For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
The verse sets out the opposite destinies of two classes of people, with those blessed by God inheriting the earth and those cursed by him cut off from it. Those blessed are the righteous, the meek, and those who wait upon the Lord and prove faithful to him, while those cursed are the wicked and evildoers who shall have no place in the earth. The inheritance is not present prosperity or worldly goods but the future, eternal home of the saints on the earth made new and purified, where the meek dwell forever after the wicked are removed. To be cut off is to be destroyed, consumed and cease to exist, which is extinction of life and the second death, not continued existence in torment forever. The righteous inherit when the wicked are cut off at the judgment, when the very fire that burns up the wicked on this earth purifies it and restores its primitive beauty for Christ and his saints to possess forever.
Psalm's Contrast of Two Classes
Psalm 37 is a psalm of two classes and two destinies, setting those blessed by God who shall inherit the earth over against those cursed by him who shall be cut off.
David draws the contrast as the wicked prospering for a time but finally cut off against the Lord's people receiving a future inheritance. The wicked under God's curse are consumed and disappear and perish and are consumed away, and the righteous inherit the earth after their destruction and alongside the destruction of the Lord's enemies. That inherited earth is the earth made new, not material prosperity or the present world's goods or blessings, and the promise belongs with the final overthrow of the wicked and supports their final destruction.
The psalm is cheer and promise to earth's pilgrims, vividly setting out the reward of the righteous and the wicked. That reward is future life for God's children versus destruction for the finally impenitent. It is the lasting inheritance of the righteous in contrast with the removal and eventual destruction of the wicked.
Who Are Blessed and Cursed
Those blessed by God who inherit the earth are the righteous, the meek, those who wait upon the Lord, and those who now prove faithful to him, while those cursed by him who are cut off and shall not inhabit the earth are the wicked and evildoers. This is Christ's teaching in both the Old and New Testaments. From the Old Testament alone this shows that everlasting life and everlasting possession belong to the righteous alone, so that the everlasting inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed can be received only on condition of righteousness by faith. Being cut off is extinction of life and completed death rather than continued existence in misery, and the second death has no resurrection.
The surrounding verses explain the heirs as those preserved forever who inherit the land and dwell therein, because God's law is in their hearts and they trust in him, whom God helps and delivers and saves from the wicked. God's planned inhabitants of the earth must therefore have a righteous character in harmony with his holy law. Those governed by God's law of love inherit life in the new earth, while those not gathered to Christ will be put out of existence.
The righteous are accepted through Christ's merits as they share in Christ's Spirit and bear its fruits, which are feelings and actions in harmony with God's law, and this is necessary for the atonement to avail for them. Committing the way to God includes respecting his moral and natural laws, taking proper care of health, and trusting him to bring about in this life what is for good and for his glory.
Inheriting the Renewed Earth
The inheritance is future, not present prosperity, possessions, or the goods and blessings of this life in this world, but the joys of the earth made new. The wicked may prosper for a time, but their final overthrow and removal stands in contrast to the Lord's people receiving the earth. The meek shall dwell in that renewed earth forever after the wicked are finally removed and cut off.
The promise is eternal, for the earth is the lasting home where the righteous shall dwell forever. That eternal dwelling comes through the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, by which they shall spend eternity there, and the inheritance itself is eternal and comes when the wicked are cut off.
This very earth shall be the eternal home of the saints as a renewed heaven and earth, not a system made of new materials, just as the new creature in Christ is a renewed man. It is the old earth purified and made new, the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness seen by John in vision. This takes place when the Lord Jesus is revealed, after the present earth waxes old, the present arrangement passes away, and the works therein are burned up.
The promised kingdom is literal and earthly, and the earth will be renewed as a spiritual home for Christ's people. That inheritance is understood as the whole earth rather than only Canaan, and it is promised to God's children of all ages. It points to the restoration of the first dominion, with the redeemed inheriting a renewed earth as their home. God's original purpose still holds, that the earth which abides forever and was formed to be inhabited will be possessed by righteous people, repeating in another form the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth. That possession will be under Christ.
Inheriting the earth belongs to God's blessed people alone, meaning the righteous, while those cursed by Him, meaning the wicked and evildoers, shall be cut off and shall not inhabit it. This proves from the Old Testament alone that everlasting life and everlasting possession belong to the righteous alone. So the everlasting inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed can be received only on condition of righteousness by faith.
Cut Off Means Destruction
To be cut off is to cease to exist so as to be found nowhere, with no continuing existence remaining. The wicked are consumed and disappear, while those blessed inherit the earth after their destruction.
