Psalm 37 – A Psalm for Our Time

Yesterday, because it was the Evening of the 7^th day of the month and I use the traditional Book of Common Prayer as the Lord intends, of course, I read and recited Psalm 37.  And it’s a good thing, too.

For Psalm 37 is a timely reminder to me and to anyone sorely provoked during this election season to “fret not thyself because of the ungodly” for God will take care of them and of his people in his good timing.  God will execute justice, and he’s a lot better at it than we are.  So we should “leave off from wrath, and let go displeasure; fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.”  Yes, if we allow ourselves to get so worked up that we foolishly take matters into our own hands, we can easily fall into evil and be the wrongdoers ourselves.

Note that this is not a call to passivity.  As in just about all things, there should be a balance.  Namely we should “put thou thy trust in the Lord and be doing good.”  But if we fret and do not trust in God’s timing and faithfulness to bring about justice, we can too easily fall into doing foolishness and evil.

Today we get a reminder of that from Michigan where an alleged plot to kidnap Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government has been foiled with alleged perpetrators arrested. 

Now should the tyranny of Whitmer be opposed through legal means (which have had some success lately)?  Yes.

Should we not presume the guilt of those accused as the Feds have been known to make politically motivated prosecutions before elections? Yes.

Should we question why the four year long coup against President Donald Trump has not been prosecuted? Yes.

But, at the very least, have the accused acted foolishly and gone about opposing Whitmer’s tyranny in a completely wrong way?  Yes, and if the accusations are true, they were plotting awful crimes and should be prosecuted accordingly.

Assuming there is any truth to the accusations, what the accused have done is a sad illustration of what can happen if we ignore the Lord’s guidance to “fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.”

Frankly, I fear what I would be capable of if it were not for my faith in Christ and in his coming justice.  Those of us who care deeply about justice and hate tyranny especially need to remember that God, not our foolishness, will make all things right in the end.  Yes, we should care about the society God has placed us in and be active good citizens but, again, we should avoid getting so worked up that we allow ourselves to “be moved to do evil.”

So if you did not read Psalm 37 yesterday, do so today.  Maybe you, too, need a reminder during this trying time.