When confronted with issues that violate our supposed rights, we usually respond in anger. Inherently, we know that anger is wrong. How quick we are to point out this fault in others while justifying our own outbursts and appealing to our flawed humanness. Nevertheless, Psalm 37 proves that God expects His own to live by the higher standard of meekness.
The psalm begins with an admonition to “fret not” over “evildoers” (v. 1). Injustice falls immediately on God’s shoulders. If He is holy and His law is just, if His desire is righteousness in creation, then any breach of His standard must meet with an immediate and appropriate response. We fret when our reasonable expectation of fairness is disappointed by God’s apparent failure to act. In English, fretting is an emotional strain. In Hebrew, fretting is to burn with indignation.
David takes the thought one step further by suggesting that our righteous resentment over that lack of recrimination might actually mask envy—“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!” The truth is painfully evident. We really want to sin. We chafe at restraints but fear the humiliation of exposure or the punishment deserved. However, in the closet of our depravity, we so want to sin that we are angrily envious of those who sin without the consequences that should come to them and would certainly come to us.
As defense against this carnal response, David declares that the wrongdoer’s impunity is short-lived. “They soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb” (Psalm 37:2). This expected end recurs throughout the psalm (vv. 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 28b, 34, 36, 38). Second, David develops the doctrine of meekness to enable believers to find real joy and satisfaction, not in the fleeting pleasures of sin but in the Lord (vv. 3-8). There are 5 exhortations, the last one being that we are to refrain from anger, especially against His providence (vv. 7b, 8).
Three terms are used for one’s heated response: fretting, anger, and wrath. The psalmist repeats the injunction against fretting (burning with indignation) over the seeming immunity of the evildoer to justice. What follows is clear instruction on how not to fret. “Refrain from [relax or drop] anger [aph, a reference to flaring the nostrils; the initial response of anger], and forsake [leave or let alone] wrath [chemah, to rage; a reference to anger in full fury]” (v. 8a). To fret is to feed the fire. It is often translated “to kindle”—“his wrath was kindled” (Genesis 39:19).
We are to shun anger in all its forms and levels because anger only leads to sin (v. 8b). These words may also suggest our present condition (“stop being angry”) and future possibilities (“leave off wrath”). Contextually, though the reference is not specifically detailed, we can conclude that God is the primary object of the anger expressed. Of course, we may also be sore at those who seem to get by with their bad behavior (prospering better fits apparent sinful rather than financial success). However, the tendency for all of us is to blame God for His neglected justice, especially if, because of evildoers, we are suffering. We are creatures with a marked sense of fairness, especially where our own happiness is concerned.
The psalm begins with an admonition to “fret not” over “evildoers” (v. 1). Injustice falls immediately on God’s shoulders. If He is holy and His law is just, if His desire is righteousness in creation, then any breach of His standard must meet with an immediate and appropriate response. We fret when our reasonable expectation of fairness is disappointed by God’s apparent failure to act. In English, fretting is an emotional strain. In Hebrew, fretting is to burn with indignation.
David takes the thought one step further by suggesting that our righteous resentment over that lack of recrimination might actually mask envy—“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!” The truth is painfully evident. We really want to sin. We chafe at restraints but fear the humiliation of exposure or the punishment deserved. However, in the closet of our depravity, we so want to sin that we are angrily envious of those who sin without the consequences that should come to them and would certainly come to us.
As defense against this carnal response, David declares that the wrongdoer’s impunity is short-lived. “They soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb” (Psalm 37:2). This expected end recurs throughout the psalm (vv. 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 28b, 34, 36, 38). Second, David develops the doctrine of meekness to enable believers to find real joy and satisfaction, not in the fleeting pleasures of sin but in the Lord (vv. 3-8). There are 5 exhortations, the last one being that we are to refrain from anger, especially against His providence (vv. 7b, 8).
Three terms are used for one’s heated response: fretting, anger, and wrath. The psalmist repeats the injunction against fretting (burning with indignation) over the seeming immunity of the evildoer to justice. What follows is clear instruction on how not to fret. “Refrain from [relax or drop] anger [aph, a reference to flaring the nostrils; the initial response of anger], and forsake [leave or let alone] wrath [chemah, to rage; a reference to anger in full fury]” (v. 8a). To fret is to feed the fire. It is often translated “to kindle”—“his wrath was kindled” (Genesis 39:19).
We are to shun anger in all its forms and levels because anger only leads to sin (v. 8b). These words may also suggest our present condition (“stop being angry”) and future possibilities (“leave off wrath”). Contextually, though the reference is not specifically detailed, we can conclude that God is the primary object of the anger expressed. Of course, we may also be sore at those who seem to get by with their bad behavior (prospering better fits apparent sinful rather than financial success). However, the tendency for all of us is to blame God for His neglected justice, especially if, because of evildoers, we are suffering. We are creatures with a marked sense of fairness, especially where our own happiness is concerned.
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