To be cut off means to be destroyed and utterly destroyed, pictured as destruction, perishing, and being consumed away. This perishing is the end of the wicked, set in opposition to the righteous inheriting the earth. The cutting off of the cursed is therefore a picture and declaration of the final destruction of the wicked.
Cut off means extinction of life and completed death, not continued existence in misery or torment forever. The punishment of those who persist in sin is death itself, the extinction of life, and the second death has no resurrection. To be consumed and destroyed in this sense excludes being tormented forever. It is everlasting death and destruction, in contrast to inheriting the earth and enjoying peace as the future hope of the righteous.
This death brings sin to an end and fully satisfies justice. While the righteous are recompensed on earth, the wicked are cut off and destroyed.
When and How Fulfilled
The blessed receive the earth at the time the cursed are cut off, for the inheritance comes when the wicked are removed as verse 34 explains. As soon as the wicked are consumed and disappear, the saints possess the earth in their place. David is speaking of the time when the wicked receive their reward, that is, when they are burned up on the earth at the day of judgment. The very fire that burns up the wicked purifies the earth and restores it to its primitive beauty for the righteous to inhabit, which proves the wicked must cease to exist, for both cannot occupy the same place at the same time.
The cutting off takes place on this earth after the judgment, in the fires that renovate the earth and bring in new heavens and a new earth. Those renovating fires are the perdition, second death, destruction and perishing of the ungodly. The renovation by fire consumes everything of the character of sin as well as all the effects of the curse, so that there is no more anything accursed. After the earth is thus cleansed by fire, Christ and His saints will possess it and dwell there forever, and the kingdom will be given to the saints.
This takes place when the Lord Jesus is revealed, after the present earth waxes old, the present arrangement passes away, and the works therein are burned up. The promise is fulfilled when the earth is regenerated at Christ's coming, after the righteous are raised and the wicked are destroyed. Then the kingdom of God has come and God's will is done on earth as it is done in heaven, the meek inherit the regenerated earth, the saints possess God's everlasting kingdom, and the righteous live there forever with the wicked removed. The inheritance comes after the wicked are destroyed at Christ's coming, not during a temporal millennium in which wicked people remain on earth, for the meek inherit the land when the wicked are gone.
Both classes are rewarded where they did their deeds, the cursed wicked being punished here on this earth and cut off, and afterward the blessed inheriting the earth in the eternal reward and kingdom of the righteous, so there is no special place apart from this earth called hell where the wicked suffer misery forever. The promise concerns the righteous inheriting the earth but does not say where the saints will be during the thousand years or when they will inherit the earth. The cutting off of the cursed implies that the wicked will be resurrected to receive it. In the redemption the curse on humanity and the earth will be removed and the promise of dominion over the earth will be fulfilled in the just, believers in Christ who fear God, while the wicked perish, so the righteous will regain their rightful dominion and the wicked will ultimately be destroyed.
Covenant Promise and Gospel Links
The verse repeats in another form the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth, one of many repetitions of that promise in different ways in Psalm 37. This is Christ's teaching in both the Old and New Testaments. Those blessed by God inherit the earth, while those under His curse are cut off.
The new earth will be the eternal heritage of the saints, for those blessed by God inherit the earth while the wicked are cut off. It will be their everlasting home after the curse is removed. It will be their everlasting home after the wicked are destroyed, for the people who receive Christ.
The verse is evidence that the earth will be renewed and become the promised inheritance of the saints. Those who now prove faithful to God and are blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, which abides forever because God formed it to be inhabited. This inheritance will not be in its present sin-cursed state but after it is cleansed by purifying fire and made new by the power of God's word, when everything that defiles has been gathered out and the first dominion is restored to man under Christ in the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
The promise of inheriting the land is not exclusive to the new covenant or one of its better promises, for it was also made to Israel before the new covenant. The new covenant's distinctive better promises are forgiveness of sins and God's law written in the heart. The psalm is connected with the Gospel's work of restoring people to righteousness, for only the righteous endure forever.
Babylon's continued rule depended on its people accepting God's righteousness, so rejecting the Gospel meant the kingdom would be superseded. These are promises held out to the Christian, in contrast to the death that sinners receive as sin's wages. They teach about the inheritance of God's people and the exclusion of the wicked from the new earth.
The wicked are destroyed by God's judgment, not by the meek. The work of the meek is to preach the Gospel and show Christ's meekness in their lives, while the Judge of all the earth executes judgment on the enemies of righteousness. The psalm is for afflicted people to dwell on as they trust God, even when His ways are hard to understand and earthly support is taken away.
