What does Psalm 37:33 mean?

David is assured that God will not forsake the righteous when the wicked attempts to kill them. As with many statements in books like Psalms and Proverbs, these are statements of general cases, and of personal perspectives. David understood even the righteous can suffer at the hands of evil people (Psalm 3:1–2; 27:12; 34:19). Jesus was also honest about the reality of earthly hardships (John 16:33). What believers trust in is God's eternal salvation (John 10:28). In the ultimate judgment of all things, believers will be justified (Romans 5:9), while the wicked who reject God will be condemned (Jude 1:14–15).

On earth, the wicked may find a way to falsely accuse a righteous person and bring them to trial, as Jesus' accusers did. Matthew 26:59 tells us "the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death." Their search, however, was futile until two false witnesses came forward and accused him of saying, "I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days" (Matthew 26:60–61).

In ancient times, the wicked rich oppressed the poor and took them to court to obtain what little they had. The apostle James appealed to his readers not to favor the rich over the poor. He asked: "Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?" (James 2:6–7).