No condemnation

Psalm 37 is a wisdom Psalm that assures Israel that Yahweh will not let the wicked flourish forever. The faithful should persevere in seemingly fruitless faithfulness because the wicked who spring up like grass will also wither like grass.

Part of this assurance is that the Lord will rescue His people from the wicked. Though evil people spy out and plot against the righteous (v. 33), the Lord will not let wicked hands prevail. He will not leave His people in the power of evildoers (v. 34).

The parallel of verse 34 is notable: In the first line, the Lord assures His people that He will not leave them in the hands of oppressors; in the second line he assures them that they will not be condemned. The setting is judicial: The scenario is that the wicked attempt to bring the righteous into their power by leveraging the power of courts, by false witness and bribes. If the wicked win, the righteous are in their power. Yahweh says that He will not let such false judgments stand.

Theologically, the statement extends from actual courts, and makes a claim like that of Paul in Romans 8:1-4: Those who cling to Yahweh will not be condemned; that is, they will be vindicated or justified. And this is just to say that the Lord will also rescue them from the wicked. No condemnation is parallel to deliverance.

One might be tempted to call this a “deliverdict.”