust in the Lord (v. 3; cf. Prov 3:5; 16:20; 28:25; Isa 26:4). Trusting the Lord means faith, especially the more difficult aspect of faith—submission to his will in the hope of his resolution of the dilemma (cf. v. 5; 1 Peter 5:6–7)...The condition of their enjoyment is nothing less than a positive response to a bad situation: To “do good” (v. 3; cf. v. 27; Prov 14:9, 22) and to take “delight” (v. 4) in the Lord is the object of their love and hope.
3. Reflection:
Putting the eternal perspective and the expectation of God's judgment will affect how I see the world and sacrificing to live a Christian life. My obedience to God is limited by our own perspective. Trust in God means I will not be interfere by my own limit or blind spots. Am I like that? Do I let my own anger/envy of the world to rule me?
If I cannot do that then the joy, and enjoyment in the LORD will leave me. And He will not answer my prayers. Do I want these?
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