BOOK 19 OF 66 · WISDOM & POETRY · KING JAMES BIBLE

Psalms 37

Psalms book home•Chapter 37 of 150•40 verses

Chapter overviewAt a glance + deeper study

REVIEWED OVERVIEW

Psalms 37 Overview

David repeatedly tells the righteous to trust, delight, commit, rest, and wait; the wicked fade while the meek inherit and the LORD upholds His people.

PsalmsBook

37Chapter

40Verses

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Before you read Psalms 37

Coming from

Psalm 36 centered on human wickedness contrasted with god's immeasurable goodness. Psalms is an anthology rather than a continuous chronological story, so the connection here is canonical and thematic.

In this chapter

David repeatedly tells the righteous to trust, delight, commit, rest, and wait; the wicked fade while the meek inherit and the LORD upholds His people.

Leads into

Psalm 38 turns to a penitential lament under guilt, sickness, and enemies, continuing the Psalter’s arranged movement without requiring that the two psalms describe consecutive historical events.

Key understandingExplore deeper

Psalm 37 belongs to Book I of the Psalter (Psalms 1–41). This alphabetic wisdom psalm teaches broad moral patterns across a lifetime, not a timetable promising immediate earthly prosperity in every case.

Major truths in this chapterExplore deeper

Central truth

Do not fret over temporary prosperity of evildoers.

Wisdom truth

In Psalm 37, godly wisdom evaluates life by the LORD’s revealed moral order rather than by appearances alone.

Reading emphasis

Psalm 37 deliberately moves from its opening emphasis on fret not to its closing emphasis on steps ordered; the whole movement matters.

Connections to the rest of ScriptureExplore deeper

Matthew 5:5

Jesus’ promise that the meek shall inherit the earth clearly echoes Psalm 37.

Wisdom connection

Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10 likewise place true wisdom under the fear of the LORD. This connection helps frame Psalm 37.

What is clear, and where care is neededExplore deeper

Keep wisdom in context

Do not turn a wisdom contrast in Psalm 37 into a mechanical formula that guarantees immediate earthly outcomes in every case.

Read the poetry as poetry

Psalm 37 uses compressed poetic language. Do not make every image a literal mechanism or a hidden symbol unless Scripture itself establishes that meaning.

Read Psalms 37 watching for…

fret not.

delight in LORD.

commit thy way.

meek inherit earth.

steps ordered.

Chapter outline4 sections

1-6Do not fret over evildoers; trust, delight, and commit your way to the LORD 7-20Wait patiently because the wicked will fall while the meek inherit the earth 21-33The righteous are generous, guided by God, and kept by him 34-40Wait on the LORD; the end of the wicked differs from the salvation of the righteous

[A Psalm] of David.Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

STUDY THIS VERSE

Psalms 37:23

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