Psalm 37:19 Komentář

This psalm is a sermon, and an excellent useful sermon it is, calculated not (as most of the psalms) for our devotion, but for our conversation; there is nothing in it of prayer or praise, but it is all instruction; it is "Maschil - a teaching psalm;" it is an exposition of some of the hardest chapters in the book of Providence, the advancement of the wicked and the disgrace of the righteous, a solution of the difficulties that arise thereupon, and an exhortation to conduct ourselves as becomes us under such dark dispensations. The work of the prophets (and David was one) was to explain the law. Now the law of Moses had promised temporal blessings to the obedient, and denounced temporal miseries against the disobedient, which principally referred to the body of the people, the nation as a nation; for, when they came to be applied to particular persons, many instances occurred of sinners in prosperity and saints in adversity; to reconcile those instances with the word that God had spoken is the scope of the prophet in this psalm, in which, I. He forbids us to fret at the prosperity of the wicked in their wicked ways (Psa 37:1, Psa 37:7, Psa 37:8). II. He gives very good reasons why we should not fret at it. 1. Because of the scandalous character of the wicked (Psa 37:12, Psa 37:14, Psa 37:21, Psa 37:32) notwithstanding their prosperity, and the honourable character of the righteous (Psa 37:21, Psa 37:26, Psa 37:30, Psa 37:31). 2. Because of the destruction and ruin which the wicked are nigh to (Psa 37:2, Psa 37:9, Psa 37:10, Psa 37:20, Psa 37:35, Psa 37:36, Psa 37:38) and the salvation and protection which the righteous are sure of from all the malicious designs of the wicked (Psa 37:13, Psa 37:15, Psa 37:17, Psa 37:28, Psa 37:33, Psa 37:39, Psa 37:40). 3. Because of the particular mercy God has in store for all good people and the favour he shows them (Psa 37:11, Psa 37:16, Psa 37:18, Psa 37:19, Psa 37:22-25, Psa 37:28, Psa 37:29, Psa 37:37). III. He prescribes very good remedies against this sin of envying the prosperity of the wicked, and great encouragement to use those remedies (Psa 37:3-6, Psa 37:27, Psa 37:34). In singing this psalm we must teach and admonish one another rightly to understand the providence of God and to accommodate ourselves to it, at all times carefully to do our duty and then patiently to leave the event with God and to believe that, how black soever things may look for the present, it shall be "well with those that fear God, that fear before him." A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 37 A Psalm of David. This psalm, it is very probable, was written at the same time, and upon the same occasion, with the former; and describes the different states of good and bad men; and is full of exhortations, instructions, and advice to the people of God; intermixed with various encouraging promises. A late learned writer (h) thinks it was written for Mephibosheth's consolation under Ziba's calumny. (h) Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 219.

But the wicked shall perish,.... In a time of famine, in an evil day, and particularly at the day of judgment: for this is to be understood, not merely of being in bodily distress and want; nor of perishing by death, common to the righteous and the wicked; nor of being in a lost perishing condition, as all men by nature are, but of eternal perdition in hell; and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; that is, either they shall consume away as the fat of lambs burnt upon the altar, which evaporates, or as lambs fattened on purpose to be killed, and so prepared for the day of slaughter; in like manner the wicked, who have waxed fat and kicked, will be destroyed; they being the enemies of God, yea, enmity to him, to Father, Son, and Spirit, to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ, and to his people, and will be treated as such. Some render the word, "like the excellency of pastures" (s); the grass of the field, which is cut down and withers presently; see Psa 37:2; into smoke shall they consume away, or "with" (t) it; that is, as it; see Psa 68:1; or "in smoke" (u); in the smoke of eternal torments, or hell, as the Targum. (s) "sicut pretiosum pratorum", Muis; so some in Piscator; "vel gloria", Michaelis. (t) "cum fumo", Gejerus, Tigurine version; so Ainsworth. (u) "In fumo", Montanus, Musculus, Michaelis.

