Psalms 37:30

Psa 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom] Having spoken of the privileges of the righteous, he now describeth them, Tales autem sunt non quicunque nomen iustorum praetexunt, &c. Such are not all they that pretend to righteousness, or can talk of it; but that can speak of it fruitfully, feelingly, and from an outward principle. And as he talketh, so he walketb, ne dicta factis erubescant, as Tertullian hath it; lest his life should seem to give the lie to his lips.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 37:30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom — And that freely, customarily, and from his heart, as the next verse shows. Having showed, in divers verses, God’s singular care over and respect to the righteous, he proceeds to give a character of them, and withal to assign one reason of the great difference of God’s way of dealing with them, and with other men. And his tongue talketh of judgment — This respects either, 1st, The manner of his discourse: it is with wisdom and judgment; or, rather, 2d, The matter of it, which is God’s judgment, word, or law, as it follows, Psa 37:31. While the discourses of other men are either wicked, or vain and useless, his are serious, pious, and edifying, concerning the word and ways of God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. (Psa 37:30) The mouth of the righteous will utter wisdom. Lest the foregoing promises should be appropriated by the wicked, he lays down a test of character by which the righteous man may be distinguished. He is one whose mouth utters wisdom, in the high religious sense. For the meaning of the verb, see above, on Psa 35:28.—And his tongue will speak judgment, i.e. justice, rectitude, here used as an equivalent to wisdom, both denoting true religion, in its intellectual and moral aspects, with particular reference to its effects upon the speech or conversation of its subjects.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37:30 The godly base their counsel on the Lord’s wisdom.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

These three points are required of the faithful, that their talk be godly, that God’s law be in their heart, and that their life be upright.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The righteous described as to the elements of character, thought, word, and action.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom] Foolish and corrupt conversation cannot come out of their mouth. They are taught of God, and they speak according to the wisdom that is from above.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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 truth; that the law of God should reign in their heart; and that they should order their conversation aright. Some give a different exposition of the first part from what we have given: they say that the righteous serve as teachers and guides, by instructing others to live well, and leading them in the way; and, therefore, to speak wisdom, and to utter judgment, is, in their view, of the same import as to instruct others in holy doctrine, and to train them to the fear of God. I do not altogether disapprove of this exposition, but I fear it is too restricted. Wisdom and uprightness are here opposed as much to the profane and filthy language by which the wicked endeavor to blot out the name of God, as to cunning and fraud, and every species of stratagem and deceit; and also to the threats and terrors by which they endeavor to frighten the simple. The meaning therefore is, first, that the righteous speak honourably and reverently of the righteousness of God, that they may cherish in themselves and others, to a large extent, the knowledge and the fear of God; secondly, that both in their own affairs and those of others, they approve, without disguise or deceit, of what is just and reasonable, and are not given to justify what is wrong under the color and varnish of sophistry; and, finally, that they never depart from the truth.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

30. The mouth of the righteous meditateth wisdom,

And his tongue speaketh judgement.

Cp. Pro_10:31-32. The word rendered meditateth combines the ideas of meditation and meditative discourse. Vulg. meditabitur sapientiam. Cp. Psa_1:2; Psa_35:28; Jos_1:8.

30, 31. Stanza of Pç. The secret of security.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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, Jer 31:33; and such have a real knowledge of the spirituality and perfection of it; of the impossibility of justification by it; and of Christ being the fulfilling end of it: and they have a strong affection for it; they love it; and delight in it after the inward man, and serve it with their minds; in which lies part of their conformity to Christ, and is a branch of their character as good men; see Psa 40:8; moreover, the word here used, signifies any doctrine or instruction, and is sometimes used for the doctrine of the Gospel, Isa 2:3, and may have this sense here, and the meaning be, that that has a place in the hearts or righteous men, dwells richly there, and works effectually in them; and particularly the doctrine of grace which relates to covenant interest in God; for it is the law or doctrine of "his God" that is in his heart;

none of his steps shall slide; not that he shall never slip nor fall; for that is supposed Psa 37:24; but he shall never finally and totally go out of the paths of truth, holiness, and righteousness: the Lord keeps the feet of his saints, and orders their steps, and directs them in the way they should go, and preserves them in it; and enables them to walk uprightly, according to the rule of the divine word, and in all his commandments and ordinances; and to hold on and out unto the end: or the clause may be rendered, "it", the law, "shall not cause his steps to slide" (b); neither the law of God, nor the Gospel of Christ, but shall guide him in the right way, and be a lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path.

(b) "non vacillat gressus ejus", Cocceius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom - That is, It is a characteristic of the righteous to speak “wise things;” not to utter folly. His conversation is serious, earnest, true, pure; and his words are faithful, kind, and just. This, as a part of human conduct, is one of the reasons why God will bless him with prosperity and length of days.

And his tongue talketh of judgment - That is, of just or righteous things. See Mat 12:35.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Speaketh; and that freely, and customarily, and from his heart, as the next verse shows. Having showed in divers verses God’s singular care over and respect to the righteous, he proceeds to give a character of them, and withal to assign one reason of the great difference of God’s dealings with them and with other men. Wisdom and judgment; either,

1. For the manner of it, with wisdom and judgment. Or rather,

2. For the matter of it, heavenly wisdom, and God’s judgment, or word, or law, as it follows, Psa 37:31. When the discourses of other men are either wicked, or vain and useless, his are serious, and edifying, and pious, concerning the word and ways of God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom. Where the whole Psalm is dedicated to a description of the different fates of the just and the wicked, it was meet to give a test by which they could be known. A man's tongue is no ill index of his character. The mouth betrays the heart. Good men, as a rule, speak that which is to edifying, sound speech, religious conversation, consistent with the divine illumination which they have received. Righteousness is wisdom in action, hence all good men are practically wise men, and well may the speech be wise. His tongue talketh of judgment. He advocates justice, gives an honest verdict on things and men, and he foretells that God's judgments will come upon the wicked, as in the former days. His talk is neither foolish nor ribald, neither vapid nor profane. Our conversation is of far more consequence than some men imagine.

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Ver. 30. Our speech as a test of godliness.

Psalms 37:31*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom. (On the essential union of wisdom with goodness, see the Proverbs, passim. ) And his tongue talketh of judgment; i.e. utters only what is morally right, and, in accordance with truth and goodness. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." A good man out of the good treasure of his heart can only bring forth good things. (Mat_12:34, Mat_12:35)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The mouth - Having shewed, God's singular care over the righteous, he proceeds to give a character of them. Judgment - Of God's judgment, word or law.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

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.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The righteous man’s mouth utters at first words of wisdom in his heart to see the law that the Torah decided for each thing, and afterwards his tongue speaks judgment.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.