[3] The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

Psalm 37 is a response to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer?

In the New American Bible, Revised Edition, published by the Catholic Church in the USA, the psalm answers that this situation is only temporary: God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth.

"In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the seventh day of the month.

[15] Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 37 in German, "Erzürn dich nicht so sehre", SWV 134, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.