Psalm 37:1-9
“Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight 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 make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret – it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” Psalm 37:1-9 (NRSVUE)
David wrote this Psalm in his older years. And in his wisdom – he gives us ideas of what not to do and what to do. What not to do? He starts out by saying don’t worry about the wicked, don’t be envious of wrongdoers. It may seem like they are winning, but God will handle them. He says not to fret three times in these verses clearly making a point. The Hebrew word for fret is “charah” which is interpreted to mean to burn, heated or kindled with anger. Fretting leads to bitterness and envy. So not only was David saying don’t worry about the wicked, he was also saying – don’t get worked up, don’t get angry.
I’m writing this on the week that my daughter, her husband, his sister and my granddaughter left to go back to their home in Spain after spending five weeks with us in the states. It was a lovely, long visit, and one for which I feel extremely blessed and grateful to have had. However, it was really hard to see them go and the emptiness of a quiet house unsettled me more than it had in the past. However, I knew what I had to do. I got busy. I did things at my pace, but I walked, made appointments, reached out to friends, ran errands, worked and prayed. It’s hard not to fret or to compare myself to others. But I know God has a plan for me and I put my trust in him to push me out of the valley I was in, and he did.
In the same way, as David says don’t worry about the ways of the world in these verses, I think he also says to get busy. What to do? Trust in the Lord. DO GOOD. Live in the land and enjoy security. Delight in the Lord. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him to act. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Lots of really good things on the to-do list here. If we busy ourselves with the things that God wants us to do then we won’t have time to fret about the evildoers in this world. We won’t get worked up about how it may seem that some not very nice people are doing so much better in this world than we are. All our attention will be on doing good things instead. If I had to sum up these verses, I would say do not fret and do good!
Questions for Reflection:
- What are examples of things that make you fret about the wickedness/corruptness/unfairness in our world?
- Do you feel that God will handle the injustices in this world?
Prayer:
Thank you so much for giving us the freedom from worry about wrongdoers. You will handle that. Thank for your blueprint for how to live our lives. We will always strive to do good. Amen
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