Psalm 37:1 On Fire

Do not fret because of those who are evil . . . 
Psalm 37:1 

The Hebrew word translated here as fret is charah (חָרָה) kaw-raw.

The word literally means to burn with anger. That’s what happens when we let ourselves fret over evil people and the evil things they do. Our annoyance catches fire and ignites frustration, which flares into anger and soon becomes a wildfire of wrath. The energy burning in the heart needs to go somewhere, so it expresses itself in bitter speech, boiling over toward violence.

Charaw is most often used to describe God's anger toward evil people. It’s never used to encourage us to allow our anger to burn out of control. In fact we're specifically told in Psalm 37:1 to NOT burn with anger against evil people.

American culture in the 21st century demands the opposite, doesn't it?

Not only are we encouraged to be angry about actual evil actions, we're also supposed to burn with outrage when people say or do something that simply "offends" us. If you think I'm exaggerating, you haven't been paying attention to talk radio, 24-hour news networks, and social media.

Twitter gets fired up easily over a choice of words that would have been acceptable a decade ago, but now is completely unacceptable. Comment threads on Facebook expand like wildfire over a perceived politically correct or politically incorrect meme or viral video. Talk shows are intentionally designed to pour gasoline and a match on every word or action that offends.

The very word, offended, has been stripped of its real meaning and turned into a flammable substance.  To be offended is a personal thing, an emotional response to something that often isn't even personally directed at the person who takes offense.

That phrase, "take offense", exposes itself for what it really is. To take something is a choice. He said or did something I don't like, so I intentionally reach out and grab hold of it and stab myself in the heart with it, as through I've been attacked. The reason I do that is to strike a match to my anger, to get myself worked up about it so I can let the "offender" and everyone else know that his action or words were all about me. When I take offense, I'm robbing the other person of their right to an opinion and their right to free speech, and turning it into something I own.

People of every political, philosophical, or spiritual stripe are guilt of taking away others' freedom of thought for the sake of their own freedom to be offended. Sadly, many Christians wear it as a badge of personal faithfulness.

Many Christians will argue that we ought to be offended by the actual evil words and evil actions of evil people, that we are called to call it out loudly and vehemently. But actually, that's not our calling.

But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 2:8-12

Who is the judge? No, it's not you. It's God.

And he's not judging people for offending, but for sinning.

Psalm 37:1 Don't Fret

If you watch the video of this song, you'll see a guitar and a bass guitar, both of which operate on similar principles. Strings of varying gauge are stretched along the length of the instrument and tightened to produce a specific note. The musician presses his fingers on various frets - the metal bars spaced along the neck of the guitar - altering the string's tone, higher and lower as needed.

On all Jimi Hendrix' songs, his riffs on the high notes, produced by pressing the frets closest to the body of the guitar, are the dazzling sounds that catch the average listener's attention. But it's the bass notes that actually do the heavy work in his songs, laying down the emotional depth that supports everything else.

The same can be true in life. It's easy to get lost in seeking the highs while forgetting to go deep and establish the kind of emotional and spiritual depth that anchors life.

A life spent tuning in to the highs is risky. Sure, there are plenty of times when things are going great, when you're doing wonderful things with people who share your passions, when you're riffing on those high notes and feeling good.

But while you're grooving to that tune, there will always be things that go wrong, people who disappoint you, others who downright oppose you. When you're riding the high notes, there will be discord. Not everyone will want to pick up on what you're putting down. A sudden fall is always a possibility amid the stress of it all.

It would be so easy to let it get to you. Shout! Scream! Curse!

And before you know it, you've become the note out of tune. You're the one always expressing your frustrations, loud and insistent. And then you find yourself aiming your frustrations at God.

David knew just how you feel. He faced all sorts of difficulties and conflicts during his life. Psalm 37 is his poetic expression of how he learned to deal with it all as "a man after God's own heart."

The Psalm begins, in many of our English translations, with, "Do not fret..."

The original Hebrew word carries the meaning of kindling or burning with anger. That's the unrighteous way of responding to stress in our lives. Tightening the tension by fretting and letting the frustration heat up is not the way to have a heart like God's.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3

As people of God, we have a better way to approach the troubles of life. We have a song in our heart that picks up on what God is putting down.

When we sing along with His new song, others around us on the road of life will pick up on what we're putting down, and be drawn to the song of the Lord.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zepheniah 3:17

Psalm 119:176 The Shepherd

I have strayed like a lost sheep.
 Seek your servant,
  for I have not forgotten your commands

Psalm 119:176

I've often pictured myself as a gallant knight on a great journey, striving to do great things for the Lord. With my wife, a true soldier princess, by my side, we're ready for whatever he throws our way.

But, if I'm to be honest, I'm more often like a stupid sheep.  I stray...daily. I've been completely lost a few times, clueless about where I was and where he wanted me to go next.

Except I always seem to want to make it all about me. If I only could grasp hold of my special role in the Lord's grand plan, I tell myself, then I'd finally make it.  I'd arrive at the pinnacle of life.

Every time I think I'm getting in step with the Lord on this road of life, I stumble and fall flat on my foolish face.

I think it's no coincidence that on the same week I finally sat down to write this final blogpost about the final verse on Psalm 119, I was also preparing to lead our Life Group in a conversation about Romans 7.

As someone who has loved Psalm 119 all my life, I've resisted and wrestled with some of Paul's comments about the Law.

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.

Romans 7:7-11

Some preachers and writers today are interpreting verses like that to say we should at all costs avoid preaching and teaching people to follow rules. It's all grace, all the time, because the laws were never any good.

The truth is, the flaw in the law has always been interconnected with the flaw in us. As Paul says, the sin in us seizes the opportunity presented by the law and turns us into even worse sinners.

And  yet Paul spends a large portion of his epistles teaching the early Christians how to be transformed from unrighteous rule-breakers to righteous rule-keepers.

The law - both the capital-L Law of Moses and the numerous rules and commandments of the New Testament - represents the heart of God about how He intends for His people to live. Under the New covenant, He has given believers the Holy Spirit and written His laws on our hearts.

If we put our main focus on trying to obey the rules, we'll fail as badly as Paul describes his own efforts in Romans 7. If instead we focus on praising the Lord (Psalm 119:175) and rely on Him to seek us and guide us as our Shepherd (v. 176), then we'll be fulfilling His best intention for His Word.

On the one road of life, I'm no one special. I'm a stupid sheep, just like everyone else walking alongside me.

What makes me different is this: I know the Shepherd. And the Shepherd knows the way.

And most of the other sheep on this path not only don't know the way, they don't know the Shepherd.

Stupid sheep.

Who will point them to the Shepherd?

I will. Because I have not forgotten His commands.