Psalm 37 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 37 Short Summary:

In Psalm 37, David discusses the common question of “Why do the wicked appear to succeed on earth?” In this psalm, he encouraged himself and others to follow the Lord’s way of life. The success and wealth of evildoers is temporary and quickly fades. In contrast, God will bless the humble and meek man and establish them forever.  

Psalm 37 Summary

AUTHOR:

• David is the author of Psalm 37.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• Matthew 5:5 is very similar to Psalm 37:11.

THEMES:

• Wicked people seem to flourish on the earth.

• Don’t fret yourself over their seeming success.

• God will bring all their works into judgement.

• The Lord will exalt the humble, meek, and godly man.

DEFINITIONS:

• Fret – To be in a constant state of anxiety or frustration over something/someone.

OUTLINE:

• DON’T FRET OVER EVILDOERS, DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD (37:1-40):

  • David didn’t want himself or other people to be fooled by the façade of the wicked lifestyle.

  • As is still the case in the modern day, many evildoers in David’s time appeared to have very glamourous and successful lives.

  • These people took advantage of the poor and mistreated God’s servants.

  • David admitted that he had seen wicked people succeed in their pursuits. He compared them to a flourishing green tree (37:35).

  • He acknowledged that there was a temptation to be envious of these people (37:1).

  • That said, the majority of the Psalm 37 consists of David making the case that the success of the wicked is very temporary, and a life lived in God’s will is vastly superior.

  • He told people not to “fret” over the wicked. He didn’t want people’s hearts to be filled up with anger or jealousy over this issue.

  • Whatever success the wicked achieved would quickly wither.

  • “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away” (37:20).

  • God was going to deal with these evil people and bring their terrible actions back on their own heads (37:14-15).

  • So instead of envying evil people, David advised, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (37:4).

  • He wrote, “Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked” (37:17).

  • God promised that the righteous and meek man will be the most blessed when all is said and done.

  • “Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace” (37:37).

  • A godly man has a glorious future awaiting him; A wicked man has nothing to look forward to.
    

APPLICATION:

• Its understandable for Christians to ask why godless and earthly-minded people are more materially blessed than them.

• Why does God allow people who have never worshipped Him a day in their life to have so much?

• One important thing to keep in mind is that money is not always a blessing.

• Money destroys people. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

• There are temptations associated with money that a person without money will never face.

• I imagine those in heaven will look back at their time on earth and thank God for not giving them extraordinary wealth.

• Biblically speaking, it is very hard to serve God when you are wealthy. Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).

• God limiting our wealth can be rightly viewed as a protection over our lives. Don’t despise God’s protection by envying the wealthy wicked.