Psalms 37:36

37:34-40 Duty is ours, and we must mind it; but events are God's, we must refer the disposal of them to him. What a striking picture is in ver. 35,36, of many a prosperous enemy of God! But God remarkably blights the projects of the prosperous wicked, especially persecutors. None are perfect in themselves, but believers are so in Christ Jesus. If all the saint's days continue dark and cloudy, his dying day may prove comfortable, and his sun set bright; or, if it should set under a cloud, yet his future state will be everlasting peace. The salvation of the righteous will be the Lord's doing. He will help them to do their duties, to bear their burdens; help them to bear their troubles well, and get good by them, and, in due time, will deliver them out of their troubles. Let sinners then depart from evil, and do good; repent of and forsake sin, and trust in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ. Let them take his yoke upon them, and learn of him, that they may dwell for evermore in heaven. Let us mark the closing scenes of different characters, and always depend on God's mercy.

Yet he passed away,.... At once, on a sudden; either his riches and honour, which, in one hour, came to nought, by one providence or another; or he himself by death; in the midst of all his prosperity, and while blessing himself in it, his soul was required of him; and so the Targum is, "he ceased from the world"; he went out of it unawares: the laurel, or bay tree, very quickly grows old (d); and, lo, he was not; he was not reduced to nothing; he did not become a nonentity, though he might wish himself to be so; it being better for him if he had never been born; but he was not in the land of the living, in hell he lifted up his eyes; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found; in the place where he formerly was, that knowing him no more; he could not be found on earth, from whence he was gone; nor in heaven, where no place is found for such wicked men; he was gone to his own place, as is said of Judas, and of whom Jerom interprets the whole of this passage. (d) "Senescit velociter", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44.

Verse 36. - Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not (cf. Job 20:5 ; Psalm 73:19, 20 ). Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found . The sudden disappearance of an imposing personality astonishes and confuses us. We cannot believe that one who has played so prominent a part in our drama of life is gone altogether. We look about for him; we expect him to reappear at any moment. We cannot realize the fact that he is vanished for ever. We ask ourselves, "Where is he?' ( Job 20:7 ). Psalm 37:36

Yet he passed away - Compare the notes at Job 20:5 . The allusion here, of course, is to the man, and not to the tree, though the grammatical construction might refer to either. The idea is that he passed out of view - "he was gone;" he had no permanent abode on earth, but with all his pomp and splendor he had disappeared. Neither his prosperity, his greatness, nor his wealth, could secure him a permanent abode on earth. It might be said, also, in reply to this, that the good man passes away and is not. That is true. But the meaning here is, that this occurs "so much more frequently" in the case of a wicked man, or that wickedness is followed so often in this life by the judgment of God in cutting him off, as to show that there is a moral government, and that that government is administered in favor of the righteous, or that it is an advantage in this life to be righteous. It cannot be meant that this is "universally" so here, but that this is the "general" rule, and that it is so constant as to show that God is on the side of virtue and religion. And lo, he was not - He was no more; there was no longer any such person: The word "lo" implies that there was some degree of surprise, or that what had occurred was not looked for or expected. The observer had seen him in great power, flourishing, rich, honored; and, to his astonishment, he soon passed entirely away.

Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found - This is intended to "confirm" what had been just said, or to show how completely he had disappeared. It might be supposed, perhaps, that his removal was only temporary - that he was still somewhere upon the earth; but the psalmist says that after the most diligent search, he could not find him. He had disappeared entirely from among men.

עריץ (after the form צדּיק) is coupled with רשׁע, must as these two words alternate in Job 15:20 : a terror-inspiring, tyrannical evil-doer; cf. besides also Job 5:3 . The participle in Psalm 37:35 forms a clause by itself: et se diffundens, scil. erat. The lxx and Jerome translate as though it were כארז הלבנן, "like the cedars of Lebanon," instead of כאזרח רענן. But אזרח רענן is the expression for an oak, terebinth, or the like, that has brown from time immemorial in its native soil, and has in the course of centuries attained a gigantic size in the stem, and a wide-spreading overhanging head. ויּעבר does not mean: then he vanished away (Hupfeld and others); for עבר in this sense is not suitable to a tree. Luther correctly renders it: man ging vor׬ber, one (they) passed by, Ges. ֗137, 3. The lxx, Syriac, and others, by way of lightening the difficulty, render it: then I passed by.

swelling —well represents the pride and haughtiness of insolent foes. 4. God's favor is denoted by a river (compare Psalms 36:8; Zechariah 14:8; Revelation 22:1). city of God, the holy place —His earthly residence, Jerusalem and the temple (compare Psalms 2:6; 3:4; 20:2; 48:2, &c.). God's favor, like a river whose waters are conducted in channels, is distributed to all parts of His Church. most High —denoting His supremacy (Psalms 17:2). 5. right early —literally, "at the turn of morning," or change from night to day, a critical time (Psalms 30:5; compare Isaiah 37:36). ## 6. (Compare Psalms 46:2). earth melted —all powers dissolved by His mere word (Psalms 75:3; Hosea 2:22). 7. with us —on our side; His presence is terror to our enemies, safety to us. refuge —high place (Psalms 9:9; compare also Psalms 24:6, 10). 8. what desolations —literally, "who hath put desolations," destroying our enemies. 9. The usual weapons of war (Psalms 7:12), as well as those using them, are brought to an end. 10. Be still, &c.—literally, "Leave off to oppose Me and vex My people. I am over all for their safety." (Compare Isaiah 2:11; Ephesians 1:22). ## PSALM 47 Psalms 47:1-9. Praise is given to God for victory, perhaps that recorded (2 Chronicles 20:20-30); and His dominions over all people, Jews and Gentiles, is asserted. 1. clap … hands … people —literally, "peoples," or "nations" (compare Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalms 18:49; 98:9). 2, 3. His universal sovereignty now exists, and will be made known. 3.