Psalm 37: Do Not Fret, Rest in the LORD

Core Theme: For when your mind keeps circling back to what’s unfair, and you can’t stop fretting over people who seem to be getting away with it

(Related Theme: This psalm also speaks to being wronged and the anger that follows — see “Carrying this forward” below.)

Background

David wrote Psalm 37 as an older man, looking back over a long life. He says as much in verse 25: “I have been young, and now am old.” He had seen wicked men prosper and righteous men suffer, and he had spent years being wronged himself, so he writes as someone who has watched how these stories actually end. The psalm is closer to a father’s counsel than a cry for help, and it is built around a single repeated phrase, “fret not thyself.” The word “fret” carries the sense of burning with agitation, which is exactly what a restless, racing mind feels like when it keeps replaying an injustice.

Psalm 37 (KJV)

A Psalm of David.

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.
5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
22. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28. For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34. Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

The heart of it

Psalm 37 tackles a kind of anxiety that is easy to overlook: the mind that won’t stop rehearsing what someone else did, or how well someone else seems to be doing in spite of it. David’s answer isn’t “stop thinking about it.” He replaces fretting with a string of actions, each one a way of turning toward God: trust (v.3), delight (v.4), commit (v.5), rest and wait (v.7). A restless mind needs something to do with itself, and this psalm hands over a whole list.

Underneath those commands is a matter of perspective. David has seen the wicked “in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree,” and then watched that same man pass away until he “could not be found” (vv.35–36). Fretting treats the present moment as the whole story. The psalm insists it is not. The same truth stands behind the Lord Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Walking through it

• Verse 1: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” Envy and anxiety are paired here for a reason. Watching someone else’s apparent success while you are struggling is one of the quickest ways to start a spiral.
• Verse 7: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him…” The word “rest” means to be still or silent before God. It is the opposite of a racing mind, and it is a command that comes with the promise of Someone worth resting in.
• Verse 8: “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” David knows where unchecked fretting leads. Left to burn, it turns into anger, and anger turns into actions we regret. The remedy is to lay the matter down before it takes us there.
• Verses 23–24: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…” and “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” This is the older David speaking from experience. He stumbled, and he fell, but he was never dropped.

Carrying this forward

If your thoughts keep running back to something unfair, this psalm doesn’t tell you that what happened didn’t matter. It tells you that it matters to God, and that He has taken it into His own hands. The Scripture says plainly, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Settling accounts is not a job He has assigned to you, and you were never built to carry it. Each time the same thought circles back, you can answer it with the same four moves David gives: trust, delight, commit, rest.

This psalm is honest that the waiting is real. It says “yet a little while” (v.10), not “right now.” But it also ends with a firm anchor: “the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble” (v.39). The weight you’ve been carrying can be set down in hands strong enough to hold it, and you are free to rest there while He does what only He can do.