Thoughts for the Day

Exhortation to Patience and Trust. Of David.

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.

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight in abundant prosperity.

The wicked plot against the righteous,
and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.

Depart from evil, and do good;
so you shall abide for ever.
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it for ever.

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip....

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 37 is basically, though not completely, an acrostic or alphabet psalm on the theme of not fretting because of those who do evil. It has 70 verses so I have cut it a lot! In this psalm the acrostic has twenty-two four-line poems, each based on a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It has three sections and ideas are sometimes repeated as mirror images of the first idea, so the "Do not fret" returns again for instance.

This psalm is a wisdom psalm and has much in common with the Book of Proverbs, so there are warnings within it. We are to "Depart from evil and do good". We can see in the Middle East today that conflict with an enemy can cause those who seek justice to fight the enemy with their own weapons, in an everlasting tit-for-tat. But God is on the side of Justice which is a whole different 'ball game' and though the innocent may suffer "He will not forsake his faithful ones" ultimately.

The promise to those who do not fret and who trust in the Lord is that they will receive land and security. The promise is not a promise for this life but one concerning eternity. So the wicked will ultimately get their just deserts, and the promise for us as Christians is an eternal, heavenly reward. But, and it's a big but, we need to have patience and wait on God's time, and we need to be in regular contact with God.

↠ The question for us is, can we stop fretting and put all our trust in God's plans for ourselves and our world?

Father-God,
all too often we only appeal to You
at a time of personal emergency.
We fret about the annoyances
and stresses that the world brings
to our door but forget to take
refuge in You.
Help us to remember that You
love to hear from us
and that no matter is too small
to take to You.
Amen.