Psalms 37

of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. They shall not only be well contented in that condition wherein they are; but have abundant satisfaction in thy love to them; and, at length, bring thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, for thy merciful preservation of them, and feast with thee in thy house; where thou shalt pour into them the sweetest joys, and give them an earnest of the greatest plenty of all Divine blessings, that shall continually flow in upon them. light, and thy judgment as the noon-day.,] And if thou sbouldest be accused as a man of evil designs; let riot that trouble thee neither: for though thy fame may be obscured for a time by calumnies and slanders, as the sun is by mists and clouds; yet, as that scatters them all at last, so shall thy integrity appear, and shine as bright as the sun at noon-day.

Psalms 37:7

Rest in the Lord, and Wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. And in the mean time rest satisfied in this, that the Lord knows thy innocency: and do not murmur and complain if he do not presently vindicate it: but think it becomes thee to wait upon him, with humble submission to his will, and to stay as long as he pleases. And be sure thou becst not so impatient, as to be irritated, by the thriving wickedness of the ungodly, and the strange success they have in their dishonest contrivances, to do as they do; and to follow them in their calumnies, fraud, injustice, and oppression, or any such-like courses, whereby they craftily compass all their designs.

Psalms 37:8

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in anywise to do evil. If thou perceive thy indignation begin to arise, to see such vile people so successful, suppress it presently; let it not vex and afflict thee, much less boil up to wrathand fnrious displeasure; or if on a sudden, thou art surprised with such a passion, take care, however, that it proceed no farther; and by no means be so incensed (I must repeat that caution, it is so weighty) as to follow their example in evil-doing.

Psalms 37:9

For tvith thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. For thou art the spring from whence all our happiness comes, which thou art able to communicate for ever: and if thou wilt be favourable to us, nothing shall hinder our joy; but we shall think ourselves happy in the most disconsolate condition. For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.] For how prosperous soever it may prove in the beginning, the end, assure thyself, shall be lamentable. And let those evildoers expect also to meet with an untimely end, and to be cut off by the hand of justice, in a remarkable manner, from the land of the living: when they that follow my advice, and wait patiently till the Lord will do them right, shall possess those good things that he hath promised, in this land which he hath given them for their inheritance.

Psalms 37:10

O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Vouchsafe then, O most gracious God, to extend thy loving-kindness (which is so precious, that it excels all worldly tilings) not only unto me, but unto all that obediently acknowledge their dependance on thee: never withdraw thy favour from them, but perform thy promises to thy faithful servants, and defend them from all the mischievous devices of their enemies to destroy them. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.*) And do not think he stays too long before he doth it; but if that thought come into thy mind, resolve to expect yqt awhile longer; and still believe that, after a very short time, the wicked, who seem to stand so fast, shall be utterly destroyed. When thou hast made a strict search after him, thou shalt find nothing of him remaining in the place where thou sawest him so flourishing.

Psalms 37:11

Let not the foot of pride come against me; and let not the hand of the wicked remove meJ. Make ine an example of it; and, whatsoever is secretly designed and plotted against me, let not my proud enemy prevail, and tread me under his feet; let not all the power of the wicked, that may join with him, be able to subvert me. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.] Whereas they that meekly submit to their present afflictions, and patiently wait upon God till he be pleased to relieve them, shall be settled at last in their possessions; and lead a most pleasant life, in the greatest plenty of all manner of good things: inthe enjoyment of which nothing shall disturb them. •

Psalms 37:12

Tliere are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise. In this attempt I am confident they shall fail; I plainly see them baffled in this wicked design. It is as certain, as if I already beheld it with mine eyes, that where they thought to overthrow me, they shall fall themselves: with so powerful a hand shall they be thrown down, that they shall never recover themselves, to renew their attempts against me any more. The’ wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.] The wicked, indeed, hope to hinder this; being so furiously enraged at the just, that he is always contriving some mischief against him.

Psalms 37:13

Tlie Lord shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming. But all his plots and crafty devices arc ridiculous in the eyes of the Lord, who sees the day of his ruin approaching: which will inevitably seize on him, before his designs can take effect.

Psalms 37:14

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 conversation. Ho hath numerous partakers, indeed, who have added open force to their secret practices, and armed themselves in a warlike manner, for the just man’s utter destruction; which they hope may be the more easily compassed, because he is destitute of human help, and will not take any crooked ways for his own preservation.’ • < * •

Psalms 37:15

Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. But all these endeavours also shall prove in vain; and, which is more, they shall not only miss their aim, but their sword, as we say, shall cut their own throat; and the evil they intended against the just, shall fall upon themselves.

Psalms 37:16

A little that the righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. And as there is more satisfaction in the little pittance a righteous man hath, than ia all the abundance which the greatest potentates have gotten by extortion, oppression, and violence:- so that small power he hath shall be of more force to protect and preserve him, than all the multitudes which attend upon those violent men to guard them.

Psalms 37:17

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. For the Lord is against the wicked; and be their power never so great, which they have to oppress and destroy the righteous, he will break it in pieces; but good men will he support, be they never so weak; and both maintain them in what they enjoy, and increase their stock, notwithstanding all that their enemies can do against them.

Psalms 37:18

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance shall be for ever. He may seem to neglect them; but there is no day passes wherein he doth not take care of them, and exercise a most gracious providence over them; observing not only all their afflictions, but their patience under" them, which shall be rewarded with the blessings he hath promised to them, and to their children after them.

Psalms 37:19

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. In calamitous times, when God punishes the world by war or pestilence, they shall not be ashamed of the hope they have placed in God, that he will preserve them; when a famine eomes and pinches others, they shall be sure to have enough.

