Overview
You fret not by trusting in the Lord, delighting yourself in the Lord and then committing your way unto the Lord, the three commands David gives in order in Psalm 37 verses 3, 4 and 5. In this teaching, Rev. Don Smith works through the opening verses of Psalm 37 and keeps the evildoers and the workers of iniquity in view as the backdrop of the whole song. The Hebrew behind fret means to heap oneself up with vexation, and the answer to it is hope, that they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and an expectation that rests in God and in nothing else. Trust, delight and commit work together like a mathematical equation.
Transcript
Fret Not: In the World but Not of the World
All right, so let’s take our Bibles and let’s go to Psalm 37. And tonight, for your spiritual consideration and also for your spiritual growth, I would like to consider the subject matter with you for a few minutes: fret not. Psalms 37, please.
Our great challenge and admonition as in being believers is to be in the world but not of the world. In Romans chapter 12 we are encouraged by God to be not conformed to this world, or to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The Spiritual Competition: Children of Light and Children of Darkness
And most of us are aware, and many other Christians are not aware, we are in a great competition, and that competition is the spiritual competition, where it is God our Father versus the adversary, the fallen angel Lucifer. It is the children of light, which is us, versus the children of darkness, which represents men born of the seed of the serpent. And we are in a great competition. And all the way back in the Old Testament, by revelation, God tells the prophet David how we can win in this spiritual competition. And that’s what I want to look at tonight here in Psalms 37, fret not.
What Fret Means in Hebrew: To Heap Oneself Up With Vexation
We’ll start here in verse 1. David writes, Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. This word fret in the Hebrew, fret not, deals with a, what is the interesting way it is defined, it’s to heap oneself up with vexation. And so I had to think about that through further.
We live in this world. We know that the adversary is the god of this world, and we see with our physical eyes. We see evil, we see iniquity, we see injustice, and we’re surrounded by these things. Yet being able to see all those things, we are not to get ourselves all worked up to the point that we are vexing ourselves because of the evil that is around us. That’s the essence of that word, or those words, fret not.
Evildoers at Every Level: Political, Educational and Religious
And he tells us, fret not thyself because of evildoers. And these evildoers are at every level of our culture. These evildoers are in the political realm. They’re in the educational realm. They’re even in the religious realm. But we’re not to fret ourselves because of these evildoers. Then it says, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. And just like the evildoers are out there, so are those men and women who are workers of iniquity.
Now as we move forward in Psalm 37, I want you to see, keep in mind as we’re going through this, that the evildoers and the workers of iniquity are the backdrop of this song, and you’ll see even greater significance as we go through this.
Why Would Anyone Envy the Workers of Iniquity?
So once again, let’s read verse 1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Why might someone be envious of the workers of iniquity? Well, if you read in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 15, I’m gonna just give it to you and you can read it later, but Ecclesiastes 7 and 15 says that the just man dies in his righteousness while the wicked has their days prolonged.
See, the adversary will literally prolong the days of these men, these women, these sons of Satan. The adversary, he will literally prolong those, their days, and they won’t have the evil touch them. And it may lead a person to feel like they should be envious of these people. There’ll be great prosperity for these people. They’ll seem like they never get sick or anything happens to them. And so David knew in his day that that could turn God’s people’s mind towards envying the workers of iniquity, and that’s not what we want.
Also in Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 14, and I’m paraphrasing here, it says the righteous are treated like they’re wicked, and that the wicked are treated as if they’re righteous. See, that’s the adversary, how he works this thing to get at God’s people. But David says here not to be envious against the workers of iniquity.
They Shall Soon Be Cut Down: Hope and the Return of Jesus Christ
Now watch this in verse 2. He says, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. And that just, that just bubbles in my heart, because in the Old Testament the believers, what sustained them was them looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. What sustains us now in our day and time is we’re looking forward his second coming, meaning the hope of the return of Jesus Christ. And that’s what it’s talking about here, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as green herb.
