DO NOT FRET BECAUSE OF EVILDOERS

SATURDAY, 9TH SEPTEMBER, 2023.

Author: PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE

TOPIC:  DO NOT FRET BECAUSE OF EVILDOERS

MEMORIZE: “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.”  Psalm 37:1.

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 37:1-5.

“Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of 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; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”

EXPOSITION

We are here cautioned against discontent at the prosperity and success of evil-doers (Ps 37:1-2): Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. We may suppose that David speaks this to himself first, and preaches it to his own heart (in his communing with that upon his bed), for the suppressing of those corrupt passions which he found working there, and then leaves it in writing for instruction to others that might be in similar temptation. That is preached best, and with most probability of success, to others, which is first preached to ourselves. Look at it this way,

 

1. WHEN WE LOOK ABROAD WE SEE THE WORLD FULL OF EVIL-DOERS AND WORKERS OF INIQUITY, that flourish and prosper, that have what they will and do what they will, that live in ease and pomp themselves and have power in their hands to do mischief to those about them. So it was in David's time; and therefore, if it is so still, let us not marvel at the matter, as though it were some new or strange thing. 

 

2. WHEN WE LOOK WITHIN WE FIND OURSELVES TEMPTED TO FRET AT THIS, and to be envious against these scandals and burdens, these blemishes and common nuisances, of this earth. We are apt to fret at God, as if he were unkind to the world and unkind to his church in permitting such men to live, and prosper, and prevail, as they do. We are apt to fret ourselves with vexation at their success in their evil projects. We are apt to envy them the liberty they take in getting wealth, and perhaps by unlawful means, and in the indulgence of their lusts, and to wish that we could shake off the restraints of conscience and do so too. We are tempted to think them the only happy people, and to incline to imitate them, and to join ourselves with them, that we may share in their gains and eat of their dainties; and this is that which we are warned against: Fret not thyself, neither be thou envious. Fretfulness and envy are sins that are their own punishments; they are the uneasiness of the spirit and the rottenness of the bones; it is therefore in kindness to ourselves that we are warned against them. Yet that is not all; for, 

 

3. WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD WITH AN EYE OF FAITH WE SHALL SEE NO REASON TO ENVY WICKED PEOPLE THEIR PROSPERITY, for their ruin is at the door and they are ripening apace for it, Ps 37:2. They flourish, but as the grass, and as the green herb, which nobody envies nor frets at. The flourishing of a godly man is like that of a fruitful tree (Ps 1:3), but that of the wicked man is like grass and herbs, which are very short-lived. 

(1.) They will soon wither of themselves. Outward prosperity is a fading thing, and so is the life itself to which it is confined. 

(2.) They will sooner be cut down by the judgments of God.  Their triumphing is short, but their weeping and wailing will be everlasting.

PRAYER POINT:  Lord, help me to keep trusting you all the days of my life never to fret because the prosperity of the wicked In Jesus Name.  

DAILY BIBLE READING IN A YEAR –  Isaiah  33 – 35.

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ANCHOR OF LIFE is the daily devotional guide written by PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE, General Overseer, Anchor of Life & Redemption Ministry Int’l. It is an extraction of God’s word designed to draw the sincere seekers closer to God on a daily basis through an insightful exposition and analysis of God’s Word. 

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