Psalms 37:6

Psa 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Ver. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light] God will so oil thy good name that infamy shall not stick to it. Dirt will stick upon a mud wall, not so upon marble. But say thou be aspersed and denigrated by calumnies and contumelies cast upon thee, and thou lie under them for a time, as the earth doth under the darkness of the night; yet as the morning suddenly arising driveth away that darkness, so shall God clear up thy wronged innocence; and as the moon wadeth out of a cloud, so shalt thou get over all thy troubles in this kind or any other; it shall be with thee as it was once with Cato, whom Seneca calleth the lively picture of virtues, who was thirty-two times accused in open court, and as many times cleared and absolved.

And thy judgments as the noonday] At the day of judgment, howsoever, if not sooner; then there will be a resurrection as well of names as bodies.

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.

6. (Psa 37:6) And (will) bring out thy right like the light, and thy cause like the noon. He will espouse thy cause, and make it triumph in the sight of all men. The figure of light suggests the double idea of relief from suffering and clear revelation after long concealment. Compare Job 11:17, Isa 58:8, Mic. 7—The Hebrew word for noon is of the dual form, and properly denotes twofold or double light, i. e. the brightest, the most intense.

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

37:6 Justice occurs when the Lord’s will triumphs and the godly experience his rescue (Isa 45:8; 51:5-6; 58:8, 10-11).

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

As the hope of the daylight causeth us not to be offended with the darkness of the night: so ought we patiently to trust that God will clear our cause and restore us to our right.

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

Verse 6. Thy righteousness as the light] As God said in the beginning, "Let there be light, and there was light;" so he shall say, Let thy innocence appear, and it will appear as suddenly and as evident as the light was at the beginning.

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

6. And he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light This David says, in order to anticipate the misgivings which often trouble us when we seem to lose our labor in faithfully serving God, and in dealing uprightly with our neighbors; nay, when our integrity is either exposed to the calumnies of the wicked, or is the occasion of injury to us from men; for then it is thought to be of no account in the sight of God. David, therefore, declares, that God will not suffer our righteousness to be always hid in darkness, but that he will maintain it and bring it forth to the light; namely, when he will bestow upon us such a reward as we desire. He alludes to the darkness of the night, which is soon dispelled by the dawning of the day; as if he had said, We may be often grievously oppressed, and God may not seem to approve our innocence, yet this vicissitude should no more disturb our minds than the darkness of the night which covers the earth; for then the expectation of the light of day sustains our hope.

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.

(6) The light.—The image is from an Eastern dawn and the progress of the sun to its meridian glory. (Comp. Job_11:17; Isa_58:10.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. And he shall make thy righteousness go forth as the light,

And thy judgement as the brightness of the noonday.

The result of that divine working. The justice of thy cause has been hidden, but it shall shine forth like the sun rising out of the darkness of night; thy right has been obscured, but it shall be clear as the full light of the noonday. Cp. Job_11:17; Pro_4:18; Isa_58:10; Mat_13:43.

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.

Rest in the Lord,.... Or "be silent to the Lord" (p); be still, and know that he is God; quietly submit to his will, and acquiesce in all the dispensations of his providence: it does not design a stupid indolence, or a stoical apathy, that we should be like sticks and stones, without any concern at the hand of God upon us; nor an entire silence under afflictions; we should own that they are of God, and that we are deserving of them; we should pray to him to sanctify them, to support under them, and deliver out of them; we should bless his name that they are no worse, and that they are any ways useful to us; and we should speak to others of the divine goodness experienced under them; but this stands opposed to an arraigning or murmuring at the providence of God, and intends a patient bearing the hand of God, and a resignation of will to his will; for it follows,

and wait patiently for him: for the enjoyment of him, help from him, and deliverance by him;

fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass; this explains the sense of Psa 37:1; it being often an additional uneasiness to the people of God under affliction, when they observe the prosperity of men that go on in a sinful way, and have all or more than heart can wish; and whatever they contrive and devise, though wicked and criminal.

(p) "tace Domino", Pagninus, Montanus; "sile", Musculus, Piscator, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

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

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light - That is, if you are slandered; if your character is assailed, and seems for the thee to be under a cloud; if reproach comes upon you from the devices of wicked people in such a way that you cannot meet it - then, if you will commit the case to God, he will protect your character, and will cause the clouds to disperse, and all to be as clear in reference to your character and the motives of your conduct as the sun without a cloud. There are numerous cases in which a man cannot meet the assaults made on his reputation, in which he cannot trace to its source a slanderous accusation, in which he cannot immediately explain the circumstances which may have served to give the slanderous report an appearance of probability, but in which he may be perfectly conscious of innocence; and, in such cases, the only resource is to commit the whole matter to God. And there is nothing that may be more safely left with him; nothing that God will more certainly protect than the injured reputation of a good man. Under his administration things will ultimately work themselves right, and a man will have all the reputation which he deserves to have. But he who spends his life in the mere work of defending himself, will soon have a reputation that is not much worth defending. The true way for a man is to do his duty - to do right always - and then commit the whole to God.

And thy judgment - Thy just sentence. That is, God will cause justice to be done to your character.

As the noon-day - The original word here is in the dual form, and means properly “double-light;” that is, the strongest, brightest light. It means “noon,” because the light is then most clear and bright. The idea is, that he will make your character perfectly clear and bright. No cloud will remain on it.

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

He shall bring forth thy righteousness to the view of the world; from which it hath hitherto seemed to be hid or eclipsed by reproaches, and by grievous calamities, which most men are apt to mistake for tokens and punishments of great wickedness.

As the light; it shall be as visible to men as the light of the sun, and that at noon-day, as it is in the next branch. So effectually will he plead thy cause.

Judgment; the same thing with righteousness, as this word is used here below, Psa 37:28; 99:4, and oft elsewhere.

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

Ver. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light. In the matter of personal reputation we may especially be content to be quiet, and leave our vindication with the Judge of all the earth. The more we fret in this case the worse for us. Our strength is to sit still. The Lord will clear the slandered. If we look to his honour, he will see to ours. It is wonderful how, when faith learns to endure calumny with composure, the filth does not defile her, but falls off like snowballs from a wall of granite. Even in the worst cases, where a good name is for awhile darkened, Providence will send a clearing like the dawning light, which shall increase until the man once censured shall be universally admired. And thy judgment as the noonday. No shade of reproach shall remain. The man shall be in his meridian of splendour. The darkness of his sorrow and his ill repute shall both flee away.

Ver. 6. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, etc. If thou shouldest be accused as a man of evil designs, let not that trouble thee neither: for though thy fame may be obscured for a time by calumnies and slanders, as the sun is by mists and clouds, yet as that scatters them all at last, so shall thy integrity appear, and shine as bright as the sun at noonday. Symon Patrick.

Ver. 6. Sweet comfort for slandered saints. Where their character now is. Who shall reveal it. The gradual yet sure manner of the revelation, and the glorious conclusion.

Psalms 37:7*

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

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. If the prosperity of the wicked frets thee, because it seems to obscure thy righteousness, since while he appears to bask in the sunshine of God"s favour, thy life is possibly overshadowed by clouds and darkness, be sure that, in the end, this seeming injustice will be remedied. God will not frown on thee always; one day he will turn on thee the light of his countenance, and make thy righteousness to shine forth like the sun in its noonday splendour.

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

Judgment - It shall be as visible to men, as the light of the sun, at noon-day.

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