Single lesson
Psalm 37: Delight Yourself in the LORD
Psalms 37:1–40
Psalm 37 is a wisdom poem that teaches children how to respond when wrongdoers seem to succeed. It uses repeated commands, strong contrasts and vivid images to show that safety is found in trusting Yahweh.
Before you teach
The poem begins by telling listeners not to fret or envy evildoers. It then calls them to trust, delight in, commit their way to, rest in and wait for Yahweh. In the middle it contrasts the wicked and the righteous, and near the end the speaker adds a personal witness before finishing with Yahweh’s help and refuge.
Students will identify the speaker’s voice, trace the poem’s movement from fretful trouble to refuge in Yahweh, and explain two images from Psalm 37.
Welcome: Hear the poem’s key words
4 minTell the group that Psalm 37 is a poem that teaches with repeated words and picture language. Ask children to listen for action words such as trust, delight, commit, rest and wait. Explain that “fret” means to become upset or worked up when evildoers seem to do well.
Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:3, Psalms 37:4, Psalms 37:5, Psalms 37:7, Psalms 37:8
Read and explain: From fretting to trusting
8 minRead verses 1 to 11 aloud. Show the opening movement of the poem: do not fret or envy, because evildoers fade like grass, then trust Yahweh, do good, delight in him, commit your way to him, rest in him and wait patiently. Finish by noticing the humble and the abundance of peace.
Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:2, Psalms 37:3, Psalms 37:4, Psalms 37:5, Psalms 37:7, Psalms 37:11
Discuss: The middle contrasts and the speaker’s voice
6 minRead selected middle verses to compare two paths. The wicked borrow and do not pay back, while the righteous give generously. The righteous speak wisdom and have God’s law in the heart. Point out that this poem also has a first-person speaker who says, “I have been young, and now am old”, giving personal witness within the poem.
Psalms 37:21, Psalms 37:25, Psalms 37:26, Psalms 37:30, Psalms 37:31
Make and respond: Illustrated trust card
8 minChildren make a small card with one image from the psalm and one matching line. Encourage choices such as grass, shining light, Yahweh’s hand holding someone up, smoke vanishing, or a stronghold. Ask each child to explain how the image fits the poem’s message about trust, waiting and refuge.
Psalms 37:2, Psalms 37:6, Psalms 37:24, Psalms 37:20, Psalms 37:39
Closing: Follow the poem to its ending
4 minRead the final verses and briefly trace the whole flow again: the poem starts with “don’t fret”, calls people to trust, contrasts the wicked and the righteous through the middle, and ends with Yahweh’s salvation, help, rescue and refuge. Invite children to name one part of that movement and one image they remember.
Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:3, Psalms 37:21, Psalms 37:30, Psalms 37:39, Psalms 37:40
Questions to explore
What does the poem tell us to do instead of fretting about evildoers?
Look at the opening commands and list the action words the poem repeats: trust, delight, commit, rest, wait and do good.
Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:3, Psalms 37:4, Psalms 37:5, Psalms 37:7
Who is speaking in part of this poem, and how do we know?
Find the first-person line “I have been young, and now am old” and notice that the speaker adds personal witness about what he has seen.
Psalms 37:25
How does Psalm 37 move from beginning to end?
Trace the flow from “don’t fret” and “trust” at the start, through the middle contrasts between wicked and righteous, to Yahweh’s help and refuge at the end.
Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:3, Psalms 37:21, Psalms 37:30, Psalms 37:39, Psalms 37:40
Make, think or respond
Psalm 37 Image and Word Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils
- coloured pens or crayons
- Bible text of Psalm 37
Try it together
- Ask each child to choose one image from Psalm 37, such as grass, light, a hand, smoke or a stronghold.
- Have them copy a short matching phrase from the psalm onto the card.
- Invite them to draw the image clearly around the words.
- Let each child show the card and explain what the image teaches about trusting, waiting or taking refuge in Yahweh.
This activity helps children connect the poem’s pictures with its movement from trouble and fretting to trust, help and refuge in Yahweh.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer two or three pre-selected images from the psalm and let them choose one to draw and explain in a short sentence.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to place their image on a simple beginning-middle-end timeline of the psalm and explain where it fits.
An optional closing prayer
Proposed words: Lord Yahweh, please help us not to fret when we see wrong. Teach us to trust you, wait for you and take refuge in you. Amen.
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 37
1 Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
6 he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.
11 But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path.
15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously.
22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 A man’s steps are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
24 Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
26 All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.
28 For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn’t forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him.
33 Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
36 But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.