The verse sets out the opposite destinies of two classes of people, with those blessed by God inheriting the earth and those cursed by him cut off from it. Those blessed are the righteous, the meek, and those who wait upon the Lord and prove faithful to him, while those cursed are the wicked and evildoers who shall have no place in the earth. The inheritance is not present prosperity or worldly goods but the future, eternal home of the saints on the earth made new and purified, where the meek dwell forever after the wicked are removed. To be cut off is to be destroyed, consumed and cease to exist, which is extinction of life and the second death, not continued existence in torment forever. The righteous inherit when the wicked are cut off at the judgment, when the very fire that burns up the wicked on this earth purifies it and restores its primitive beauty for Christ and his saints to possess forever.
Psalm's Contrast of Two Classes
Psalm 37 is a psalm of two classes and two destinies, setting those blessed by God who shall inherit the earth over against those cursed by him who shall be cut off.
David draws the contrast as the wicked prospering for a time but finally cut off against the Lord's people receiving a future inheritance. The wicked under God's curse are consumed and disappear and perish and are consumed away, and the righteous inherit the earth after their destruction and alongside the destruction of the Lord's enemies. That inherited earth is the earth made new, not material prosperity or the present world's goods or blessings, and the promise belongs with the final overthrow of the wicked and supports their final destruction.
The psalm is cheer and promise to earth's pilgrims, vividly setting out the reward of the righteous and the wicked. That reward is future life for God's children versus destruction for the finally impenitent. It is the lasting inheritance of the righteous in contrast with the removal and eventual destruction of the wicked.
Who Are Blessed and Cursed
Those blessed by God who inherit the earth are the righteous, the meek, those who wait upon the Lord, and those who now prove faithful to him, while those cursed by him who are cut off and shall not inhabit the earth are the wicked and evildoers. This is Christ's teaching in both the Old and New Testaments. From the Old Testament alone this shows that everlasting life and everlasting possession belong to the righteous alone, so that the everlasting inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed can be received only on condition of righteousness by faith. Being cut off is extinction of life and completed death rather than continued existence in misery, and the second death has no resurrection.
The surrounding verses explain the heirs as those preserved forever who inherit the land and dwell therein, because God's law is in their hearts and they trust in him, whom God helps and delivers and saves from the wicked. God's planned inhabitants of the earth must therefore have a righteous character in harmony with his holy law. Those governed by God's law of love inherit life in the new earth, while those not gathered to Christ will be put out of existence.
The righteous are accepted through Christ's merits as they share in Christ's Spirit and bear its fruits, which are feelings and actions in harmony with God's law, and this is necessary for the atonement to avail for them. Committing the way to God includes respecting his moral and natural laws, taking proper care of health, and trusting him to bring about in this life what is for good and for his glory.
Inheriting the Renewed Earth
The inheritance is future, not present prosperity, possessions, or the goods and blessings of this life in this world, but the joys of the earth made new. The wicked may prosper for a time, but their final overthrow and removal stands in contrast to the Lord's people receiving the earth. The meek shall dwell in that renewed earth forever after the wicked are finally removed and cut off.
The promise is eternal, for the earth is the lasting home where the righteous shall dwell forever. That eternal dwelling comes through the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, by which they shall spend eternity there, and the inheritance itself is eternal and comes when the wicked are cut off.
This very earth shall be the eternal home of the saints as a renewed heaven and earth, not a system made of new materials, just as the new creature in Christ is a renewed man. It is the old earth purified and made new, the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness seen by John in vision. This takes place when the Lord Jesus is revealed, after the present earth waxes old, the present arrangement passes away, and the works therein are burned up.
The promised kingdom is literal and earthly, and the earth will be renewed as a spiritual home for Christ's people. That inheritance is understood as the whole earth rather than only Canaan, and it is promised to God's children of all ages. It points to the restoration of the first dominion, with the redeemed inheriting a renewed earth as their home. God's original purpose still holds, that the earth which abides forever and was formed to be inhabited will be possessed by righteous people, repeating in another form the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth. That possession will be under Christ.
Inheriting the earth belongs to God's blessed people alone, meaning the righteous, while those cursed by Him, meaning the wicked and evildoers, shall be cut off and shall not inhabit it. This proves from the Old Testament alone that everlasting life and everlasting possession belong to the righteous alone. So the everlasting inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed can be received only on condition of righteousness by faith.
Cut Off Means Destruction
To be cut off is to cease to exist so as to be found nowhere, with no continuing existence remaining. The wicked are consumed and disappear, while those blessed inherit the earth after their destruction.
