The mouth of the righteous proffereth wisdom, and his tongue speaketh judgment;
Psalm 37 sets the godly beside the wicked and tells the tried believer to stop fretting and wait for the Lord. Verse 30 turns from the pressure outside to the man himself, and to his speech. Where do such words come from, and who has ever spoken them without fault? (Older translations read "judgment" where the ESV has "justice." The writers quoted below call God by the Old Testament name Jehovah.)
The psalm presses patience on the remnant — the faithful few in Israel.
In this psalm the great point pressed on the remnant — a lesson for every soul — is waiting on Jehovah, and not letting evil upset the spirit. Evildoers will soon be cut down like grass. They are not to fret, but to trust in Jehovah and do good. They are to delight in Him, and they will have their desires. They are to commit their way to Him, and He will justify them. They are to rest in Him and wait patiently for Him.
One commentator defines both halves of the verse — wisdom in the mouth, and justice on the tongue.
First, we see the righteous man in that obedience of heart to God which makes his mouth meditate wisdom. That is, he says out loud what his heart has thought over. So his tongue speaks judgment — the practical ability to tell things apart in their moral or spiritual difference. It is the law of his God in his heart that has given him this light. Walking in the light, he walks safely: his steps do not slide.
The verse describes the man, but it does not start with him. One commentator traces his words back to God at work inside.
Verse 30 shows God working in the heart of a believer, moving him to speak wisdom with his mouth and to talk of justice. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). So what a person says shows his character. Verse 31 says the same: "the law of his God is in his heart." And when the heart is right, the steps will not slide. They will keep moving forward, steady and sure.
If speech reports on the heart, the practical question is what we store there.
Whatever is in the heart comes out through the lips, and in the life. How important, then, to have the heart full of the word of God! So full that we have no room for the empty, foolish things of this present evil world… The tongue is the mouthpiece of the heart — the mouthpiece of the man.
One writer reads verses 30 to 33 as a portrait of Christ Himself.
Verses 30-33 are full of interest. They give a short summary of the character and experience of Jesus as the servant of righteousness. The law of His God was in His heart, and He did not receive honour from men. Deep springs of wisdom were in the mouth of the One who spoke as no one had ever spoken. He told the mysteries of the kingdom of God in parables. He spoke words of life and health to the tired ears of sinners weighed down with burdens. But the eye of the wicked one was fixed on Him for evil.
The obedience of this man is exactly what draws hostility in the verses that follow.
But just because he is obedient to God, the wicked become his enemies. They watch him, and even seek his death. They may even go through the form of a trial, wrapping themselves in the appearance of justice to do their cruel work. But Jehovah is against them. However things may look, He cannot abandon the righteous man to their hand, and He will not condemn him because they do this.
The Lord found this same justice missing in the strict religious leaders of His day.
The Pharisees were fussy and showy about small duties. They neglected the weightier matters of judgment and the love of God. Giving tithes was right, but they should not have overlooked judgment (see Psalm 37:30-31) and the love of God. Their practice matched their love of being honoured by other people.
- Heart first. The law of God kept in the heart is the source; the mouth only reports what is already stored inside.
- Heart speaks. Wisdom in the mouth is meditation said out loud. Justice on the tongue is the ability to tell right from wrong.
- Heart walks. The same inward law that steadies the tongue steadies the steps, so they do not slide.
- Heart tested. Because this man obeys God, the wicked watch him. They even use the forms of justice against him. Yet the Lord will not abandon him to their hand.
- Heart perfected. Deep wisdom was in the mouth of Jesus, who spoke as no one ever spoke. Without such a heart, careful religion still misses justice and the love of God.
the law of his God is in his heart; his goings shall not slide.
Psalm 37 sets the godly apart from evildoers. Verse 31 looks behind the righteous man's words to his heart, and then forward to his steady walk.
Verse 30 describes what the righteous man says. Verse 31 names the source of that speech.
Verse 30 shows God's working in the heart of a believer to move him to use his mouth to speak wisdom and to talk of justice. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). So what a person speaks shows his character. Verse 31 shows this: "the law of his God is in his heart." And when the heart is right, the steps will not slide. They will move forward steadily and surely.
What fills the heart lights the path the feet take.
First, we see the righteous man in that obedience of heart to God which makes his mouth meditate wisdom. That is, he speaks out what his heart has thought over. So his tongue speaks judgment. This is practical discernment, which tells things apart by their moral or spiritual difference. The law of his God in his heart is what gave him this light. Walking in the light, he walks safely: his steps do not slide.
No one carries God's law inside by nature. One commentator reads the verse as a prophecy about Christ.
This commandment is "good" (Rom. 7:12), but the will of man is opposed to obeying it. The mind of the flesh is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, and it cannot be (Rom. 8:7). This disobedient nature belongs to all the sons of Adam. So they stand in absolute contrast with God's Righteous One, of whom it was prophetically written, "The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip" (Ps. 37:31).
Read this way, the psalm's righteousness has a face.
So for the believer, Christ gives substance and colour to the moral outline of righteousness that this Psalm draws so clearly. He alone perfectly shows the principles of an acceptable walk before God, and the rewards of righteousness are His.
If no one is born with God's law inside, then God must put it there. He promises to do that for a particular people.
The law is not written on the heart naturally, as the promise of the new covenant clearly shows. If it were true of all men naturally, it could not be a special promise to a certain class. When God writes His law on a heart, that heart will not let the person forget what He has commanded. This is not the natural condition of anyone. It belongs only to those of whom He can also say, "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more."
One writer applies this to Christians today, though not by putting them under the law.
The writing of the Holy Spirit on our hearts today is Christ. He is, indeed, the spirit of the new covenant. So, though we are not "under the law, but under grace," we still delight in the law. We fulfil its righteous requirements as we walk according to the Spirit. The believer can even now sing, "Oh, how I love your law!" for he is brought to rejoice in the One who has magnified the law. He rejoices in the One who has borne its curse for him on the tree.
The second half of the verse promises stability. That stability comes from the Word working on heart and conscience, not from stored information.
There is a preserving power in the Word that keeps the feet from sliding. Only those who receive the truth and love it know that power. Merely having the word hidden in the memory will not do! There is no preserving power in that. The truth must act on the heart and conscience and separate us from all defilement. Otherwise no one experiences its preserving power.
The nearby verses give a second reason the steps hold.
His steps will not slide, for the Lord will not leave him in the hand of those who watch for his destruction. So let the godly wait on the Lord and keep His way, knowing that he will inherit the land, while those who seek his downfall will be cut off (vv. 30-34).
- Source — The righteous man speaks wisdom because his heart holds God's law. Speech shows what the heart stores.
- Gift — That inward law is not natural to anyone. It is the promise of the new covenant, given to those whose sins God remembers no more.
- Person — Adam's race stands in absolute contrast to God's Righteous One. He alone walked acceptably before God, and the verse is fully true of Him.
- Power — Memorised words preserve no one. Only truth acting on heart and conscience keeps the feet from sliding.
- Protection — The steps also hold because the Lord will not leave the righteous man in the hand of those watching for his ruin.