Psalms 37:39
in Psalms 37The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the salvation of the righteous is of Jehovah: He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
KJV
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
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This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
17 notes on this verseThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; not from the world, not from an element. Heaven and earth will pass away. I do not entrust my salvation to heaven; because it too will pass away, for it is said of many heavens: They will perish, but you will remain.
This site's exposition
Wait for the LORD
on Psalms 37:34-40
The waiting is joined to keeping His way, and the land comes to the man who does both. The ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted tree is gone by the next verse, searched for and not found. Salvation comes from the LORD, a stronghold in time of trouble.
This site's exposition
The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD
Spurgeon took salvation here as deliverance of every kind, the small rescues along the way as well as the last. Albert Barnes stressed the source: the LORD keeps them. The same trouble that overthrows the wicked drives the righteous to their Helper, Spurgeon added.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanCommentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms · Written before 397.
proposed
To God alone, who remains forever, I entrust; to God alone who can forgive sins, I entrust my salvation. He will be my protector in time of trouble and will help and deliver me. He will snatch me away from sinful people when the hour comes for him to give judgment. He will save me because in him I have hoped. Only in him have I hoped. For he does not wish that we should serve both him and another. The one who serves God alone is set free; for God's is the praise and the glory. He alone is eternal. To him all honor and power from the beginning of the ages, and now, and always, and to all ages of ages. Amen.
"But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, and He is their strength in the time of trouble" (ver. 39). "And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the sinners" (ver. 40). At present therefore let the righteous bear with the sinner; let the wheat bear with the tares; let the grain bear with the chaff: for the time of separation will come, and the good seed shall be set apart from that which is to be consumed with fire. The one will be consigned to the garner, the other to "everlasting burning;" for it was for this reason that the just and the unjust were at the first together; that the one should lay a stumbling-block, that the other should be proved; that afterwards the one should be condemned, the other receive a crown. ...
The Medieval Church2 voices
If long and healthful life: there is sound eternity and eternal soundness, because the just shall live forever, and: The salvation of the just is from the Lord. If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear.
"But the salvation of the just." He proves that the remnants of the just are saved. And first he shows in general what they are; second, he shows the order of obtaining them; third, the cause of this salvation. There are two things in the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The salvation of the righteous (which may be applied to the great salvation of which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i. 10 ) is of the Lord; it will be the Lord's doing. The eternal salvation, that salvation of God which those shall see that order their conversation aright ( Ps. l.
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9 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord,....
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord,....
The salvation of the righteous (which may be applied to the great salvation of which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i. 10 ) is of the Lord; it will be the Lord's doing. The eternal salvation, that salvation of God which those shall see that order their conversation aright ( Ps. l.
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Sound doctrine this. The very marrow of the gospel of free grace. By salvation is meant deliverance of every kind; not only the salvation which finally lands us in glory, but all the minor rescues of the way; these are all to be ascribed unto the Lord, and to him alone. Let him have glory from those to whom he grants salvation. He is their strength in the time of trouble. While trouble overthrows the wicked, it only drives the righteous to their strong Helper, who rejoices to uphold them.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Sound doctrine this. The very marrow of the gospel of free grace. By salvation is meant deliverance of every kind; not only the salvation which finally lands us in glory, but all the minor rescues of the way; these are all to be ascribed unto the Lord, and to him alone. Let him have glory from those to whom he grants salvation. He is their strength in the time of trouble. While trouble overthrows the wicked, it only drives the righteous to their strong Helper, who rejoices to uphold them.
SALVATION is a blessing peculiar to the righteous. The ungodly do not, as a rule, believe that they have any need of salvation and, therefore, they do not desire it, or seek after it. The righteous know that they are born in a fallen state; they acknowledge that they have destroyed themselves by personal sin; and they are conscious of a thousand dangers which surround them. Hence they need salvation, seek it and find it. It is to them that salvation has come to make them righteous, for until they are saved, they are unrighteous, even as others. But now that salvation has come to their house, they bring forth the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God their Savior. This may be used as a description of the Believer's life—he lives a life of salvation. He is saved in Christ, who is his life, in whom he has forgiveness of sins and every other Covenant blessing. He is always being delivered, or saved and, from the moment in which he begins as a Believer till that last moment on earth when he shall be about to depart out of the world unto the Father, his whole life is encompassed within the Divine circle of salvation. God is working salvation for him, salvation in him and salvation by him—and is giving him to receive the fullness of salvation which he shall forever enjoy in the world to come— "Salvation is forever near The souls that fear and trust the Lord. And Grace, descending from on high, Fresh hopes of Glory shall afford." Beloved Friends, we rejoice in that right royal word, "salvation!" We would let its echo fly over the whole world. To us it is a word of great meaning.
SALVATION is a blessing peculiar to the righteous. The ungodly do not, as a rule, believe that they have any need of salvation and, therefore, they do not desire it, or seek after it. The righteous know that they are born in a fallen state; they acknowledge that they have destroyed themselves by personal sin; and they are conscious of a thousand dangers which surround them. Hence they need salvation, seek it and find it. It is to them that salvation has come to make them righteous, for until they are saved, they are unrighteous, even as others.
The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord - It is the Lord who made them righteous, by blotting out their sins, and infusing his Holy Spirit into their hearts; and it is by his grace they are continually sustained, and finally brought to the kingdom of glory: “He is their strength in the time of trouble.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord - Or, salvation comes to the righteous from the Lord. While the wicked are cut off, the righteous shall be safe. There are evidently two ideas here: (1) that there will be salvation to the righteous, while the wicked are cut off; (2) that this comes from the Lord, and not from themselves. It is not owing to any power of their own that they are safe, but is solely because they are kept by the Lord. He is their strength in the time of trouble - See Psa 9:9, note; Psa 18:2, note.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּתְשׁוּעַ֣ת | uteshuat | and [the] salvation of | H8668 → | 34 times |
| צַ֭דִּיקִים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| מֵיְהוָ֑ה | meyahweh | [is] from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָֽ֝עוּזָּ֗ם | mauzam | place of refuge their | H4581 → | 36 times |
| בְּעֵ֣ת | beet | in a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| צָרָֽה׃ | tzarah | trouble | H6869 → | 73 times |
וּתְשׁוּעַ֣תand [the] salvation of
uteshuatH8668 →34 times
צַ֭דִּיקִיםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
מֵיְהוָ֑ה[is] from Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָֽ֝עוּזָּ֗םplace of refuge their
mauzamH4581 →36 times
בְּעֵ֣תin a time of
beetH6256 →296 times
צָרָֽה׃trouble
tzarahH6869 →73 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
it leads to
- Revelation 7:10
And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
- Psalms 118:14
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
- Psalms 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Revelation 7:10
Through
Psalms 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Through
Psalms 9:9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Proverbs 18:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Psalms
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, The Psalms, Expositor's Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS - Psalm 37; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1953: “A Testimony To Free and Sovereign Grace” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.