(Verse 18, 19.) Do not think that the Lord does not know your way. If you are righteous, He knows. Believe what the Prophet says: The Lord knows the ways of the blameless; and their inheritance will be blameless. They will not be put to shame in times of trouble. Those who know the Lord are known by the Lord. He knows the righteous, He does not know the unjust; therefore He will say to the unjust: Depart from me, all you who practice iniquity: I do not know you (Matthew 7:23); that is, because you are unworthy of divine knowledge. I do not know you; because you yourselves desired not to know me. Your works do not know me, your deeds do not know me; even if you say that you know me, your sins convict you. Every sin is from evil: but whoever does not sin remains in me, this is written by John (1 John 3:6). What shall I say about the Lord, because he despises the wicked to know? Paul despises those who said: If anyone among you is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize what I write to you: but whoever does not recognize, shall not be recognized (1 Corinthians 14:37-38). And elsewhere it is written: The Lord knows those who are his (2 Timothy 2:19). Let us therefore be of the Lord, so that the Lord may recognize us, and let every one who invokes the name of the Lord turn away from iniquity. The Greek has: The Lord knows the days of the immaculates. For there are the days of Elijah, there are the days of Nebuchadnezzar; therefore the Gospel has: In the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed (Luke IV, 25). It was a night for the faithless, but it was light for Elijah; the heavens were closed for the faithless, but they were open for Elijah; there was hunger for the faithless, but abundance for Elijah; for he could not hunger, to whom heavenly food was provided; nor did he hunger, who himself fed others. Therefore, for him it is a just day in darkness; because even light shines in darkness. And Joseph was in Egypt, and midday shone upon him; as it is said below: But to the sinner God said: why do you recount my justices (Ps. XLIX, 16)? Justice is light, because you have above: And he will bring forth your justice as the light (Ps. XXXVI, 6). Therefore, you have what may shine in you, if you follow justice. The day shines for you, the night shines for you; because to the faithful even the night will be illuminated like day. Therefore, the Lord knows the just, because he enlightens every man coming into this world (John 1:9), that is, the one who lives according to the image and likeness of God; the one who recognizes himself as a human being, in order to avoid the lust of horses, the madness of wild animals, the fear of rabbits, the deceit of foxes, the rapacity of wolves; the man who acts as if he has come into this world; who is not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. So you have come, do not stay, do not cling to earthly things. In order to know that the days are good, listen to what Abraham said: . . . he saw my day, and was glad (John 8:56) . Good is the day for those who know the good Son of God, and confess the Lord. And again he warns us to be careful, because there are evil days (Ephesians 5:16) . What are evil days? Those in which evil is certainly recognized, which comes from evil. Or perhaps the days of this age are evil; because the age is in the power of the evil one. But we also read after a hundred years, the day of evil: In the evil day the Lord will deliver him (Ps. 40:2), that is, on the day of judgment, evil indeed on account of the punishments of many. For it is necessary that the unjust be tormented, and the just suffer with them; because even the angels rejoice when one sinner is saved from death. Therefore, they suffer with him when he is punished; although elsewhere we have read: The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge (Ps. 57:11), which I reserve for its proper place; although frequently you may have heard why he rejoices; but let us not insert one occupation into another. The Lord knows the days of the immaculate, for by the grace of His immaculate innocence and fullness, He has mercy, He does not have mercy on the erring. They do not have a day, for they flee from the light, of whom it is beautifully said: Their days pass like a shadow (Psalm 143:4). Therefore, knowledge of God is a matter of worthiness, not of vision. His eyes are light: those whom He looks upon, He illuminates; and therefore, His eyes are the days of the just. Therefore, their inheritance will be eternal; because they sought eternal goods, not the fleeting benefits of inheritance. And they will not have anything to be ashamed of in the time of evil, that is, the celestial judgment: and in days of hunger they will be satisfied; because man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matthew 4:4). But who is this man? I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2). Therefore, that person who is in Christ, who does not know himself to be in the flesh, who does not walk in the flesh but in the spirit; that person who is caught up not only to heaven, but even to the third heaven, is caught up to paradise, and hears secret words that are not lawful for a man to utter; who does not boast in his own virtues, but in his weaknesses: he does not live on bread alone, but on every word of God. For the Word of God is life, because the Word became flesh. Whereas the Evangelist excellently said: That which was made in him, is life. (John 1:14). The Alexandrians and Egyptians indeed read: All things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made that was made (John, 1); and with a distinction added, they subject: In him is life (John, 5). Let that distinction be preserved for the faithful: I