To be cut off means to be destroyed and utterly destroyed, pictured as destruction, perishing, and being consumed away. This perishing is the end of the wicked, set in opposition to the righteous inheriting the earth. The cutting off of the cursed is therefore a picture and declaration of the final destruction of the wicked.
Cut off means extinction of life and completed death, not continued existence in misery or torment forever. The punishment of those who persist in sin is death itself, the extinction of life, and the second death has no resurrection. To be consumed and destroyed in this sense excludes being tormented forever. It is everlasting death and destruction, in contrast to inheriting the earth and enjoying peace as the future hope of the righteous.
This death brings sin to an end and fully satisfies justice. While the righteous are recompensed on earth, the wicked are cut off and destroyed.
When and How Fulfilled
The blessed receive the earth at the time the cursed are cut off, for the inheritance comes when the wicked are removed as verse 34 explains. As soon as the wicked are consumed and disappear, the saints possess the earth in their place. David is speaking of the time when the wicked receive their reward, that is, when they are burned up on the earth at the day of judgment. The very fire that burns up the wicked purifies the earth and restores it to its primitive beauty for the righteous to inhabit, which proves the wicked must cease to exist, for both cannot occupy the same place at the same time.
The cutting off takes place on this earth after the judgment, in the fires that renovate the earth and bring in new heavens and a new earth. Those renovating fires are the perdition, second death, destruction and perishing of the ungodly. The renovation by fire consumes everything of the character of sin as well as all the effects of the curse, so that there is no more anything accursed. After the earth is thus cleansed by fire, Christ and His saints will possess it and dwell there forever, and the kingdom will be given to the saints.
This takes place when the Lord Jesus is revealed, after the present earth waxes old, the present arrangement passes away, and the works therein are burned up. The promise is fulfilled when the earth is regenerated at Christ's coming, after the righteous are raised and the wicked are destroyed. Then the kingdom of God has come and God's will is done on earth as it is done in heaven, the meek inherit the regenerated earth, the saints possess God's everlasting kingdom, and the righteous live there forever with the wicked removed. The inheritance comes after the wicked are destroyed at Christ's coming, not during a temporal millennium in which wicked people remain on earth, for the meek inherit the land when the wicked are gone.
Both classes are rewarded where they did their deeds, the cursed wicked being punished here on this earth and cut off, and afterward the blessed inheriting the earth in the eternal reward and kingdom of the righteous, so there is no special place apart from this earth called hell where the wicked suffer misery forever. The promise concerns the righteous inheriting the earth but does not say where the saints will be during the thousand years or when they will inherit the earth. The cutting off of the cursed implies that the wicked will be resurrected to receive it. In the redemption the curse on humanity and the earth will be removed and the promise of dominion over the earth will be fulfilled in the just, believers in Christ who fear God, while the wicked perish, so the righteous will regain their rightful dominion and the wicked will ultimately be destroyed.
Covenant Promise and Gospel Links
The verse repeats in another form the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth, one of many repetitions of that promise in different ways in Psalm 37. This is Christ's teaching in both the Old and New Testaments. Those blessed by God inherit the earth, while those under His curse are cut off.
The new earth will be the eternal heritage of the saints, for those blessed by God inherit the earth while the wicked are cut off. It will be their everlasting home after the curse is removed. It will be their everlasting home after the wicked are destroyed, for the people who receive Christ.
The verse is evidence that the earth will be renewed and become the promised inheritance of the saints. Those who now prove faithful to God and are blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, which abides forever because God formed it to be inhabited. This inheritance will not be in its present sin-cursed state but after it is cleansed by purifying fire and made new by the power of God's word, when everything that defiles has been gathered out and the first dominion is restored to man under Christ in the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
The promise of inheriting the land is not exclusive to the new covenant or one of its better promises, for it was also made to Israel before the new covenant. The new covenant's distinctive better promises are forgiveness of sins and God's law written in the heart. The psalm is connected with the Gospel's work of restoring people to righteousness, for only the righteous endure forever.
Babylon's continued rule depended on its people accepting God's righteousness, so rejecting the Gospel meant the kingdom would be superseded. These are promises held out to the Christian, in contrast to the death that sinners receive as sin's wages. They teach about the inheritance of God's people and the exclusion of the wicked from the new earth.
The wicked are destroyed by God's judgment, not by the meek. The work of the meek is to preach the Gospel and show Christ's meekness in their lives, while the Judge of all the earth executes judgment on the enemies of righteousness. The psalm is for afflicted people to dwell on as they trust God, even when His ways are hard to understand and earthly support is taken away.