Trust in God & Do Good

(Psalm 37:3)

Mike Johnson

Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” Psalm 37 encourages God’s people to avoid being upset about the prosperity and, seemingly, good life of evildoers.  Instead, the Psalmist encourages various positive endeavors.  Among them is trust in the Lord and do good.

The Hebrew word translated “trust” can be defined as, “A verb indicating to trust, to be confident. It expresses the feeling of safety and security that is felt when one relies on someone or something else. It is used to show trust in God. . . in other people . . . or in things. . . In addition, this expression can also relate to the state of being confident, secure, without fear…” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament).  Proverbs 3:5-6 also expresses this idea when it encourages us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Note also Ps. 9:10; 4:5.)

In the text (3b), he also says to “do good.” Doing good is often associated with trusting in God.  Recall on another occasion when Nehemiah and the people were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and Tobiah, an antagonist started ridiculing them (Neh. 4:3-6).  How did they respond?  They prayed, and they kept working. We should do this today at all times but especially when we are facing the challenges of life.  We must trust God and stay busy!

In the later part of verse 3, a blessing is attached.  If we trust in God and “do good,” we can “dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” For the children of Israel, the land would refer to the Promised Land, the land of Canaan (Is. 1:19). If they would trust God and “do good,” then God would “feed them” with physical blessings such as food and clothing. How do we “feed” on God’s faithfulness?  We feed upon God’s faithfulness by having full assurance that He is willing and able to keep His promises.

No matter what happens in our lives, in good and challenging times, we must trust God and do what is right. We must not let external circumstances have an impact on our faithfulness to God.