am not afraid to read: What was made in him, is life; and the Arian has nothing to hold onto, because I do not consider his poisons, but recognize the custom of sacred reading. For He did not say: The Word was made before all beginning. He did not say: The Word was made; but if you desire to hear what He did say: The Word, He says, was with God. The Word was with God, which worked with Him, which ruled with Him. He did not say: The Word was made; but He said: God was the Word: and God is not made, but is the Maker and Creator. Open your ears, and hear: All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing. Do you learn to be the Son, in whom the fullness of divinity is? Open your ears a little more and listen to what he says: What has been made in him is life. In him, he says, it was made: the Word of God was not made. Or if this moves you to calumny, because he said: in him it was made; do you also calumniate God the Father, because the Son of God said: But whoever does the truth comes to the light, that their works may be manifested, because they are done in God (John 3:21)? But because David said, I will confess to you, O Lord, because you have heard me, and have become my salvation (Psalm 117:21); that is, you have turned to me for salvation, you have worked for my salvation. I could use other examples, but I do not want you to believe me; lest you think these are the arguments of cleverness, not the testimonies of truth. He himself is the thundering son, he himself who reclined on Christ's breast, he himself to whom the Lord did not keep his secrets silent, to whom Peter hinted to inquire about the Lord, and he inquired, and the Lord revealed; let him himself explain what he thought about what he said: That which was made in him is life. Therefore, listen to the interpreter, because he already guarded against your calumnies, Ariane: That which was from the beginning; and what we have heard, and seen with our eyes; what we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life, and life appeared (1 John 1:1). Therefore, the flesh that appeared in Christ, or Christ in the flesh, is our life in all things. His divinity is life; His eternity is life; His flesh is life; His passion is life. Hence Jeremiah also says: 'In His shadow we shall live' (Lamentations 4:20). The shadow of His wings, the shadow of the cross, is the shadow of His passion. His death is life; His wounds are life; His blood is life; His burial is life; His resurrection is life for all. Do you want to know that death is its own life? In death, he says, we are baptized with him... so that we may walk with him in the newness of life (Rom. VI, 3 and 4). And he himself said: Amen, amen I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit (John XII, 4 and 5). He himself, the grain, was loosened from us and died, so that he might bring forth much fruit in us. Therefore, death is the fruit of life. Whatever is done in him, is life. Flesh is made in him, is life; infancy is made in him, is life; judgment is made in him, is life; death is made in him, is life; forgiveness of sins is made in him, is life; wound is made in him, is life; illusion is made in him, is life; division is made in him, is life; burial is made in him, is life; resurrection is made in him, is life. See how great in Him there were made things which are the conversion of our life, so that what perished might be restored. At last, a sale was made in Him, it is life: a redemption was made in Him, it is life. For death He was sold by Judas, bought by the Jews for death, so that we might be redeemed by His precious blood unto life. This is the life which was made, this is the life which appeared, this is the life which we heard, this is the life which was with the Father; because He Himself, who was in the beginning, after, was born of a Virgin, so that He might be life to those who are to die. Let us explore this proposed place. What is a human in Christ? It is being made in Christ, in whom everything is made, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17), that is, in his power. Therefore, a human in Christ is one who is made in his image and likeness: a human in Christ is one who is entirely in Christ. For just as God, through the unity and fullness of divinity, the Father is the whole God in the Son, and the Son in the Father; so through intention and the affection of piety (as if for example, not for comparison), the whole man is in Christ; for whoever clings to the Lord is one spirit. Therefore, the man in Christ is not the earthly one, not the one of sin; but the man of Christ. What then moves: That which was done in him is life; if also the especially inner man, was made in him, crucified in him, renewed in him, buried in him, and buried with him, raised up in him? What moves, as I have said, is that it is written: That which was done in him, is life; when a man says: In God we will do our virtue (Psalm 59:14). If you ask what life is, if it is moved by what was done in him, understand. Indeed, life is the Church. It was done in him, in his side, Eva was resurrected in him. Eva, however, is life, that is, what was done; because Eva, who had perished, was saved through the Church, that is, through the generation of her children, as it is written (1 Timothy 2:15); because the heritage sobriety of the previous disobedient woman has repaired the offence. And even Paul himself was caught up to life, who before was a persecutor unto death. We have wandered too long, so that we may speak about that man who delivered not only bread, but also every word of God. Let us return to the psalm: Therefore the blameless shall not be put to shame on the day of judgment, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

