1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away.
3 Put your trust in Yahweh and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4 Take delight in Yahweh, *
and he shall give you your heart's desire.
5 Commit your way to Yahweh and put your trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass.
6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.
7 Be still before Yahweh *
and wait patiently for him.
8 [7] Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9 [8] Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
10 [9] For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon Yahweh shall possess the land.
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In verse one, the word “not” (“’al-”) is attached to words twice, as a combined word statement of “not do fret” and “not be envious.” This separation and repetition should be read as a dual statement that tells the faithful to “not” be like those who are of no faith, who are those who are “angered because of evildoers” and are “envious of those acting unrighteous.” Thus, verse one states both what the faithful will do, in regards to those who customarily break Yahweh’s Law, while setting the example of a lack of faith as being that which “angers” and “makes envious” those forcing themselves to comply with the Law, when they do not understand how so many so-called Israelites can sin without punishment from Yahweh.
In verse two, David pointed out why one should “not” be like those who lack faith. His metaphor was they were “like the grass they shall be cut down soon,” as the “grass” is like “green herbs that wither.” This metaphor compares the faithless as those who are connected to the earth, where everything of the material realm is part of an endless cycle of birth, growth, withering and death, to be repeated. Those who have faith, on the other hand, have the consistency of eternal life on the spiritual plane, where death (reincarnation back into a body that will be born, grow, wither, and die) is assured. Those of true faith avoid this cyclic repetition.
In verse three, the concept of faith is repeated in David singing the words “trust” and “his steadfastness.” David here explains that those of faith “trust in Yahweh,” which means their souls are led spiritually to guide their bodies to “do good.” The truth of “doing good” (as Jesus reminded the rich man who called him “good Teacher”) is only possible by Yahweh, which manifests through His hands on the earthly plane. When it appears that David is saying the faithful “pasture on the land,” as the rewards of the “faithfulness” His presence brings, this is wrong to see. David said that the saved souls “of the land” will themselves become the nourishment (like lush green grass feeds the sheep) that those lacking faith shall “feed on,” so they can also find “his faithfulness.”
In verse four, it appears (again) that having faith in Yahweh is greatly rewarding, as the NRSV translation has David singing, “he shall give you your heart's desire.” This also is the wrong way to view these lyrics. The verse begins with a statement that says, delight in your souls, where the meaning to “have delight self” is a statement that equates a ‘self” to a soul.” No body of flesh has a “self” without a “soul.” A body without a soul is a corpse and has no identity. This “soul-delight” comes because a soul has become elevated by the Spirit of “Yahweh above” that “soul,” bringing the soul “delight” in that presence. When this “delight” of presence is felt spiritually by the soul, then it is because “Yahweh has given you” the wedding gift of His Spirit. The “delight” is then the divine union between a soul and Yahweh. The “gift” fulfills the “desires” or “prayers” for redemption, through repentance that leads to the altar of divine marriage. Once a soul has knelt before this altar in complete submission to Yahweh – as His wife-soul – then this marriage will be “of your heart,” where the Hebrew word “leb” means “inner man, mind, will, heart.” The “heart” of all human beings is their souls; so, the “desires of their hearts” is eternal salvation for their souls.
In verse five, this concept of divine marriage is stated in David singing, “commit to Yahweh your path,” where commitment is the whole foundation of marriage. The Hebrew word translating as “commit” is “galal,” which actually means “to roll” or “roll away,” such that when connected to “dar·ke·ḵā” (from “derek”), meaning “your journey, road, path, way, manner, or distance,” the suggestion is to cease “rolling away” from Yahweh and turn “your path” into His. This is the commitment one takes in marriage, where two separate ways must be blended into one. As a soul being the wife and Yahweh the Husband, faith is then the “trust” that His “path” is the best for one’s soul. When this “commitment” is made, then “he will bring to pass” this new “way.” That is the “path” of righteousness.
This concept of “righteousness” is then sung of in verse six. Following David singing at the end of verse four, “he will bring it to pass,” he begins verse five by singing, “and he will bring forth” (from the construct “wə·hō·w·ṣî,” rooted in “yatsa”). This means the darkness of one’s past “path” or “way” will be exposed by “his bringing out the light,” which is symbolic for the “light of truth” that comes from His Son (Adam-Jesus), being “brought out” (reborn) in one’s soul, as its possessing Lord. This resurrection of the Son’s soul in a wife-soul will then lead one along the “path” of Yahweh, as the “path of righteousness,” only possible through His Son’s guidance, protection and revelations. This “path” led by the Son’s soul will then ensure a wife-soul’s “judgment” upon death, where the worthiness of a soul will be clearly seen in the “bright light of the noonday” sun. One’s soul will become the Son reborn, thereby perfected by his “light.”
