Bird's-eye view
This entire psalm is a pastoral corrective for a perennial temptation that saints face, which is the temptation to envy the wicked. The ungodly seem to prosper, they spread themselves out like a green bay tree, and the righteous are tempted to fret. David, writing as a wise old man, urges the believer to take the long view. The prosperity of the wicked is a flash in the pan, a snapshot. The inheritance of the righteous is the whole video. These two verses, falling in the middle of this great psalm, are a hinge point. They pivot from describing the Lord's derisive laughter at the wicked and their self-defeating plots (vv. 12-17) to the steadfast, concrete blessings that belong to the righteous. The central theme here is God's intimate, covenantal knowledge of His people, which translates directly into their eternal security and their practical, real-world provision, even when the world around them is falling apart. God's omniscience is not a cold, abstract attribute; it is a warm, fatherly care that secures His children's future and provides their daily bread.
The contrast is stark. The wicked, whose arms will be broken (v. 17), are on a path to being cut off and forgotten. But the blameless have days that are known by God, an inheritance that is forever, and satisfaction in the midst of famine. This is not a promise of a life free from trouble, but it is a promise of God's all-sufficient grace and provision through the trouble. It is a call to trust in the Lord and do good, confident that the Judge of all the earth will do right, not just in the sweet by and by, but also in the nasty now and now.
Outline
- 1. The Covenant Keeper's Knowledge and Provision (Ps 37:18-19)
- a. The Lord's Personal Acquaintance (v. 18a)
- b. The Believer's Permanent Inheritance (v. 18b)
- c. The Saint's Public Vindication (v. 19a)
- d. The Faithful's Providential Satisfaction (v. 19b)
Context In Psalm 37
Psalm 37 is an acrostic psalm, a collection of wisdom sayings organized around the Hebrew alphabet. This structure gives it a proverbial feel, like a chapter out of Proverbs. The psalm opens by commanding the righteous not to fret because of evildoers (v. 1). The reason is simple: the wicked have the lifespan of grass, while those who wait on the Lord will inherit the earth (vv. 2, 9). The verses immediately preceding our text describe the Lord's response to the wicked who plot against the just. He laughs at them, because He sees their day of judgment is coming (v. 13). Their own swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken (v. 15). God will break the arms of the wicked, but He upholds the righteous (v. 17). It is in this context of divine reversal and steadfast support that David introduces the Lord's intimate knowledge of the blameless. The psalm is a series of contrasts, and here the contrast is between the broken arms of the wicked and the everlasting inheritance of the righteous.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Blamelessness
- God's Covenantal Knowledge
- The Believer's Inheritance
- Divine Provision in Crisis
- The Problem of Envy
The Lord Knows
The central comfort of this passage is found in that simple verb: Yahweh knows. This is not the detached knowledge of a cosmic observer. The Hebrew word yada often carries a deep sense of intimate, personal, and covenantal relationship. It's the word used for a husband knowing his wife. When God "knows" the days of the blameless, it means He is involved in them, He has numbered them, He has planned them, and He cherishes them. This is the same truth Paul celebrates in the New Testament: "The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19). In a world where the righteous can feel overlooked, forgotten, and insignificant in the face of loud, boisterous evil, this is the bedrock of our stability. The Lord knows our address. He knows our situation. He knows every detail of our lives, and this knowledge is not for the purpose of condemnation, but for the purpose of preservation.
Verse by Verse Commentary
18 Yahweh knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever.
Yahweh knows the days of the blameless... The "blameless" here are not sinlessly perfect people. The Hebrew word tamim refers to integrity, wholeness, and soundness. These are the people described throughout the psalm: those who trust in the Lord, do good, delight in Him, and commit their way to Him. They are positionally righteous in Christ and directionally righteous in their walk. And God knows their days. This means He knows the number of them, but it means much more. He knows the character of each day, the content of each day, the trials and temptations of each day. He is not a distant landlord; He is an ever-present Father. While the wicked have a "day" of judgment coming that God sees (v. 13), the righteous have "days" of life that God superintends. He is involved in the narrative of their lives, from start to finish.
And their inheritance will be forever. This is the direct result of God's knowing care. Because He knows them, He secures them. Their inheritance is contrasted with the fleeting prosperity of the wicked, which will be cut down like grass. What is this inheritance? In the immediate context of the psalm, it is the land (vv. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34). But this is a down payment, a type of a much greater reality. The meek inherit the earth, as Jesus taught, quoting this very psalm. This is a promise of dominion, of a lasting place in God's created order. Ultimately, our inheritance is God Himself and the new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells. It is an inheritance that cannot be lost, stolen, or diminished by market crashes or political upheavals. It is forever because the God who gives it is forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
They will not be ashamed in the time of evil... The "time of evil" refers to periods of intense trouble, social decay, or persecution. In such times, it can appear that God has abandoned His people and that the wicked have won. The temptation is to feel shame, to feel that our faith has been proven foolish. But the promise here is that God will vindicate His people. Their hope will not be put to shame. When everything is shaken, they will have a firm foundation. While the world sees their faith as a liability, God will demonstrate that it is the ultimate security. Their faces will not be downcast with the disappointment of a failed investment; they will be upheld because their trust is in the living God, who never fails.
And in the days of famine they will be satisfied. This is not an abstract spiritual promise; it is a gritty, earthy, bread-and-butter promise. Famine was a common and terrifying reality in the ancient world. It represented a total collapse of the systems of provision. Yet even then, in those desperate days, God's people will be satisfied. This doesn't necessarily mean they will have overflowing storehouses while their neighbors starve. It means God will provide what is sufficient. He fed Elijah by ravens and a widow's miraculous jar. He fed Israel with manna in the wilderness. He knows how to provide for His own. The satisfaction promised here is both physical and spiritual. In the midst of scarcity, they will have enough, and in the midst of anxiety, they will have a deep contentment that comes from knowing their ultimate security does not depend on the grain harvest, but on the goodness of their covenant-keeping God.
Application
These verses are a potent antidote to two of the modern Christian's greatest temptations: anxiety and envy. We live in "evil times" and we are constantly warned of coming "famines," whether economic, cultural, or spiritual. The talking heads on the news and the algorithms on our phones are engineered to make us fret. And when we look around, we see the ungodly prospering in their foolishness, which tempts us to envy.
The application is straightforward. First, we must cultivate a deep and abiding trust in the personal, fatherly knowledge of God. He knows your days. He knows about the bill you can't pay, the diagnosis you fear, the child who is wandering. Your life is not a random series of events; it is a story being written by a good and sovereign author. Rest in that knowledge. Do not give in to the impersonal anxieties of the age.
Second, we must adjust our definition of wealth. The world's portfolio is stocks, bonds, and real estate. God's portfolio for you is an inheritance that is forever. This means we must live as people who are destined for a permanent inheritance, not as people desperately clinging to the temporary inheritances of this world. This frees us from envy. Why would we envy the man who is flourishing on the deck of the Titanic? His success is measured in minutes; ours is measured in millennia.
Finally, we must believe in God's practical provision. In days of famine, He will satisfy us. This means we should be characterized by a cheerful generosity, not a fearful hoarding. Our security is not in our 401(k), but in our Father's care. Therefore, we can do good, share with those in need, and trust that our God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. When the world is panicking, the people of God should be the most stable, satisfied, and generous people on the block, not because we are naive, but because we know whose we are and who it is that knows our days.