Friday, June 16, 2023
Wisdom over Worry – Psalm 37:1-9; Submitted by Kay Crumley
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Psalm 37:1-9
Fret Not - Any time we are given the same instruction multiple times in one passage we should pay attention to that direction. We are told ‘Do not fret’ in verses 1, 7, and 8 in ESV. Fret is not a common word in today’s terminology, but other versions use worry or to not be agitated. In the original language the word means worry or ‘get heated’. We are not to get all worked up over things outside our control such as, vs 1 – don’t fret over evil doers, vs 7 – don’t fret about those who prosper, vs 8 – don’t fret to the point of being angry. Injustice or situations that seem unfair are often reasons we fret. However, David the author of this Psalm, warns against worry, agitation, or anger. What is the alternative?
Trust in the Lord – verses 3-4 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Trust in, rely on, have confidence in the LORD. Faith in Him cures fretting about the things of the world. Viewing those who prosper from evil methods from the outside appears that they have gained wealth, position, etc. undeservedly. However, looking through the lens of faith shows us the façade isn’t real. As His, we are to do good, do those things that please the Father, that are based on His teaching. Then we can live in the land and ‘feed on His faithfulness’, NKJV. We get our nourishment from Him, to be friends with His faithfulness and not rely on the things of this world. Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ‘Delight in the Lord’ means to find our encouragement, our happiness in those things that are Godly. With our eyes and heart on Him the things that are not in alignment with His character, His purpose, lose their luster, their appeal. Then as we align our will with His, our desires are shifted to meet those that bring glory to Him, not self.
He Protects & Promotes – God will ensure that those who are committed to trusting Him will be made righteous and will have justice as we read in vs 5-6. He doesn’t promise fame or fortune but the true desires of the heart of the one committed to God will have those desires fulfilled by God.
He Deals with the Wicked – In vs 7-8 we are reminded that our worry and fretting will only bring us harm. We are to trust that God will deal with the wicked who appear to have fame and fortune. We are assured in vs 9 that the wicked will be cut off, separated from His promise and provision while those who wait on, put their trust in the Lord will be rewarded.
Life on earth, for the believer, is short compared to eternity and it will only get better after this life is over, in glory with the Savior. The wicked will be eternally separated from God and His goodness.
