Ever since the first sentence of Psalm 37 stopped me short, I’ve been pondering King David’s words. It has become my summer study. While David writes an acrostic poem that jumps back and forth between ideas, I separated it into four main themes. Therefore, this is the first of four meditations on the Psalm 37.

---

I read a headline and feel my pulse rising¹, my indignation growing, my worry increasing. I open my Bible and stop short:

Do not fret because of those who are evil.

Psalm 37:1

Other versions tell me: “Do not be agitated by evildoers” (CSB), “Don’t worry about the wicked” (NLT), or “Do not get upset” (NASB). The Hebrew word means to be hot or burn.

King David repeats this idea three more times in Psalm 37:

• Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, a man who carries out wicked schemes. (7)
• Refrain from anger and turn from wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil (8)
• Turn away from evil and do good. (27)

While I may have just cause to be angry, David means I should leave it alone and do nothing² as well as turn away from my course of action. The Strong’s Topical Lexicon says the psalmist “guides believers to release anger before it blossoms into unrighteous action.”³ David wants me to let go of the flaring of my nostrils in anger and the burning heat of the potentially destructive force of rage. Fretting leads to frustration, frustration to anger, anger to rage, and then to more evil (8). Other biblical authors back David up: Do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:19). Be slow to get angry (Jam 1:19). If you are angry about legitimate injustice, don’t sin (Eph 4:26).

There is much to get worked up over these days. Influencers and advertisers know that when we’re angry or anxious, we react rashly. We click or add a comment which results in cash and power for them. Thus the media algorithm rewards fretting and anger.

King David tells me to stop getting all worked up about the bad guys.

Throughout this psalm, David describes these people as wicked, ruthless, and evil. He calls them sinners, workers of iniquity, wrongdoers, transgressors, rebels, and evildoers. In Scripture, evil refers to anything not good—”moral evil, wicked conduct, hurtful speech, harmful intent, malignant character, and the concrete outworking of such evil in disaster, calamity, or misery. It is the antithesis of good.”⁴

David wants to also reminds me not to envy evildoers (Ps 37:1) even though they seem to succeed (7), enjoy wealth (Ps 37:16), and “spread themselves” (35 NKJV). The TPT translation says: “Once I saw a wicked and violent man overpower all who were around him, a domineering tyrant with his prideful and oppressive ways.” Specifically, they “borrow and do not repay” (21).

Evildoers “plot against the godly” (12), “draw their swords and bow to bring down the poor and needy and slay the upright” (14), and “set an ambush for the godly and try to kill them” (32).

In my context this mostly describes politicians, company executives, and wealthy people who exploit the ordinary and marginalized to enrich their empires and break laws to get what they want. They create an outside enemy so they can direct fear and anger at that person and deflect from their own wrongdoing. They may even flaunt their corruption, certain no hand of justice can touch them. Men (and sometimes women) have clung to power and wealth down through the ages at the expense of others. They do seem to flourish and thrive, have all the wealth and fun, and live in the lap of luxury.

But David knows their success is temporary.

Remember “the Lord laughs in disgust at them, for he knows that their day is coming” (13). They will “quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants” (2). They “will be no more and not be found” (10). “They will perish, be consumed, and go up in smoke” (20). In other words, they will “be destroyed or wiped out” (9, 22, 28, 34, 38). Even their offspring will perish (28).

When they draw their bow to shoot, “their bows will be broken” and “their swords will pierce their own hearts” (15). Their power will be broken (17). They will pass away and be no more. They won’t be found (36). In contrast to the righteous, they have no future (38).

It may take longer than I’d like, and sadly too many suffer in the meantime, but evildoers will get their comeuppance. Good does win in the end.

Rather than fret, explode in anger, and do something evil, David tells me what I can and should do instead. I’ll tackle that in part two.

What are you fretting about? How does knowing the ultimate fate of the wicked encourage you?

PRAYER

Father God, I understand that fretting doesn’t help change the actions of wicked people and it only adds to my worry, discontent, and internal turmoil. I know from history and from this psalm that they will die (as we all will) and that their own deeds bring their downfall. However, they do a lot of damage in the meantime and innocent people suffer greatly because of their evil. I beseech you to act on behalf of those in the crosshairs of evildoers. Please, please, Father, deliver us from evil.

---

1. I first published this for the Engage blog at Bible.org ↩︎
2. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7503.htm ↩︎
3. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5493.htm ↩︎
4. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7489.htm ↩︎