The big picture
An older speaker addresses the anger stirred by wicked people's success. He has seen strength and wealth appear secure, then disappear. His counsel is to trust the Lord, do good, and wait instead of copying the conduct that seems to prosper. The psalm repeatedly contrasts brief power with a lasting share in the land. Its promises are broad, and its examples come from a life spent observing both kinds of conduct.
In this chapter
- Envy Looks at a Short Season Psalms 37:1-6
The teacher tells listeners not to burn with envy over wrongdoers.
- Anger Must Not Set the Course Psalms 37:7-11
Patient waiting replaces heated resentment.
- Weapons and Wealth Cannot Last Psalms 37:12-20
The wicked plot against the righteous and aim weapons at poor people.
- Generosity and a Supporting Hand Psalms 37:21-26
Borrowing without repayment marks the wicked, while the righteous show mercy and give.
- Inner Teaching Shapes Public Conduct Psalms 37:27-33
The teacher calls for turning from evil and doing good because God loves fair judgement and does not abandon his faithful people.
- The Impressive Tree Disappears Psalms 37:34-40
Waiting for the Lord and keeping his way remain the closing counsel.
Central truth
Wicked success is temporary, while those who trust the Lord and practise goodness receive his care and a lasting future.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 40Psalms 37:1-6
Envy Looks at a Short Season
The teacher tells listeners not to burn with envy over wrongdoers. Their apparent success is like grass that soon dries or is cut. In its place he urges trust, good conduct, and delight in the Lord. A life handed over to God can expect provision and a right cause brought into daylight. These words connect the heart's desires with delight in God, rather than promising every passing wish. The opening answer to wicked success is a different source of hope and a different way to act.
In everyday life
A seamstress watches a rival sell cheap garments made with hidden faults. She feels the pull to copy the trick, then returns to the coat she has promised to repair properly. The immediate queue is shorter at her counter, but she refuses to let one busy afternoon set her standards. The psalm grounds lasting hope in the Lord's care.
Notice
Psalms 37:2 Grass looks vigorous before it withers. The image challenges judgement based only on present growth, since visible success can belong to something short-lived.
Psalms 37:1-6
King James Version1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Psalms 37:7-11
Anger Must Not Set the Course
Patient waiting replaces heated resentment. The listener is told not to let another person's successful scheme provoke wrongdoing in return. Evil conduct ends in removal, while those waiting for the Lord receive the land. The wicked person's place will become empty, but the meek will enjoy abundant peace. Meekness here is humble restraint rather than forceful self-assertion. The psalm's contrast gives anger a future to consider: copying the wrongdoer would join the very path whose end the teacher warns about.
In everyday life
A plot-holder sees a neighbour move a fence across the shared path. She grips a spade, then sets it down and brings the boundary plan to the allotment keeper. Tearing down the whole fence in anger would damage other plots as well. She waits beside the marked line for the dispute to be heard. God's promised inheritance is larger than a boundary ruling.
Notice
Psalms 37:8 The warning links anger with the risk of doing evil. Resentment can make the observer resemble the person whose conduct first caused the distress.
Psalms 37:7-11
King James Version7Rest 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.
8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalms 37:12-20
Weapons and Wealth Cannot Last
The wicked plot against the righteous and aim weapons at poor people. God sees their coming end, and their weapons turn against them or break. A little held by a righteous person is better than the wealth of many wrongdoers. Their strength fails, while the Lord supports the upright and knows their days. Even famine does not remove his promised care. The wicked, by contrast, vanish like smoke. The psalm measures wealth by the future of its possessor, not merely by its present size.
In everyday life
A pensioner puts a small but honestly kept savings book beside an offer promising vast returns through a secret scheme. He refuses to sign and pays for his groceries from the modest account. The larger figure on the leaflet does not make its source sound. He chooses a smaller secure holding. The psalm joins provision with God's judgement of violent people.
Notice
Psalms 37:16 The comparison puts a small righteous holding above much wicked wealth. The owner's conduct and future change the value of what appears impressive now.
Psalms 37:12-20
King James Version12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14The 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.
15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20But 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.
Psalms 37:21-26
Generosity and a Supporting Hand
Borrowing without repayment marks the wicked, while the righteous show mercy and give. Blessing and removal again describe their opposed futures. God directs the good person's steps and supports him even when he falls. The older speaker adds personal testimony: he has not seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread. This is stated as his life's observation, not an accusation against every hungry sufferer. Generosity continues across generations, with the righteous person lending and the family sharing in blessing.
In everyday life
An elderly cobbler opens a notebook of small loans made to neighbours over many years. Some pages record lean months when those same neighbours helped him keep the shop open. He lends another pair of work boots today and recalls the hands that steadied him. His account is rooted in what he has lived. The psalm attributes faithful support to God.
Notice
Psalms 37:25 The speaker marks the claim with his own age and experience. It is personal testimony about what he has seen, rather than a full account of every poor life.
Psalms 37:21-26
King James Version21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Psalms 37:27-33
Inner Teaching Shapes Public Conduct
The teacher calls for turning from evil and doing good because God loves fair judgement and does not abandon his faithful people. Their lasting place contrasts with the removal of the wicked line. Wisdom and fair speech come from a heart that holds God's law. Yet danger remains: a wicked person watches for a chance to kill the righteous. The promise is that God will not leave the victim in that grip or accept a wrongful condemnation. Faithful conduct and divine defence belong together without making attack unreal.
In everyday life
A school crossing guard refuses pressure to wave traffic through while children still stand on the road. Her training has become a settled habit, so her hand stays raised despite the driver's anger. Later she gives a clear account of the incident. Right action has not prevented hostility. The psalm promises God's defence against threats far beyond a traffic dispute.
Notice
Psalms 37:31 God's teaching is located in the heart before firm steps are described. The upright path grows from inward instruction, not only from rules posted outside.
Psalms 37:27-33
King James Version27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Psalms 37:34-40
The Impressive Tree Disappears
Waiting for the Lord and keeping his way remain the closing counsel. The speaker remembers a wicked person spreading like a flourishing tree, then vanishing so completely he could not be found. He asks listeners to attend instead to the upright person's peaceful end. Rebels lose their future together, while rescue for the righteous comes from the Lord. God is their strength in trouble and saves them because they seek refuge in him. The last word returns to help received, rather than human ability to outlast evil alone.
In everyday life
The former ferryman walks past the empty site of a once-grand private landing. Its owner used to block everyone else's access to the bank. Now the boards are gone, while the modest public steps still carry neighbours across the water. The sight corrects what seemed permanent in earlier years. The psalm's conclusion rests on God's rescue, not decay alone.
Notice
Psalms 37:36 The search finds no trace of the once-impressive wrongdoer. The memory tests present appearances against time, answering the envy that opened the psalm.
Psalms 37:34-40
King James Version34Wait 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.
35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 37:1 begins with “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 37:20 forms a natural hinge: “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 final note
Psalms 37:40 leaves the reader with “And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, wicked, righteous, inherit, thyself, dwell help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- conversation
- A way of living or pattern of conduct, not merely speech.
- fret
- Become heated with worry, anger, or resentment.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
