a precept or statute · noun, common feminine singular construct
God
אֱלֹהָ֣יו'e.lo.Hav
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
heart
בְּלִבּ֑וֹbe.li.Bo
H3820
the heart · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
steps
אֲשֻׁרָיו'a.shu.Rav
H838
a step · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
slide
תִמְעַ֣דtim.'Ad
H4571
to waver · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Isaiah 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of t…
Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inwar…
Psalms 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Deuteronomy 11:18-20 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontl…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 37:21-33
These verses are much to the same purport with the foregoing verses of this psalm, for it is a subject worthy to be dwelt upon. Observe here,
I. What is required of us as the way to our happiness, which we may learn both from the characters here laid down and from the directions here given. If we would be blessed of God, 1. We must make conscience of giving every body his own; for the wicked borrows and pays not again, Psa 37:21. It is the first thing which the Lord our God requires of us, that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is not only a shameful paltry thing, but a sinful wicked thing, not to repay what we have borrowed. Some make this an instance, not so much of the wickedn…
steps--or, "goings"--for conduct which is unwavering (Psa 18:36).
John Gill on Psalms 37:31
The law of his God is in his heart,.... Which may be understood of the moral law, which was written in the heart of Adam an his creation, and continued there during his state of innocence, but was greatly obliterated by sin: there are some remains of it in fallen man, even in the very Gentiles; who, though without the law, do some things contained in it, which shows the work of it to be written in them; though in some it is scarcely legible, having lost all distinction between good and evil: but in regeneration the law of God is reinscribed, according to the promise of the covenant of grace, Jeremiah 31:33; and such have a real knowledge of the spirituality and perfection of it; of the impos…
Psalm 37:30-33
30. The mouth of the righteous will speak wisdom, and his tongue will utter judgment. 31. The law of his God is in his heart: his steps shall not slide. 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33. Jehovah will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
30 The mouth of the righteous will speak wisdom As it is customary with hypocrites confidently to draw to their own advantage whatever the Spirit of God declares concerning the just and upright, David here gives a definition of the righteousness which God requires on the part of his children, and divides it into three principal parts -- that their speech should be in sincerity and tru…
The Church Fathers
It is fitting, the psalmist says, to carry around the divine sayings both on one's tongue and in one's mind and constantly give attention to them; learning in this way how to behave, the lover of virtue remains intrepid and unmoved, proof against efforts at overthrow.
(Vers. 31.) Justice is still described and increased in form, as the Scripture says: The law of God is in his heart, and his steps will not be supplanted. In the heart of the righteous is the law of God. What law? Not written, but natural; for the law is not imposed on the just, but on the unjust. In his heart is the law, not superficially, as in the lips of the Jews; for it is believed in the heart for righteousness. He who believes, speaks; but he who speaks does not always believe. Finally, the people did not believe, of whom it is said: This people honors me with their lips; their heart, however, is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). Therefore, if the nations do what the law requires, they themselves are the law, knowing what they should follow or avoid. How much more faithful and just is the person who lives in the image and likeness of God, knowing how to discern the beautiful and the honorable, and using a legitimate guide of natural wisdom, so that its traces are not supplanted; just like Esau, whom his brother supplanted and made him fall due to his greed, and his traces were spilled unto death.
"The law of his God is in his heart" [Psalm 37:31]. Lest haply you should think him to have that on his lips, which he has not in his heart, lest you should reckon him among those of whom it is said, "This people honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." [Isaiah 29:13] And of what use is this to him? "And none of his steps shall slide." The "word of God in the heart" frees from the snare; the "word of God in the heart" delivers from the evil way; "the word of God in the heart" delivers from "the slippery place." He is with you, Whose word departs not from you. Now what evil does he suffer, whom God keeps? Thou settest a watchman in your vineyard, and feelest secure from thieves; and that watchman may sleep, and may himself fall, and may admit a thief. But "He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." "The law of his God is in his heart, and none of his steps shall slide." Let him therefore live free from fear; let him live free from fear even in the midst of the wicked; free from fear even in the midst of the ungodly. For what evil can the ungodly or unrighteous man do to the righteous? Lo! see what follows.
Dictionary and topics
Psalms, Book Of — The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill’im, “Praises;” but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically…
Perfection · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The verb הגה unites in itself the two meanings of meditating and of meditative utterance (vid., Psa 2:1), just as אמר those of thinking and speaking. Psa 37:31 in this connection affirms the stability of the moral nature. The walk of the righteous has a fixed inward rule, for the Tפra is to him not merely an external object of knowledge and a compulsory precept; it is in his heart, and, because it is the Tפra of his God whom he loves, as the motive of his actions closely united with his own will. On תּמעד, followed by the subject in the plural, compare Psa 18:35; Psa 73:2 Chethמb.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 37:31
They have made God’s law their own: The godly internalize God’s wisdom and instructions (see 119:11; Jer 24:7; 31:31-34).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 37:31
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The best thing in the best place, producing the best results. Well might the man's talk be so admirable when his heart was so well stored. To love holiness, to have the motives and desires sanctified, to be in one's inmost nature obedient to the Lord—this is the surest method of making the whole run of our life efficient for its great ends, and even for securing the details of it, our steps from any serious mistake. To keep the even tenor of one's way, in such times as these, is given only to those whose hearts are sound towards God, who can, as in the text,…
