Psalm 37:14 Kommentar

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.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart,.... As Saul's did into his, Sa1 31:4; and their bows shall be broken; the meaning is, that their efforts shall be fruitless, and their attempts in vain; the mischief they have contrived and designed for others shall fall upon themselves; see Psa 7:15; and therefore the saints should not be fretful and envious.

What is the sword of the wicked? It is the absolute opposite to the sword of the Holy Spirit.… God’s Word is the sword of the Holy Spirit. But the sword of the wicked is the evil word.… Stupid and petulant speech issues from their mouths as from a scabbard, and would it not have been better to restrain it and bury it? In like manner the Word of the Lord is brought forth as a sword; so, too, the speech of the sinner, and the bow that they bend is their mind. The arrow that they shoot is the venomous word. Our arrow is Christ, the Word of God.

(Verse 14.) Moreover, he adds: Behold, they have unsheathed the sword, sinners have bent their bow, to cast down the needy and the destitute. What is the sword of the sinner, if not the opposite of the sword of the Holy Spirit? Scripture has taught me this sword; the Apostle taught it, saying that we have the breastplate of righteousness, and the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14 et seq.). Therefore, the word of God is the sword of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, indeed, the sword of the most wicked spirit is the evil word. With this sword, the Apostle Peter struck Ananias and Sapphira with his words as if with a certain sword; with this sword, Paul took away the sight of Elymas who opposed his arguments and filled him with the darkness of blindness. Now consider to me, you sinning quarrelers, boasting in bitter insolence, and bringing forth reproaches of accusations; if you hear them, will you not say: Sinners have drawn their swords; when foul speech is brought forth from the mouth as if from a wanton sheath, which should have been restrained and hidden? Similarly as the sword is called the word of God, and the same is the speech of the sinner: so also the bow which sinners stretch, is their mind; and the arrow which they shoot, is a poisoned word. For as Christ is an arrow, who is the Word of God, of whom it is said: I have set thee as a chosen arrow (Isaiah 49:2), which is brought forth out of the quiver of God: so the arrows of the treacherous are, which being shot from a certain bow of wickedness, wound the unsuspecting innocent, unless their fiery darts are repelled by the shield of faith. And therefore, as a soldier, you must be anxious in battle; because the fight is not only against flesh and blood, but also against the spiritual wickedness that cannot be seen. May you have strong weapons from God, so that you can easily draw the arrows you want: so that the enemy cannot oppress you as a poor and unarmed person. Be strong in God, be rich in God, so that it can be said of you: The redemption of a man's soul, his riches (Prov. XIII, 8). With an abundance of the treasure of wisdom, be rich in word and good works, so that you may be fortified. Avoid the wealth of the sinner, lest they find a way to harm you. Be merciful, so that you may remain invulnerable or be able to heal yourself if you are wounded. There is also the poor person whom your adversaries want to wound, from that number of whom the Savior said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).

"The 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 heart" [Psalm 37:14]. "Their weapon shall enter into their own heart" [Psalm 37:15]. It is an easy thing for his weapon, that is, his sword, to reach your body, even as the sword of the persecutors reached the body of the Martyrs, but when the body had been smitten, "the heart" remained unhurt; but his heart who "drew out the sword against" the body of the just did not clearly remain unhurt. This is attested by this very Psalm. It says, Their weapon, that is, "Their sword shall," not go into their body, but, "their weapon shall go into their own heart." They would fain have slain him in the body. Let them die the death of the soul. For those whose bodies they sought to kill, the Lord has freed from anxiety, saying, "Fear not them who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." [Matthew 10:28] ...

Next, when he says, "The sword," he adds about the outward effort of the wicked; and regarding this he does three things. First, he shows their effort. Second, their intended goal, at "To deceive." Third, the outcome of this effort, at "Their sword." Regarding the first, he does two things, inasmuch as their effort against the good is twofold. First, he shows their effort through open persecution. Second, through fraudulent accusation, at "They have bent their bow." He says therefore, regarding the first, "Sinners have drawn the sword." By the sword is understood every kind of open persecution in deed: Lk. 22: "Shall we strike with the sword?" Persecution by word is also called a sword: Ps. 56: "Their tongue is a sharp sword." And this sword is the sword of the devil, who through the tongue of man kills many. This sword is in its sheath as long as it is in the heart; but when it is uttered, it is as though already drawn. One must therefore be on guard, first, that we not have it. Second, even if we have it, that we not draw it. Because if it is kept in the sheath, it first contracts rust, and eventually it is consumed and the hatred and the will to do harm grow cold. Regarding the second he says, "They have bent their bow." The bow strikes from afar, and the one drawing it is not seen, as the one striking with the sword is seen; and therefore the bow signifies treacherous persecution. Next he shows what they intend, when he says, "To deceive." Regarding this he does two things, inasmuch as they intend two things. First, they intend to deceive. Second, to kill, at "To slaughter." He says therefore, "That they may deceive," etc. To deceive is to act through a treacherous act: Job 12: "He himself knows both the deceiver and the one who is deceived." But, "the poor and needy." The poor man is one who has little; the needy man is one who lacks help. Or according to the Gloss: the poor man is one who does not suffice for himself; the needy man is one who is not sustained by another's help. And he says this because such persons have no one to come to their aid. The killing is designated by the sword, whether bodily or spiritually: Heb. 11: "They died by the slaying of the sword." The outcome of their effort, however, is that it will return upon their own head. And first he shows this regarding the sword, saying, "Their sword," etc. You draw the sword against another, and perhaps you do not strike him, because perhaps you cannot harm him; yet by that very act you are spiritually struck yourself: Prov. 1: "They themselves lie in wait against their own blood," etc. Second, regarding the bow; hence he says, "And let their bow be broken": Ps. 75: "There he broke the powers of the bows, the shield, the sword, and the battle." This will happen when their treachery is destroyed so that they cannot complete what they began: Job 5: "He frustrates the plans of the malicious, so that they cannot," etc.

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.

sword, and . . . bow--for any instruments of violence. slay--literally, "slaughter" (Sa1 25:11). poor and needy--God's people (Psa 10:17; Psa 12:5). The punishment of the wicked as drawn on themselves--often mentioned (compare Psa 7:15-16; Psa 35:8).

That which corresponds to the "treading" or stringing of the bow is the drawing from the sheath or unsheathing of the sword: פּתח, Eze 21:28, cf. Psa 55:22. The combination ישׁרי־דּרך is just like תמימי־דוך, Psa 119:1. The emphasis in Psa 37:14 is upon the suffix of בלבּם: they shall perish by their own weapon. קשּׁתותם has (in Baer) a Shebג dirimens, as also in Isa 5:28 in correct texts.