Discipleship in the Psalms: Dealing with Anger
Author: Daniel Owens, PhD
November 22, 2024
Eighth in the Series
Psalm 37:1–9 OF DAVID.
1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Dealing with anger is tough. Some of us struggle more with anger than others. Anger management as an industry is relatively new, but the struggle is at least as old as Cain, who murdered his brother. Psalm 37 addresses anger in a particular context: the success of the wicked. The wisdom it offers, however, is beneficial beyond that particular context. David’s answer, to resist the pull to be consumed by anger, is to place our hope in God to vindicate the righteous.
The psalm begins with the command, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers.” The verb translated “fret” occurs again in verses 7 and 8. In English, the word implies anxiety or agitation. But the verb literally means, “be(come) hot” or “be angry,”1 perhaps making the link between our physiological reaction to anger (which is to get heated up) and the emotion itself. We might best understand this as does Robert Alter: “do not be incensed.”2 Or, in more everyday language, “Don’t get all hot and bothered.”
The risk in anger is to sin (v. 8). How many of us have gotten angry at a bad call by an umpire or referee and yelled something offensive? Or how many of us have felt a slight by someone we know and turned to gossip for a kind of vindication? When we do that, we join the ranks of evildoers!
Note that verse 7 describes evildoers as those who prosper. This reveals a point of tension in the Book of Psalms and in our experience. Surely it is the righteous who should prosper! On the one hand, Psalm 1 presents a basic profile of the person who loves God’s word (Psa. 1:2), whose life is a string of success and prosperity (Psa. 1:3). On the other hand, Psalm 37 implies that this is not always so. There are those who delight in God’s word (see Psa. 37:31) and find that prosperity does not always seem to come. In fact, it often doesn’t, and that leaves God’s people wondering, is it worth it to follow God? We might ask in today’s Christian terms, “Is it worth it to follow Jesus when sinners prosper?” The devil would love us to embrace the envy of evildoers.
What is the antidote to the embrace of envy? It is to find our hope in God and embrace his ways. David begins with a bit of timing in verse 2. Evildoers may flourish in all their glory for a short time, but they will soon fade. Ever notice how celebrities who embrace a wild lifestyle seem to come and go quickly? Sometimes they remain relevant, even make loads of money, but their lives descend into the mire. It’s not always the case, but it often is the case. By contrast, when you see a person who embraces God’s ways, his or her character proves itself over the long haul.
David then lists a series of encouragements to faith and obedience in verses 3–4, culminating in the famous command, “Delight yourself in the Lord,” which concerns affections. Everyone desires well-being and flourishing. God made us that way, and this desire is good. David simply directs the desire to the most desirable object, God himself. God is pleased to give us himself.
But he also is pleased to vindicate his people. In response to our trust, David says, God will act (v. 5). What makes the prosperity of the wicked so galling is that right and wrong are reversed. God will put them back in the proper order, if not in this life (“in just a little while,” Psa. 37:10), then at the final judgment (“the future of the wicked shall be cut off,” Psa. 37:38). What must we do? We must wait (Psa. 37:9).
Discipleship involves a new orientation to the injustices of the world. We reject the unjust means of the wicked for gaining power and prosperity. Instead, we hope in God and trust that he will sort out justice for those who love him. We concentrate on pursuing God’s ways, and train our hearts to delight in him, and he will act for our good.
Daniel Owens, PhD, is NCC’s Pastor of Discipleship. Go to the NCC Blog for the previous posts in this series.
1 William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 116.
2 Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (New York: Norton, 2007), 129.
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