In the Episcopal Church’s presentation of Psalm 37 (above), it is at verse seven that it is divided into two verses, creating a pseudo verse eight, which is not so. The rest of this analysis will then stay true to the written word and not veer onto the path set by the Episcopal Church, for whatever motivations they might have had to alter the divine test of David’s Psalm 37. It should be noted that the NRSV (supposedly the source for the Episcopal readings) does not divined verse seven as shown above.
Verse seven then begins by saying one word, before a vertical bar is placed, denoting a place to pause and reflect on that one word. David wrote, “dō·wm ׀,” where the root verb (“damam”) means “to be or grow dumb, silent or still.” This statement is then prompting a soul to see that self-will or self-ego must be completely surrendered in this state of marriage with Yahweh, where that union “brings forth the light” of His Son as one’s Lord. This means one’s soul must “be silent” and listen. Nothing of importance can ever come from a soul, whose fleshy brain is no match for the Mind of God. The soul of His Son (Adam-Jesus) speaks the Word of Yahweh to the soul, as the soul obeys the commandments given and listens to the truth being exposed in the “light.”
Following the vertical bar, David then sang, “in Yahweh and make bring forth for him not you are angered by those rushing onto his path”. Here, the element of “in Yahweh” must be read as verse four is the “delight in one’s soul” because the presence of “Yahweh” comes “over” or elevates one’s soul “above” the ordinary. Here, “in Yahweh” should be seen as a soul being “within” that protective envelopment of Spirit, as well as the divine possession surrounding one’s soul by His Son. This inner presence that is “in Yahweh” – Adam-Jesus – is then the influence that is the “not” of verse one. Here, one’s soul is “not angered” by those with no faith, who come “rushing” to Yahweh as His children, when the only children of Yahweh are those who have the resurrected soul of Adam-Jesus as their Lords. This pretense does “not raise ire” within a saved soul, because “only those rushing are doing their souls harm.”
This is then explained by David singing, “because the man who brings to pass wicked schemes,” which says a “man” is a soul not married to Yahweh (not His child reborn), and one “rushing onto the path of Yahweh’ (to prosper from such pretense) will not be led divinely by the Son. All a “man” is capable of “bringing to pass” is “wicked schemes,” which will be trespasses dirtying the soul.
Verse eight then repeats this warning that “anger causes harm.” David sings here, “relax from face,” where the root noun “aph” implies flaring “nostrils” and a “face” that is marked by hard lines along the brow, in “anger.” To ‘relax from (this) face,” one’s soul must not be influenced by the feelings submitted it by the flesh (especially a big brain). This “relaxation” then allows one to “release from rage” or “leave the heat” of troubling times. Then, again, David sang, “not you be angered,” as this “only causes harm.” The “harm” is not to one’s body of flesh, but to one’s soul, as determined when Judgment of a soul comes.
In verse nine (the last of this reading selection), David wrote, “for those doing evil will be cut off ; but those waiting on Yahweh they shall take possession of the earth.” This says that the souls of those who are sinning will not be facing Yahweh, so their pleas and prayers, supplications and requests will be unheard. They are those who wear the distorted “face” that does not reflect the presence of Yahweh within. This breaks the first vow of marriage stated in Mosaic Law – Thou shall not wear the face of another god before my face – which says a rejection of that first agreement in marriage disallows their souls to be granted ‘children of God’ status. When David says “waiting on Yahweh” (“wə·qō·wê Yah weh”), this is another word of dual meaning, where “waiting” is not only sitting silently and doing nothing until told, but it is also the actions that come after being told an order; so, a soul is ‘waiting on Yahweh” as a servant that is obedient to His Will. Those who enter ministry in the name of the Son will then be taking His orders and “waiting on Yahweh” as His priests on the earth.
In the final segment of words, which say “they shall take possession of the earth,” the use of “erets” or “earth, land” must be read as metaphor for one’s body of flesh (which is made of the matter of the “earth”). This segment of David’s Psalm 37 is then like Jesus saying in Matthew 5, “and the meek shall inherit the earth.” Those souls of “humble” submission to Yahweh will be “taken possession of” by the soul of Yahweh’s Son and become his ministers on earth, who “wait” on Him. This makes the plural “they” be less about those souls who submit to Yahweh in marriage and more to the Spirit of Yahweh that cleanses a soul-body of all past sins, so Yahweh and His Son (“they”) “will take possession of the flesh” of one’s soul.
Verses ten and eleven are not part of this reading, but the element stated in verse nine is furthered in the following verses not read aloud on this seventeenth Sunday after Pentecosy (Proper 22), Year C.