I hadn’t seen this before, and I must have been blind, because David goes out of his way to make sure that we do see it, repeating the caution 3 times in 8 verses! As I look now, the words I have highlighted above are lit up like flashing neon signs - “Fret not yourself.”
Okay - David clearly doesn’t think we should engage in this fretting thing! We had better find out what that means, so we can make sense of the other parts of this Psalm. The word translated as “fret” in all three places and it has to do with getting overheated with anger (burning or blazing). “Don’t get yourself all steamed up” we might translate the phrase, it seems.
One can’t help feeling that David is saying something here by way of personal testimony. He had most likely been in these situations and had been tempted to burn with rage but in retrospect it was unhelpful and now he is passing that along to us. So now let’s look at these 11 verses in more detail to find the cause of his temptation and why he realizes now that it was unhelpful to react in blazing fury.
We find that the problem is one we have considered before when we were meditating on Ecclesiastes - it is evildoers (v 1) who prosper in their wrongdoing (v 7). Those who do all kinds of wicked things against righteous people (v12, 14, 32) and seem to do well as a result.
One of my favorite movies is called “Jean de Florette.” It’s a French classic in which two complete villains inflict all kinds of evil on a young family. The movie ends with the bad guys victorious and the family devastated. It’s hard to describe the sense of indignation that you have when the ending credits roll! There is a sequel you definitely need to watch if you watch the first movie - called “Manon des Sources.” David has experienced that righteous indignation, but he counsels us against it because it tends to evil in us (whether thoughts, words or deeds).
David has learned a different approach and he spells it out as the Psalm progresses:
Trust in the Lord and do good (v 3); Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (v 4 - note though, that if we delight in the Lord, all our desires will be righteous, selfless and good, so this is not a ticket to greed and selfishness!); Commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him (v 5); Be still before Him and wait patiently for Him (v 7); Refrain from anger and forsake wrath (v 8); Turn away from evil and do good (v 27); Wait for the Lord and keep His way (v 34); Watch what happens to the righteous and the future God gives the man of peace (v 37)
How is it that David is able to recommend this way of dealing with the problem? He tells us firstly the fate of the wicked:
They will soon fade like grass (v 2); God will cut them off (v 9); they will be no more (v 10); The Lord laughs at them - He knows that their day of reckoning is coming (v 13); They will be destroyed - even their own weapons will slay them (v 15); Their arms will be broken (v 17); They will perish (v 20)
Second, David lifts the veil on God’s dealings with the righteous:
He will act to vindicate the righteous and see that justice is done (v 6); They will inherit the land and delight in abundant peace (v 11); their heritage will remain forever - they will not be put to shame and will be provided for in hard times (v 18-19); He will establish their steps, delight in them and uphold them (v 23-24); He will never forsake them (v 25); He helps them and delivers them from the wicked (v 40).
David makes his case well! Revenge is a dish that is best served cold, we are tempted to say when we see the wicked getting away with their crimes. But God says:
Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Our anger always brings with it the possibility of crossing the line and sinning ourselves. God’s wrath is always perfectly measured and suited to the offence. He will bring justice to pass.
In closing, note how many times in this Psalm David looks forward to “the inheritance,” “the heritage” or “the land”. Jesus Himself takes verse 11 and works it into His wonderful beatitudes at the sermon on the mount. Believers can take the long view that David recommends here. We know we have a wonderful inheritance in heaven. We know that our time here is short and that troubles are light and momentary compared with what God has prepared for us. We also know what awaits those who will not turn from their sin and trust Jesus to save them. That is how we can follow Jesus’s injunction to love our enemies and pray for them. It will not go well for them on the Last Day if they appear before God and their sins are still clinging to them!
It’s good in these days also to pause and see things from an eternal perspective. We don’t need to get ourselves steamed up about things that we cannot control, when we know God has the situation in perfect control - be patient and wait for Him to act!
