“In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.” -Psalm 40:6 This portion of the Psalm will be quoted by the author of Hebrews in reference to Christ, another example of the Apostles’ Messianic view of the Psalms. “Consequently, […]
More Than Can Be Told
“You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” -Psalm 40:5 In the previous verses, trust is the key theme, and verse five is how that trust is built. […]
The Blessed Man
“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” -Psalm 40:4 Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord, says the Psalmist in the previous verse. And the man who makes the Lord his trust […]
The Salvation of the Lord
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many […]
In Due Time
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many […]
Before We Depart
““Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”” -Psalm 39:12–13 What do you want before you […]
All God’s Children
“Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, […]
What Are We Waiting For?
““And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” -Psalm 39:7 This punchy expression of undaunted confidence in the Lord reveals the Psalmist’s new and inspired attitude. He confesses that he has tried to hold his tongue and failed, he has lamented his suffering and the uncertain meaning of his […]
What is Your Life, Anyway?
““O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a […]
Silencing the Heart Instead of the Tongue
“I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. […]
The Final Appeal
“Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” -Psalm 38:21–22 The Psalm closes with a final appeal, a device frequently used in the Psalms. There is a sort of pitiful (not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not […]
Humble and Audacious
“But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!” For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. I confess my iniquity; I am […]
Deaf and Mute
“Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in […]
When Loved Ones Stand Far Off
“O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.” -Psalm 38:9–11 The internal grief and […]
The Foolishness of Sin
“My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.” -Psalm 38:5–8 Behold […]
A Burden Too Heavy to Carry
“There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” -Psalm 38:3–4 The Psalmist has been afflicted with a physical malady because of his unconfessed […]
Rebuke Me Not!
“O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.” -Psalm 38:1–2 The Hebrew verb יָכַח yākaḥ translated rebuke carries a connotation of equitable anger or deserved judgment. In other words, the Psalmist is confessing his […]
Understanding the Psalms
“A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones […]
All Shall Be Well
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” -Psalm 37:39–40 The Psalm ends with what one commentator called “calm objectivity.” In other words, […]
Look to the Future
“Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.” -Psalm 37:37–38 The final four verses are a summary of the entire Psalm and focuses on the end of the matter, a frequent […]
He Passed Away
“I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.” -Psalm 37:35–36 The Hebrew underlying this passage is a bit awkward but the point is clear. David offers a personal testimony of […]
Wait for the Lord
“The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when […]
Heart and Tongue
“The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” -Psalm 37:30–31 Jesus taught his disciples that we shall know someone by their fruits and that whatever comes out of the mouth is an indicator that reveals the condition […]
A Christian State of Being
“Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.” -Psalm 37:27–29 Though the translation softens the […]
As He Said
“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was […]
Never Begging for Bread
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.” -Psalm 37:25–26 In a rather touching testimony, David shares insight from his own experience. In the course of his life, from youth […]
Walking With Confidence
“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” -Psalm 37:23–24 The theologian, Edward Tesh, suggests a prose translation of the passage that reads like this: “By the Lord the steps of a […]
A Financial Checkup
“The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.” -Psalm 37:21–22 The comparing and contrasting between the wicked and righteous continues in this pericope. And once again, David takes it […]
The Ephemeral Glory of the Wicked
“But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.” -Psalm 37:20 Verses 19 and 20 are similar to Psalm 1:3–4: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does […]
Our Inalienable Possession
“The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.” -Psalm 37:18–19 Not only does the Lord know the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6), he knows the days of the blameless. He intimately […]
Why Believers Don’t Lose Heart
“Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.” -Psalm 37:16–17 The poetic justice here is that arms are symbols of strength and productivity which both lead to prosperity. But the righteous apparently lack the […]
No Weapon Fashioned
“The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.” -Psalm 37:14–15 Along with the next parallelism in verse 16-17, we have another expression of poetic justice. War and […]
The Laugh
“The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.” -Psalm 37:12–13 To plot is to scheme or devise evil against someone and to gnash the teeth is to grate or grit one’s teeth in contempt. The wicked […]
The Inheritance of the Meek
“In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” -Psalm 37:10–11 The meek shall inherit the land, though for the moment is seems the wicked have taken possession […]
Refrain from Anger (and Trust the Lord)
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” -Psalm 37:8–9 Fret not yourself is the refrain of Psalm 37. This time David warns that anger and wrath as a response to […]
Hopefully Composed
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” -Psalm 37:7 Again, David warns us not to fret ourselves over evildoers. Here he is more specific in his exhortation. Don’t be provoked by the evildoer […]
He Will
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” -Psalm 37:4–6 Though it would be meaningful to treat each of these […]
Befriending Faithfulness
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” -Psalm 37:3 In the second part of the verse, the The Hebrew is somewhat ambiguous. A footnote in the ESV reads, “Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture.” The NIV actually translates it this way, “Trust in the […]
Fret Not!
“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” -Psalm 37:1–2 The structure of Psalm 37 is an acrostic in the Hebrew, but the English translation and versification veils this property somewhat. The parallelisms are not hidden, however. The […]
The Lord Knows
“The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.” -Psalm 37:18–19 Not only does the Lord know the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6), he knows the days of the blameless. He intimately […]
Thrust Down Unable to Rise!
“Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.” -Psalm 36:10–12 Finally, David moves from praising […]
The Munificence of God
“They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” -Psalm 36:8–9 Not only do the children of mankind who trust in God get to take refuge in the shadow of […]
The Intimacy of Salvation
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” -Psalm 36:7 What brilliant poetry describing the goodness of God. David moves from using metaphors of immensity (vs. 6) to using metaphors of intimacy, showing the full range of applications of God’s goodness. His steadfast […]
The Vast and Immeasurable Goodness of God
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” -Psalm 36:5 This is a turning point and from this point until the end of the Psalm, David turns his attention to the Lord. David contrasts the treachery of the transgressor as revealed by the oracle with the steadfast love and […]
In a Way That is Not Good
“He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.” -Psalm 36:4 Here, in verse 4, the transgressor progresses toward his ultimate condition. He moves from entertaining evil in the heart (v. 1), to reconciling with it in his mind (vs. 2), to […]
Heart, Mind, Action
“The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.” -Psalm 36:3 We are first introduced to the transgressor by way of his heart (vs. 1), and then by way of his intellect (vs. 2). Finally, in verse 3, we are introduced to his will ,and subsequently, […]
The Depths of a Depraved Heart
“For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” -Psalm 36:2 To flatter himself means that the Transgressor (vs. 1) so soothes his own conscience about his sin that he is incapable of seeing it. And because he cannot see it, he cannot hate it as God […]
The Heart of the Wicked
“To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.” -Psalm 36:title–1 The only other Psalm that uses the expression, “the servant of the Lord” in the title is Psalm 18. In that Psalm, David speaks of […]
To Each Their Just Reward
“Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” […]
Vengeance is the Lord’s
“You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord! Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, […]