Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
What does Psalms 37:24 mean?
The Lord our God requires that we do justly, and render to all their due. It is a great sin for those that are able, to deny the payment of just debts; it is a great misery not to be able to pay them.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 37:24
Though he fall - That is, though he is sometimes disappointed; though he is not always successful; though he may be unfortunate - yet this will not be final ruin. The word here does not refer to his falling into "sin," but into misfortune, disappointment, reverses, calamities. The image is that of a man who is walking along on a journey, but who stumbles, or fails to the earth - a representation of one who is not always successful, but who finds disappointment spring up in his path. He shall not be utterly cast down - The word used here - tul - means to "throw down at full length, to prostrate;" then, "to cast out, to throw away.
Context in Psalms 37
Show chapter context
Psalms 37 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book II. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
Explore by topic
Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Passages on asking, persistence, confession, dependence, and the way prayer shapes Christian life and attention.
Bible verses about thankfulness and gratitude
Passages on thanksgiving to God, grateful worship, and the discipline of remembering God’s goodness in ordinary life.
Bible verses about grief and loss
Passages for sorrow, bereavement, lament, and the difficult work of hoping in God without denying what has been lost.