Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- BSB Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- NKJV Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
- NASB Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- NLT Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Instead of fretting, David commands trust in the Lord and doing good, with the promise of secure dwelling and provision. Faith expresses itself in faithful action.
Overview
David replaces anxiety with active trust: rely on God and do good, and you will 'dwell in the land' enjoying His care. Genuine faith is not passive but works itself out in obedience. This pairing of trust and good works reflects the consistent biblical pattern fulfilled in the gospel, where faith in Christ bears the fruit of good works (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Jer 17:7–8Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
- Matt 6:31–33Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
- Ps 62:8Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
- 1 Cor 15:57–58But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ps 34:9–10O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
- Luke 22:35And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
- Ps 4:5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
- Heb 6:10–12For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
- Deut 30:20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
- Isa 1:16–19Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
- Ps 26:1Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
- Ps 33:19To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
- Isa 50:10Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
- Gen 26:2And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
- Heb 11:13–16These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- 1 Sam 26:19Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
- Isa 40:11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 37:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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