Commentary - Psalm 37:20

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm, structured as an acrostic, that addresses a perennial problem for the saints: the apparent prosperity of the wicked. David, writing in his old age, counsels the righteous not to fret or be envious of evildoers. The psalm is a collection of godly aphorisms, much like a chapter from Proverbs, designed to fortify the faith of believers by reminding them of the ultimate destinies of the righteous and the wicked. The core message is a call to trust in Yahweh, delight in Him, and wait patiently for His justice. The wicked may flourish for a season, but their end is destruction. The righteous, in stark contrast, will inherit the land. Verse 20 serves as a potent summary of the fate of those who set themselves against God, using vivid natural imagery to describe their certain and complete demise.

This verse sits within a section (vv. 12-20) that specifically details the character and end of the wicked. They plot, they gnash their teeth, they draw the sword, but God laughs at them because He sees their day is coming. Verse 20 provides the capstone to this description. It is a blunt, unequivocal statement of fact. The prosperity of the wicked is a mirage, a temporary illusion that will dissipate as certainly as smoke in the wind or the fleeting beauty of a spring meadow.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 37 contrasts two ways of life and their ultimate outcomes: the way of faith and the way of wickedness. This is a central theme throughout the Psalter and all of Scripture. The psalm functions as a theodicy, a defense of God's goodness and justice in the face of the apparent success of evil. It doesn't offer a philosophical argument so much as a pastoral exhortation grounded in the covenant faithfulness of God. The righteous are encouraged to "wait on the Lord," a recurring command in the Psalms, with the assurance that God has not forgotten them and will act decisively in His time. This psalm provides the long view, reminding the believer that a snapshot of the present is not the whole story. The final chapter has already been written, and in it, God's justice is perfectly executed.

Commentary

But the wicked will perish;

The verse begins with a hard adversative, "But." This sets up the sharpest possible contrast with the preceding verses, which describe how the Lord upholds the righteous and provides for them even in famine (vv. 17-19). The security of the saints is established, and now David turns to the fate of the ungodly. The statement is blunt and absolute: "the wicked will perish." This is not a possibility or a likelihood; it is a divine certainty. The verb "perish" speaks of utter ruin and destruction. It is the natural, inevitable end for those who live in rebellion against the source of all life. In a world created and sustained by a holy God, a life of wickedness is a contradiction. It is an attempt to build on a foundation of nothing, and so it must eventually collapse into that nothingness. This is covenantal reality. To be outside of God's covenant of grace is to be under His curse, and the curse is ultimately one of dissolution and perishing.

And the enemies of Yahweh will be like the glory of the pastures,

David now specifies who the wicked are. They are not just generic miscreants; they are "the enemies of Yahweh." This is crucial. Their wickedness is not primarily horizontal, a simple breaking of societal rules. It is vertical. They have set themselves against the Lord of heaven and earth. Their fate is then described with a striking simile. They are "like the glory of the pastures." At first glance, this might seem like a positive image. The glory of the pastures would be the lush grass and vibrant wildflowers of spring, a beautiful and impressive sight. This is precisely the point. The wicked, in their prosperity, can be impressive. Their glory can be quite glorious. They have their accolades, their wealth, their power, their cultural influence. They can look like the very picture of success. But what is the nature of the glory of a pasture? It is temporary. It is fragile. The wildflowers bloom for a week or two and are gone. The lush grass is green today, but under the scorching sun of summer, it withers and turns brown tomorrow. Their glory is a fleeting thing, a vapor. It has no substance, no permanence.

They vanish, in smoke they vanish away.

The end of this fleeting glory is made even more explicit. "They vanish." And in case we missed the force of it, the psalmist repeats it for emphasis, adding another powerful image: "in smoke they vanish away." Think of smoke rising from a fire. For a moment, it billows and seems substantial. You can see its shape, its form. But as it rises, it dissipates. It thins out into nothing. You cannot get it back. You cannot reassemble it. It is gone, utterly and irrevocably. This is the end of the enemies of God. Their impressive, pasture-like glory is consumed, and the result is smoke. Their substance, their memory, their influence, all of it just vanishes into the air. This is not annihilation in the sense that they cease to exist, but rather their earthly power and glory are completely and finally brought to nothing. Before the bar of God's judgment, all their worldly pomp is shown to be less than nothing, a puff of smoke that is no more.

Key Words

Perish

The Hebrew word abad means to be lost, to be destroyed, to come to ruin. It signifies a complete and final end. When applied to the wicked, it doesn't mean they cease to exist, but that their purposes, their power, and their well-being are brought to a final, catastrophic end. They are removed from the land of the living and from the place of blessing, which is the presence of God.

Glory of the Pastures

This phrase refers to the transient beauty of a field in bloom. The Hebrew speaks of the "preciousness" or "splendor" of the meadows. It is a perfect image for the world's definition of glory, something that is beautiful to the eye but has no lasting substance. It is here today, celebrated and envied, and gone tomorrow, forgotten.

Vanish in Smoke

Smoke (ashan) is a common biblical metaphor for that which is ephemeral, unsubstantial, and quickly gone (Psalm 102:3; Hosea 13:3). The image of vanishing in smoke points to a judgment that is not only final but also effortless from God's perspective. Just as a wisp of smoke is driven away by the slightest breeze, so the wicked are dispersed by the judgment of God.

Application

The application for the believer is straightforward, though not always easy. Do not fret. Do not be envious of the apparent success of those who hate God. We are called to play the long game. Our culture is obsessed with the immediate, with the "glory of the pastures." We see the enemies of God celebrated on every screen, their foolishness lauded as wisdom, their wickedness praised as virtue. And we are tempted to despair, or worse, to envy. This psalm is a bucket of cold water to the face. It tells us to look again, but this time with the eyes of faith.

What we see as a mighty skyscraper is, in God's economy, a pillar of smoke about to dissipate. What we see as a lush, green pasture is, in God's timeframe, a patch of weeds that will be burned up in the heat of judgment. Therefore, we are to trust in the Lord and do good. We are to commit our way to Him. Our inheritance is not a fleeting, pasture-like glory. Our inheritance is the Lord Himself, and we will inherit the earth. The wicked will perish, but the righteous will dwell in the land forever. This verse is a rock for our faith. When the smoke of the wicked's temporary glory stings our eyes, we stand on this promise and breathe the clear air of God's coming kingdom.