Psalms 37:20

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. But the wicked shall perish in those evil days; for the Lord looks upon them as his enemies; who, when they grow rich and great, are but fatted up as beasts for the slaughter, and on a sudden melt away, as fast as the fat of lambs that is burnt upon the altar: just so shall the Divine vengeance seize on them, when they are in the fulness of their prosperity; and, like that fat, they shall vanish into smoke, and come to nothing. Ver t 21. Tlie wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and jjiveth.] You se£ a man now,pcrhaps, grow rich by wicked arts; but he-shall in Digitized py Microsoft ® [psalm XXXVII, time be reduced to such straits as shall put him to double shame; first of borrowing, and then of not being able to pay at his day: when the righteous shall be so far from borrowing of any, that he shall be able to lend; nay, to exercise mercy, and give freely to him that needeth.

Psalms 37:22

For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. For upon these God hath entailed a blessing by his gracious promises (which shall certainly be fulfilled), that Ihey and theirs shall enjoy the good things of the land; and against the other he hath denounced a curse (which they shall no ways avoid), that they shall be rooted out.

Psalms 37:23

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way -J. Let a man but take care that his ways be pleasing to the Lord, by (Joing what he approves; and he will prosper him in all his undertakings, and guide his counsels and actions so, that he shall meet with good success.

Psalms 37:24

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his IvandJ. Or if he fail sometime of his end, he shall not be undone: the Lord still supports him by his power, that he be not discouraged; and relieves him by his good providence, that he be not utterly ruined. Ver. 2£. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.] I say nothing but what I can confirm by my own long observation: when I was young, I began to take noticeof it; and I continued so to do, till now that I am grown old: and I cannot remember, that in all my life I ever saw a truly pious, just, and charitable man, left destitute of necessary things; or his children after him reduced to such poverty, that they were constrained to beg from door to door.

Psalms 37:26

He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. No, he rather hath not only enough to supply his own wants, but to spare also for the relief of others; to whom he freely" gives, or at least lends: and is so unwearied in these acts of charity, that God rewards it with blessings upon his posterity. “, •

Psalms 37:27

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. Take my advice, therefore, if thou wouldestbe happy: never do any evil, though it be to gain the greatest advantage this world can afford; but constantly employ thyself in good works, especially in acts of mercy: though thereby thou mayest seem to impoverish thyself for the present; be assured, this is the way to live a long and prosperous life in great tranquillity and peace.

Psalms 37:28

For the Lord loveth judgment, andforsaketh not his saints; they are presewed for ever: but the $eed,of the wicked shall be cut off. For the Lord loveth that which is just and right; and upon that account will not forsake those that are merciful, but be very merciful to them; and continue his mercy to their children after them, when the posterity jof injurious and hard-hearted men shall be destroyed.,

Psalms 37:29

77ie righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever. Such wretches may flourish for a time: but they that shall be settled and fixed in the land of promise, and leave it as an inheritance to those that succeed them, are only (as 1 have often said) the godly, just, and mcrci-. ful.nica, Vcf.“30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.] Who do good not only to men’s bodies, but to their sftuls also; imparting to them (especially to their own children) such precepts of virtuous wisdom, as teach them how to behave themselves aright in every action of their life, and naturally tend to make them prosperous.

Psalms 37:31

The law of his God is in his heart: none of his steps shall slide. As appears by this righteous man him-, self: who, making the law of God (which he hath continually before his eyes) the rule of his life, proceeds steadily to the obtaining of his end; and happily finishes his course, without falling into those mischiefs, into which wickedness leads those who have no regard unto that rule.

Psalms 37:32

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. His greatest danger is from such lawless men, who (as I have said before) watch for an opportunity, and leave no means unattempted (though it be by falseness and treachery), not only to give him trouble and disturbance, but to take away his life.

Psalms 37:33

The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. But the Lord will not let them have power to do what they design. He will rescue him from their violence. Or, if they seek to undo him in a form of law, by false accusations before the public judges, he will find a means to clear his innocence, and reverse even the sentence they have pronounced against him/

Psalms 37:34

Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shall see it. Therefore, if I should study never solong, I can give a good man no better advice than I did at first: hope in God (when any of these troubles happen) and patiently wait for his mercy, in a steadfast observance of all his commands. Be not moved by any mischiefs that men can threaten, to go out of that way into which* thou art directed by God’s law; but believe that he will at last, if thou perseverest in it, advance thee to the possession of all. the blessings it promiseth; and thou shalt see those that thought to depress thee utterly destroyed.

Psalms 37:35

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spread himself like a green bay-tree. There wants not public examples of this in our own’days. For I myself have’ seen the wicked (such as Saul, Doeg, and Ahithophel) in such pow r er, that he was in no feaT that any body could, hurt him; but quite contrary, struck terror into all: his offspring was numerous, his possessions large, his Tcvenue exceeding great; being like a tree never yet transplanted, that hath taken root, and sucked abundance of the earth, and spreads juice out of its branches every way. Vct, 36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but lie could not be found.] And yet, as firnv as he seemed to stand, he was gone on a sudden; he vanished (it is very wonderful) just as you see a cloud* pass away and disappear. I looked about me to sec what was become of him, and whether he might not be removed: (as a tree sometimes is) to another place;. but there was no< such man, nor any remainder of him to be found.

Psalms 37:37

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. Do you mark then and make it your own observation, as I have made it mine, and you will find there is this great difference between him that makes the laws of God the rule of his life, and those that