Psalm 37:35-38

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 37:34-40

The psalmist's conclusion of this sermon (for that is the nature of this poem) is of the same purport with the whole, and inculcates the same things. I. The duty here pressed upon us is still the same (Ps. 37:34): Wait on the Lord and keep his way. Duty is ours, and we must mind it and make conscience of it, keep God's way and never turn out of it nor loiter in it, keep close, keep going; but events are God's and we must refer ourselves to him for the disposal of them; we must wait on the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 37:35

I have seen the wicked in great power ,.... Meaning some particular person invested with great power, in great authority among men, one of the spiritual wickednesses in high places; such a man as Haman in Ahasuerus's court; and though the psalmist does not choose to mention his name, he doubtless had him in his mind; as either Saul, or Doeg the Edomite, or Ahithophel, or some such man, who was in an exalted station of life; and it may be when he himself was in low and distressed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 37:36

Yet he passed away ,.... At once, on a sudden; either his riches and honour, which, in one hour, came to nought, by one providence or another; or he himself by death; in the midst of all his prosperity, and while blessing himself in it, his soul was required of him; and so the Targum is, "he ceased from the world"; he went out of it unawares: the laurel, or bay tree, very quickly grows old F4 "Senescit velociter", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44. ; and, lo, he was not ; he was not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 37:37

Mark the perfect man ,.... None are so in themselves, not the most holy man upon earth; for though all grace is implanted at once in regeneration, the seed of grace of every kind is cast into the heart at once; yet it opens and spreads, and gradually increases; nor is any grace in its exercise perfect; not faith, nor hope, nor love: sin is in the best of men, and all stand in need of fresh supplies of grace. None of the saints ever affirmed that they had arrived to perfection, but have... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 37:38

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together ,.... This is to be understood of obstinate and continued transgressors, who live and die in their transgressions; see Proverbs 11:3 ; otherwise all men are transgressors in Adam, and sinned and fell with him in his transgression; and are justly called transgressors from the womb; and are guilty of actual transgressions, nor are any clear from them; and are arraigned, convinced, and judged by the law as transgressors; and for many of these... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 37:35

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree - Does not this refer to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and to the vision he had of the great tree which was in the midst of the earth, the head of which reached up to heaven? See Daniel 4:10 , etc. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 37:36

Yet he passed away - Both Nebuchadnezzar and his wicked successor, Belshazzar; and on the destruction of the latter, when God had weighed him in the balance, and found him wanting, numbered his days, and consigned him to death, his kingdom was delivered to the Medes and Persians; and thus the Babylonian empire was destroyed. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 37:37

Mark the perfect man - Him who is described above. Take notice of him: he is perfect in his soul, God having saved him from all sin, and filled him with his own love and image. And he is upright in his conduct; and his end, die when he may or where he may, is peace, quietness, and assurance for ever. Almost all the Versions translate the Hebrew after this manner: Preserve innocence, and keep equity in view; for the man of peace shall leave a numerous posterity. Bishop Horsley thus... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 37:35

Verse 35 35.and36I have seen the wicked terrible, etc. David here confirms from his own experience what I have just said, namely, that although the wicked are intoxicated with their prosperity, and held in admiration by all on account of it, yet their happiness is transitory and evanescent, and, therefore, nothing else than a mere illusion. In the 35th verse he tells us, that it is no strange or unwonted thing for the ungodly, puffed up with their prosperity, to spread themselves far and wide,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 37:37

Verse 37 37Observe the perfect man David exhorts the faithful diligently to consider every instance they may meet with of the grace of God, as well as of his judgment; but he teaches, at the same time, that it is in vain for any to sit in judgment upon the first aspect of things. When men do not wait patiently and quietly the time which God has appointed in his good pleasure, it often happens that faith is extinguished, and trust in the promises of God, at the same time, perishes with it. This... read more

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