“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him that prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret, it only causes harm.”
Psalm 37:5-8
We are continuing to go through Psalm 37, a Psalm dedicated to showing us how the godly should respond when the wicked are thriving, prospering, and dominating the culture. This is so obviously applicable to us today. So far, we have been told not to fret, which means no not be overcome with anger, and also not to be envious of the wicked. On the positive side we are to trust in God, continue to do good, continue to dwell in the midst of the land, to feed on His faithfulness, and to delight ourselves in the LORD. Today’s verses continue much of the same idea.
The first instruction from today’s verses says that we are to commit our way to God. How are we to do this? The psalmist tells us that it means to trust, rest, and have patience in God. Think of it as a two-part process. First, at the beginning of each day we commit to ordering our steps according to His word, which means to walk in righteousness. Second, we leave the outcome of the events of the day in His hands. We trust in Him even in the face of the prosperity of the wicked and their mockery of our ways. We rest in His word, his promise that the wicked will soon be cut down. And we patiently wait for God to bring His words to pass. That is what we are to do.
Then what we are commanded not to do in verses 7 and 8 is fret. Twice he says not to fret, and if that was not enough, we are also commanded to cease from anger and forsake wrath. So far in verses 1-8 we’ve been warned against giving in to anger 5 times! It makes sense that in our fallen human nature anger would be the natural reaction to the prosperity of the wicked. But if we give in to anger, fretting, and wrath, the Scripture says it only causes harm. The word for harm is evil and it is not possible to fight evil with evil. We can only overcome evil with good. This is what Psalm 37 is calling us to do.
Today’s verses are another way of encouraging us, once again, to continue to do good, and to walk in faithfulness even if we have to wait longer than we hoped for the wicked to be stopped. So, in the face of the wicked prospering, we are to trust in God, rest in God, and wait patiently for God. And He promises that if we commit our way to His ways, to this course of action, He will cause our righteousness to shine like the noon-day sun.
Glory to the Lord of hosts!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn
