How To Refrain From Anger

Psalm 37.8

“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”  Almost every word in this practical passage can provide even more helpful insight— so let’s dissect some of them!

Refrain: 

“sink down, to let drop, to abandon, to be quiet”

These are the steps that must be taken in order to avoid the damage that is certain to follow if ignored. 

Anger: 

“to blow through the nostrils”

This is the kind of anger that dulls the sensible mind. The choices (words/actions) made under the influence of anger are the just the beginning of coming destruction.  

And: 

There’s anger and there’s wrath. Anger can easily bring forth wrath. The command is to avoid that which makes you flare the nostrils as the natural progression of anger is escalation, referred to as wrath. 

Forsake:

 “to let loose, leave behind”

Drop it. Let it go. Do what needs to be done so that the command to “forsake” can be carried out. Leave, breathe, pray, reevaluate. Do it quickly and do it each time so that it becomes instinctual. 

Wrath: 

“hot displeasure, heat, rage, poison (as that which burns the bowels)” 

The Absolutes of Wrath 

1. Our wrath gets us in trouble when we think we are the owners of it (1 Sam. 28:18)
2. The answer to wrath is humility (2 Chron. 12.7). 
3. Our wrath is based in ignorance (2 Chron. 34.21). 
4. If you’re consumed by your own wrath, you’ll be eaten alive twice (Ps. 21.9). 

• Eaten by your own & 
• Consumed by God’s 

Fret not:

“to kindle, heat oneself in vexation, to begin burning, to grow warmer”

Tends only: 

“a one way path, the most likely outcome”

The phrase “tends only” shows up in Judges 16 where Samson asks God to grant him one final request. This helps us see how the word can mean a “one way path.” 

“Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” – Judges 16:28 

Psalm 37.8 is telling us that human wrath is a path that can only lead to one end— evil. 

Evil doing: 

“shattered, broken in pieces”

Old Hebrew is a pictorial language and looking into a biblical word can really make a passage come to life. It doesn’t take any stretching of the imagination to see how “shattered” and “broken” so accurately describes the end result of “evil doing.” Evil is that which breaks and destroys our lives and the lives of others. The consequences are devastating but thankfully God is our guide to godliness.