"They shall not be ashamed in the evil time" [Psalm 37:19]. In the day of trouble, in the day of distress, they shall not be "ashamed," as he is ashamed whose hope deceives him. Who is the man that is "ashamed"? He who says, "I have not found that which I was in hopes of." Nor undeservedly either; for you hoped it from yourself or from man, your friend. But "cursed is he that puts his trust in man." [Jeremiah 17:5] You are ashamed, because your hope has deceived you; your hope that was set on a lie. For "every man is a liar." But if you dost place your hopes on your God, you are not made "ashamed." For He in whom you have put your trust, cannot be deceived. Whence also the man whom we mentioned just above, the now "strengthened" righteous man, when fallen on an evil time, on the day of tribulation, what says he to show that he was not "ashamed"? "We glory in tribulation; knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; but hope makes not ashamed." Whence is it that hope "makes not ashamed"? Because it is placed on God. Therefore follows immediately, "Because the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us." [Romans 5:3-5] The Holy Spirit has been given to us already: how should He deceive us, of whom we possess such an "earnest" already? "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied."...

Those choosing a blameless life enjoy providence completely; even if they encounter disasters, they will emerge superior to them; and when need becomes endemic, they will receive sufficiency from God, and in addition will enjoy everlasting goods.

Then when he says, "They will not be confounded," he shows how the just are protected against evils. And this in two ways: for there is one kind of evil that is contrary to the good, and another kind of evil through the lack of good, at "And in the days of famine." He says therefore, regarding the first, "They will not be confounded in the evil time," that is, in the time of adversity: Am. 5: "The prudent man in that time will be silent, because it is an evil time." For the time is evil in two ways: either in the present -- and this is the time of adversity, which is evil; hence they will not be confounded in the evil time, that is, in the time of adversity. For the wicked are confounded in the time of adversity, not the good. For someone is confounded when he loses that in which he hopes; but when that in which he hopes remains, he is not confounded. In adversity, however, temporal things are lost, in which the good do not hope; and therefore they are not confounded in the time of adversity. Or regarding the future, on the day of judgment, on which the wicked will be confounded by the shame of their sins: Ps. 6: "Let them be confounded and greatly ashamed very quickly." But the just will be honored: Rom. 2: "To those who by patience in good works seek glory and honor," etc. Regarding the second evil, which is through the lack of good, he adds, "And in the days of famine they shall be filled." This is expounded in three ways. Literally, this can be expounded of temporal famine: for sometimes God provided that there was famine among the unfaithful, but abundance among the faithful, because the faithful shared with one another what they could have. Sometimes also God provides for the faithful so that they do not lack: Job 5: "In devastation and famine you shall laugh." So also Elijah was satisfied in the time of famine, 1 Kgs. 17. Yet for our testing, the necessity of famine is sometimes shown to have overtaken the servants of God. Hence the apostle says of himself, 2 Cor. 11: "In hunger and thirst," etc. Or because the servants of God, content with little, are satisfied: Phil. 4: "I know both how to be humbled and how to abound; in everything and in all things I have been instructed both to be satisfied and to hunger, both to abound and to suffer want." But the wicked want much and seek much; and therefore in the days of famine they will not be satisfied. This may also be expounded of the famine of the word of God. And in those days the just are satisfied with this: Mt. 5: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied." Or third, it is expounded of the famine that will be in the future life, where the just will be satisfied and the unjust will hunger: Is. 65: "My servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry." Origen, in the Gloss on Ex. 16: he who did not gather manna on the sixth day went hungry on the seventh day. Now is the sixth day; and therefore he who does not gather now will hunger then. Next, when he says, "For sinners will perish," he shows how the arms of sinners will be broken. And he sets forth three things. First, the fall of the wicked. Second, the order of falling, at "The enemies." Third, the manner, at "Like smoke." He says therefore, "For sinners will perish"; as if to say, therefore the just are preserved, because destruction is due only to sinners, but salvation to the just: Job 3: "He will crush many and innumerable, and will make others stand in their place." The order of falling is that they are raised on high so that they may fall more forcefully: Job 30: "You lifted me up, and as if setting me upon the wind, you dashed me mightily." And therefore he says, "But the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they are honored and exalted": Ps. 72: "You cast them down when they were lifted up." The manner is like smoke, because if it is scattered, it is not repaired. And this is what he says, "Failing like smoke they shall fail": Jas. 4: "What is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while."

A composed and uniform trust in God and a constant course of integrity are urged in view of the blessedness of the truly pious, contrasted in various aspects with the final ruin of the wicked. Thus the wisdom and justice of God's providence are vindicated, and its seeming inequalities, which excite the cavils of the wicked and the distrust of the pious, are explained. David's personal history abundantly illustrates the Psalm. (Psa. 37:1-40) The general sentiment of the whole Psalm is expressed. The righteous need not be vexed by the prosperity of the wicked; for it is transient, and their destiny undesirable.