And let me tell you something here. Without the hope burning in your heart, in my heart, we will fret. You see the backdrop of that: fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. And if you don’t have the reality of the hope in your heart that they will soon be cut down and wither like the grass, you will stand the great possibility of being in a situation where you fret. I just think that’s fantastic.
Trust in the Lord and Do Good: Psalm 37:3
Look at verse 3. Backdrop, the evildoers and the workers of iniquity. Verse 3, trust in the Lord and do good. See, despite the evil workers, despite the workers of iniquity, God says trust in him and do what? Good. Guess what that says: despite what is going on around us, we can still do good. We don’t have to get swallowed up by the influence of these evildoers and these workers of iniquity. We can continue to do good. Trust in the Lord and do good. The rest of verse 3 says, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be what? Fed. Love that verse.
Delight Thyself in the Lord by Delighting in His Word
Next verse, verse 4, says, delight thyself also, where? In the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Delight thyself in the Lord. And here’s another great key. If I don’t delight in the Lord, I will fret. It’s just a simple, I’m trying to show you the background, and the backdrop of this song is the fretting, the evildoers and the workers of iniquity. So if I don’t delight in the Lord, I’m going to fret.
And how do we delight in the Lord? We delight in the Lord by delighting in the integrity and the accuracy of his word. This is how God reveals himself in our day and time, is through his word. So as I delight in God’s word, I am delighting in him.
God Is Our Sufficiency, Down to the Desires of Your Heart
In the latter part of verse 4 says, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Have you heard the record that says that God is our sufficiency? Paul says that in Corinthians, that God is our sufficiency. God is our sufficiency even down to the utmost desires of our heart. It isn’t that God just wants to give his people things. Where you really live is in the essence of your heart, and when your heart is right with God, lined up with God, God wants to bring to pass all those wonderful things that’s in your heart pertaining to your relationship with him and just living life. Isn’t that fantastic? And God can do this even in the midst of evildoers and the workers of iniquity. Isn’t that fantastic?
My Soul, Wait Thou Only Upon God: Psalm 62:5
Keep your finger here. Let me show you something here in Psalm 62 that goes along with this fret not. Psalm 62. And look what David writes here in verse 5. He says, my soul, wait thou only upon who? God.
Now we know if we’re born again, we’re body, we’re soul, and we’re what? Spirit. And the soul part of man, we’re body and we’re soul. Our soul is what houses our mind, our will, our intellect, what some may even say our personality. Your soul life, I’ve heard it described, your soul life is you. That’s the real you. And then God has you born again of his spirit.
So when David says my soul, is a figure of speech emphasizing that everything that David was, he said in verse 5, my soul wait thou only upon who? God. Now watch the latter part of verse 5, for my expectation is from who? Him. From God.
Where Your Expectation Resides Decides Whether You Fret
Here’s a great key in your ability not to fret. When your expectation resides in anything other than God, you will fret. God is your sufficiency. God is the source of all supply. David says, my expectation is from him, and him only. What a way to live. Don’t you think that our expectation comes from God and God only? We’re not looking to any institution established by census man. We’re not looking to the government. We’re not looking to this institution or that institution. We’re gonna follow the example of this man here, David, who the word says was a man after God’s own heart. And he says, for my expectation is of him, of God. What a great way to live.
Fret Not in a Time of Virus, War and Economic Threat
Go back to Psalm, please, 37. Psalm 37. God’s admonition to us and encouragement for us tonight is to fret not. So many things are going on. The virus stuff is scaring people, and other things are going on, and there’s threats of war and there’s threats of economic collapse and so on and so forth. But in the midst of this country is a group of people called God’s people, who God is telling us tonight, fret not, because he’s with us. Doesn’t matter what these evildoers and these workers of iniquity is doing, our God is bigger and greater. And that’s what we need to be believing and counting on.
