God’s Involvement with the Righteous and the Wicked

I wonder what was going on in David’s life as he wrote Psalm 37. The only clue we have that I can see is in verse 25 where David says that he is now “old”. This psalm seems to be a reflection on life in some ways. It actually reminds me of something you would read in Proverbs as it contains many short, concise statements. It is one of the longest psalms we have read so far and it contains some familiar phrases like, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”, and “I have been young and now am old yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread”. The psalm is a contrast between the righteous and the wicked. David points out that the righteous have a great future and they can also know in the present that God is watching them and that there is a path to blessing. Phrases like “trust in the Lord”, “wait on the Lord”, “rest in the Lord” communicate that the righteous should have faith…that they should make their relationship with God an important part of their lives. There is much promise of blessing on earth and in the future.  The wicked are referred to as “evildoers” and phrases like “they shall be cut down” are common. The clear idea of this psalm is that God is not pleased with the wicked and the wicked will suffer judgment, both now and later. The apparent triumph of the wicked is just that, an apparent triumph and “the Lord sees that his day is coming”…the judgment of the wicked is on the horizon. In verse 20 the lives of the wicked are compared to smoke that vanishes away. I encourage you to read this psalm and meditate on the goodness of God and the judgment of God. Examine your heart and be moved to pray for those that do not know God. It’s very clear from this psalm which side is best, the righteous or the wicked. From David’s perspective, an old man who has seen a lot…done a lot that was right and a lot that was wrong, the life of the righteous is clearly the way to go.