John Calvin Commentary Psalms 37:10

"For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be." — Psalms 37:10 (ASV)

Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be. This is a confirmation of the preceding verse. It might well have been objected that the actual state of things in the world is very different from what David here represents it, since the ungodly revel in their pleasures, and the people of God languish in sickness and poverty.

David, therefore, wishing to guard us against a rash and hasty judgment, exhorts us to be quiet for a little while, until the Lord cut off the wicked entirely and show the efficacy of his grace toward his own people. What he then requires from true believers is that, in exercising their wisdom, they should suspend their judgment for a time and not dwell on every trifle, but rather exercise their thoughts in meditation on divine providence, until God show from heaven that the full time has come.

Instead, however, of describing them as those who wait upon the Lord, he now speaks of them as the meek; and this he does not without good reason: for unless a person believes that God preserves his own people in a wonderful manner, as if they were sheep among wolves, they will always be endeavoring to repel force by force.

It is hope alone, therefore, that in itself produces meekness; for, by restraining the impetuosity of the flesh and allaying its vehemence, it trains to equanimity and patience those who submit themselves to God. From this passage it would seem that Christ has taken what is written in Matthew 5:5.

The word peace is generally used in Hebrew to denote the prosperous and happy outcome of things; yet another sense will agree better with this passage—namely, that while the ungodly shall be agitated with inward trouble, and God shall encompass them on every side with terror, the faithful shall rejoice in the abundance of peace. This does not mean that they are exempt from trouble, but they are sustained by the tranquility of their minds; so that, considering all the trials which they endure to be only temporary, they now rejoice in hope of the promised rest.