Commit Thy Way Unto the Lord: To Roll Upon Him Like a Bed
Let’s look here at verse 5. Notice what it said in verse 3 and 4, trust in the Lord, delight thyself also in the Lord, and then we get to verse 5, commit thy way unto who? The Lord. And this word commit in the Hebrew literally meant to repose yourself. It meant to roll upon, like at night. Get done with this teaching in an hour or whatever it may be, most of us are going to go to bed, and what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna roll upon a bed. We’re gonna put our whole body on a bed and relax and believe that that bed would hold us up. We’re gonna commit our physical body to that bed.
So when Paul, would, excuse me, when David says commit thy way unto the Lord, he’s talking about commit your entire life. God can be so trusted that you and I can literally roll upon him like we would when we roll in our bed at night, and not have any worries. He says, commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to what? Pass.
Trust, Delight and Commit: They Work Together Like an Equation
Now watch how this works. First in verse 3, I must trust in the Lord. I trust in the Lord, then I can delight myself in him. Once I trust in him and delight in him, then I can commit my way unto the Lord, then I can roll upon him. You see that it all fits together. Trust in the Lord first, delight thyself in the Lord, and then you can commit your way. It’s all, it’s, it’s like a mathematical equation. They all work together, trust, delight and commit.
And these words are all in contrast to verse 1, to fret not thyself. If I’m trusting in the Lord, am I fretting? Absolutely not. If I am delighting myself in the Lord, am I fretting? Absolutely not. If I commit my life, my way, roll upon the Lord, am I fretting? Absolutely not. See, you must first trust, then you can delight, and then you commit your life to the Lord.
We don’t fret due to these evil workers or these workers of iniquity in our culture. Instead we trust, we delight and we commit our entire life to God. So the admonition to God, from God tonight, to each and every one of us, fret not. Trust in the Lord. Fret not, delight in the Lord. Fret not, commit your way unto the Lord. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we fret not in this day, this time. We trust, we delight and we commit. That’s what I wanted to share with you tonight. God bless.
Key Takeaways
- Fret in the Hebrew of Psalm 37:1 means to heap oneself up with vexation, so fretting is not the evil around us, it is what we do to ourselves because of it.
- The evildoers and the workers of iniquity are the backdrop of the whole song, and they are at every level of our culture: the political realm, the educational realm, even the religious realm.
- Verse 2 is the antidote to envy: they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Without that hope burning in your heart, you will fret.
- Trust, delight and commit come in that order and work together like a mathematical equation. Trust in the Lord first, then delight thyself in the Lord, and only then can you commit your way unto him.
- Commit in the Hebrew means to repose yourself, to roll upon, the way you roll your whole body onto a bed at night and believe it will hold you up. That is committing your entire life to God.
- When your expectation resides in anything other than God, you will fret. David’s expectation was from him and him only, not from the government or any other institution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does fret not mean in Psalm 37?
The word fret in the Hebrew means to heap oneself up with vexation. Don Smith explains that we do see evil, we see iniquity, we see injustice, and we are surrounded by these things, but we are not to get ourselves all worked up to the point that we are vexing ourselves because of the evil that is around us. That is the essence of those words, fret not.
Why does Psalm 37 say not to be envious against the workers of iniquity?
Because their prosperity does not last. Don Smith points to Ecclesiastes 7:15, where the just man dies in his righteousness while the wicked has their days prolonged, and to Ecclesiastes 8:14, where the righteous are treated like they are wicked and the wicked as if they are righteous. Verse 2 answers it: they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb.
What does it mean to commit thy way unto the Lord?
The word commit in the Hebrew literally meant to repose yourself, to roll upon. Don Smith compares it to going to bed at night: we roll upon a bed, we put our whole body on a bed and relax and believe that that bed would hold us up. Committing thy way unto the Lord is committing your entire life to God the same way, without any worries.
Scripture References
Psalm 37; Romans 12:2; Psalm 37:1; Ecclesiastes 7:15; Ecclesiastes 8:14; Psalm 37:2; Psalm 37:3; Psalm 37:4; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Psalm 62:5; Psalm 37:5
This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
