Are you fortified—or mortified—when the hard times hit? This psalm tells us how to prepare.
Commentators suggest various subdivisions for Psalm 37, although they all agree that the basic point is the same. The wicked may flourish for a time and the righteous may struggle, but it’s the end that tells the tale. However, there is a progression of the argument throughout the psalm. We’ll look at the first two parts in this study, and parts 3 and 4 in the next. The first section (vv 1-11) presents a series of negative and positive practical steps for believers to arm ourselves against delusion, bitterness, or anxiety. These we examined in our last study. So “wait on the Lord” (v 9), and He will fulfill His promises. The warning is, don’t “fret” (Heb, hârâ, meaning “to glow, or grow warm”), don’t get hot and bothered—repeated three times so we don’t miss it (vv 1, 7, 8). The section concludes with a divine promise endorsed by our Lord, “But the meek shall inherit the earth” (v 11; Mt 5:5). The second section (Ps 37:12-22) concludes the same way: “those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth” (v 22), but now the emphasis is not what the believer should do, but what the Lord shall do. He has a personal stake in the outcome of our story. “The Lord laughs at [the wicked]” (v 13), a description reminiscent of Psalm 2. By contrast, “the Lord upholds the righteous” (v 17), and David reminds us that riches without righteousness is a blight, but little with the Lord is a blessing. Also, “The Lord knows the days of the upright” (v 18). He’s tracking us, blessing us even in hard times (v 19) and noticing when we bless others (v 21). Thus this portion of the psalm emphasizes that, even in the hard times, it’s worth it to cling to the Lord and be a blessing to others. Because, even in days of famine, we can “feed on His faithfulness” (v 3).