“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. 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! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart and their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The LORD knows the days of the blameless and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish – like smoke they vanish away. The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the LORD loves justice; He will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. Wait for the LORD and keep His way and He will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him” – Psalm 37.

I QUOTE THIS Psalm in its entirety due to the fact of its continuing flow of beauty that is so applicable to where we find ourselves amidst today’s political and religious upheaval. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that out of all the psalms, this one speaks louder in our day and age. It tells of unspeakable consolation, breathes powerful exhortation, leads us to the eye of the storm’s calm and resets our spiritual compass. It is so complete in and of itself that it hardly needs expositing, but I want to draw out some aspects that speak relevantly strong to Christians finding themselves caught up in world current affairs and which for many is inevitable and involuntary; we don’t have to be active protestors in world politics to encounter the negative consequences of those who ill-decide a society’s welfare; man’s sin affects everyone whether or not we are conscious of the wrong others have committed; some may be ignorant of what goes on in the world of politics, nevertheless we are either beneficiaries or victims of those who lead and shape a country’s future.

“…fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.”

We fear when seeing the wicked prosper in their way; the spread of wickedness and barbarity and the government not just allowing but even promoting it, but verse seven encourages our hearts with Truth: “fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.” One of the incredible aspects concerning Biblical Truth is that it infinitely towers above anything that stands diametrically to it, no matter how circumstances may appear to be winning, no matter how much evil seems to be prevailing; the Word of God stands – in fact, it is the only foundation that remains standing while everything fades away to absolutely nothing. David breathes a holy defiance and boldness in the midst of what would look like loss and failure: “no matter if the wicked are triumphantly succeeding in their ways, do not give way to panic; the LORD is in absolute control; their shameful and bitter end is near.” We see it all around today; our governmental leaders love and boast about what is God-defiantly immoral and then hunt down those who stand true to God. We also see it in certain religions that are more of a political ideology, whose ways are vile, vicious and violent. Evil is ‘having its way’, but then so ‘did’ the forces of darkness when Christ was crucified that ensued Satan’s most embarrassing and humiliating defeat and such satanic wisdom permeates humanistic reasoning today that will soon prove to be utterly foolish yet again.

Worry, fear and wrath are the results of man’s ignorance and misconception of the sovereignty of God. A mind that is void of the knowledge of God’s supremacy over all affairs throughout the universe can never enjoy His peace that ineffably outwits anything that would dare to refute it. There is no challenge in becoming angry at the particular kind of injustice (no injustice should be tolerated anyway) that is wilfully carried out by the elite; it is so easy to get irate when something within passionately yearns to rid the world of corrupt leaders and systems, but that adrenalin coursing through one’s veins can, more often than not, lead astray into harmful paths. Search your heart to see if the peace of God abides; if not, it is a dead giveaway that you are walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit. Worrying has a route to unrighteous anger which in turn drives us into the same camp as those we were opposed to in the first place.  

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”

Does God’s Word dwell richly in our hearts; does its power pervade every aspect of our lives; does it shape our perspectives or does world news and government propaganda, with its entire hopeless outlook, dominate our thinking – causing anxiety, panic and fear? Of course we cannot deny the atrocities happening all over the world; they are horrific. After all our education and progression (speaking worldwide), one would expect such barbarism to be long dead and buried, but we live in a world energised by the destructive power of sin, a world dominated by the prince of the air who relentlessly labours to hold captive those that are blind to the Truth and to mar the joy of those whose strength is in the Lord. Being still before the Lord is to cease from all that would palpitate our heart with anxiety and instead see the Sovereign Lord, high and lifted up, making all world events subservient to His purposes; it is to recognise, despite evil looking evidently or visibly victorious, that Christ is reigning now – not just in the ‘millennial reign’ as some dogmatically assert – until He makes His enemies His footstool. It is the patient waiting on God’s perfect timing Who will gloriously unfold His ways.

“Trust in the Lord and do good.”

Proverbs 3:5 is so fitting in this context: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” It is so easy to lean heavily on our own perceptions and perspectives; we are naturally inclined to rely on our own senses and common sense, but common sense must always be subservient to sound Biblical faith – we walk by faith, not by sight. God is the interpreter of what is currently perplexing: why do the wicked prosper in their ways and why do the innocent and upright get the raw end of the deal? These are questions beyond adequate or sufficient explanations that only God knows, but what we do know, when we turn our attention to the Scriptures, is how all things are eventually brought to justice, for the wicked and the righteous. Be concerned but not consumed by the world’s increasing bad news; steadfastly look to God and obey all that He calls you to. The early Church was perpetually and cruelly persecuted, so much that those who remained alive were dispersed to other regions, but that did not deter them from fulfilling Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations; it was one of the very aspects that thrust them out for God’s purpose to unfold. They trusted the Lord and continued to do good, bearing fruit unto His name.

“…transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.”

Psalm 49:20 refers to the arrogantly wicked as people without understanding; they make their boasts while they seemingly get away with what their seared conscience (what is left of it) condemns. Convinced, they may be, of a bright future, but little do they know, “Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell” (verse 14). They may ‘escape’ justice in this life, but what a soul shattering awakening they shall meet at the judgement bar of God. Those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are mere fuel for His unending wrath. They shall be without excuse at the Great White Throne; God gave them ample amount of time to turn from their ways, but they rejected His mercies.

“Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.”

Mark and behold are two very prominent words for they tell of certainty and of great fortune that shall surely come to pass. The blameless and upright are not perfect in and of themselves and their trust is not found in men of great renown, but their hope is fixed in God alone. Weak they are for they recognise that man is but dust and nothing without God. Their security is not in wealth or health; God is their refuge, rock and sustainer of life. They ought to be marked for they are loved with an everlasting love; they ought to be beheld for God will soon raise them up and exalt them. Even in times of uncertainty and extremity, the righteous will be upheld; indeed, in the very presence of evil, God shall cause them to feast on His covenant love and Fatherly care.