Do Not Fret, My Child. Meditation on Psalm 37:1-4

Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 37:1-4

Precious Heavenly Father, I confess that the way of evildoers burns me up at time and
cause me to fret. But this is directly against Your commandment and is sinful of me.

We are not to fret against the workers of iniquity, for we understand that they have
only a short time given to them.

The times of all men are in Your hands, O Father, and their successes, failures, joys,
and sorrows come from You alone. Evil has only a short time, Dear Lord, for so You
have decreed. Evil men have hooks in their jaws, and in spite of their arrogance and
insults to You and Your people, when the purpose that You have for the evil is fulfilled
in the testing and purification of Your elect, then You yank their chain and they pass
away.

They wither as green herbs in the drought, cut down like the grass, and the wind blows
them away.

This is not true of Your people, for their inheritance is secure. Israel’s inheritance was
the land of Canaan, and that was secure to them by faith. Ours is also by faith but our
inheritance is reserved in heaven for us.

Israel’s inheritance was a figure of the inheritance of the elect, who will inherit the
earth, the reason for which it was created, for You always intended to set man over the
works of Your hands.

So, O Heavenly Father, teach me to trust in You always, and do good to all men. Teach
me to pray more for our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us, for
this is Your commandment. It is not my job to cut down the wicked or to see that they
wither; that is what You do as judge of all the earth.

So I glory in this O Lord, that You exercise loving kindness, righteousness, and
judgment in the earth, for You have said that You delight in these things. My job is to
live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, doing good to all men,
especially to the household of God. You are the Savior of all men, especially of those
who believe.

There is no other God but You, O Precious Father, and all the world moves and
breathes and labors by Your loving kindness and power. Without You, we could
not so much as move.

How gracious You are to the people You have made, dear Father. You have filled
man’s heart with many desires, all of them good, created to be satisfied by You and
Your gifts. But sin has corrupted our hearts, dear Father, and we seek to satisfy these
desires apart from You, and desires become perverse.

We lust and envy, we war and contend, we lie and deceive because we are sinners.
But we have not because we ask not, and when we ask, we ask not for Your glory
and praise but to wallow in our sin and rebellion.

Teach me, O Lord, to seek my desires in You, for this is why I was created. When we
delight in You, O Heavenly Father, then our deepest and true desires are satisfied, as
Your servant Augustine said, “our souls are restless until we rest in Thee.“ You will
grant to us our deepest desires, when we delight in You, O Lord.

If I ask a fish, You will not give me a serpent; if bread, You will not give a stone; if an
egg, You will not give a scorpion, for You are a gracious and kind Father and know
what I need before I even ask, for You are the Creator of all my desires.

So teach me not to seek them as idols, but as Your child, waiting at Your table to be
fed from Your hand, O Lord, that which is lawful and good for me. You will give the
Holy Spirit and all the treasures stored up in Christ when I ask You. I am content with
Your provisions, for that is my deepest desire. Amen and Amen.

So I need not fret, O Lord about the wicked and the abominable. I will bear witness
and abhor the evil and cleave to the good, for sobriety, righteousness, and godliness
require this.

But I will rest in You, O God, for You are the Author and Finisher of Our Faith, and in
Jesus Christ are stored up all the riches that You pour out upon Your people. To the
rest are weeping and gnashing of teeth, as the Lord Jesus taught. It is enough.
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1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of
iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou
shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 37:1-4