Commentary on Psalm 37
This is a Psalm of David who was king of Israel from ca[1] 1010-971 B.C. Some of the main themes in this Psalm are:
a. The fate of the righteous and the wicked
b. The future of the righteous and the wicked
c. The relationship of the righteous and the wicked
d. God’s relationship with the righteous vs the wicked
David at this time is an old man and has seen the faithfulness of the Lord. He has witnessed the preservation of the righteous, and the destruction of his enemies. He is qualified to give testimony to God’s power to his readers (vv 25, 34-36).
David admonishes his readers not to be alarmed when wicked men prosper because their good times will soon run out, and their destruction will come suddenly and finally (vv 2, 9-10, 20,38).
By contrast, the righteous will inherit the earth, and dwell in it forever. There is an eternal future for those who put their trust in the Lord.
These verses provide a clear picture of two lives: Those who are righteous against those who are wicked.
Simply put, the righteous in God will endure forever – meaning even when they die physically, God will resurrect them to life eternal to live in glory with Him. Remember David’s words in the 23rd Psalm, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Also, remember the words of our Lord Jesus to Martha in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may die, he shall live. And whoever believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Now, what is ironic about this verse is at the time Jesus spoke these words Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus had been dead for four days. So what did Jesus mean when He said that a person that believes in Him would never die?
He had to have meant that a believer in Him would not die finally – we die physically, but at the end of the age we will be resurrected and live eternally.
For the wicked the opposite is true – they will prosper for only a little while, then they will perish and never recover. Their end is destruction and forever separated from their creator. Why? Because they refuse to trust in the Lord, and do good. They have never committed their ways unto the Lord (vv 3-5).
Proverbs one also describes the fate of the wicked. It says:
“How long you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour my Spirit on you. I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no one regarded. Because you have disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me and I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel, and despised my every rebuke” (Proverbs 1:22-30).
What is amazing to me is how such a big God and can conceal Himself from those He does not desire to talk to. What also is very clear here is God’s desire to reconcile with the wicked by stretching out His arms to Him so that he might be saved. When man refuses to receive God’s salvation, the only thing left for him from God is judgment.
If you do not remember anything in this article please remember this: God is active in saving souls, He is never reactive – meaning God is the aggressor in salvation. When it comes to reprobation or judgment, God is reactive or passive, meaning He judges man after man rejects Him.
So in the final analysis, salvation is contingent upon God alone. Whereas judgment is contingent upon man alone.
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