Psalm 37: Do Not Fret Because of Evil Men
I think I have published this Psalm before, but I am going to post it again because it answers that question we all ask – why is it that the evil ones appear to prosper and bad things happen to those who seek to do God’s will?
This is a Psalm of David / Daoud, and something to think about in this Ramadan time of contemplation, and seeking closeness to The Almighty One.
Psalm 37
Of David.
1 [a] Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future [b] for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future [c] of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Footnotes:
Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 37:37 Or there will be posterity
Psalm 37:38 Or posterity
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is adventure man causing any trouble ??
Daggero – always! OK, new question – are the Psalms also a part of Islamic literature?
Intxpatr ;
i tried to use youtube to see what a Psalm in a church ceremony is like ,but all the videos were no longer available ????
My guess if it a holy scripture but sung in the church then there is no comparable part in islam as muslims are not allowed to sing holy verses . however if pslam are words made by man then we have similar practice but without the music part with some sects like the sufis.
i hope what i said is correct , but i am sure others would know much about this than me .
Daggero, psalms might be sung, but often they are read, sometimes responsively, like someone reads part 1 and the congregation responds with part 2. They are very poetic, and the Qur’an is also very poetic, that is why I was wondering if there are psalms or parts of psalms also in Islamic tradition. Living in this part of the world has helped me greatly in understanding my own traditons. 🙂
Hi intlxpatr!
I am not really an expert, but at least I know a bit about the books which have been revealed, in addition to the Qur’an, to humans according to Islam: Tawrat (Thora), Zabur and Injil (Gospel). The Zabur refers to the Book of Psalms (not all of them by Prophet Dawoud, or David).
See, for example the Wikipedia entry for Zabur here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabur
You may also see my announced article on Islamic tilings (unrelated to this posting) here: http://aliqapoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/dazzling-tessellations/
Fahad, you are a wealth of information. Thank you!
Thank you for publishing this. I have been discouraged beyond belief at how the wicked and hypocritical seem to prosper in this world. I have been persecuted horribly by some of this ilk and it seems like they have ALL the favor – of both man and, seemingly God. I don’t ask for much, just respect. Money doesn’t even matter. But I see so much oppression and double standards in America and western lands.
Perhaps this is one of the ways we’re tested by the Lord.
Esther, one of the things that occurs to me is that we truly live in “opposite world” where THINGS are valued more than people, and while many pay lip service to their religion, their lives have little relationship to their professed beliefs.
Sometimes we may be tested. Sometimes, it can be a trick of perspective. For example, there are very wealthy people in the world, but how happy are they? There are very powerful people in the world, but do they every have “enough?” There is a lot of wisdom in the holy books, if we read, and ponder, and try to live Godly lives. I think when we don’t, it catches up with us, even if it takes a while.
I love it when I can tell a writer has put forth a lot of effort for their content. I’m really glad I read this.