Thirteen verses on anger from four sides: your own, anger at wrongdoers, anger at God, and God's own anger.
The psalms are full of anger, and they do not hide it. Some tell the reader to cease from anger and not to fret. Others ask God to break the teeth of the wicked, and one calls happy whoever repays Babylon. In these psalms the anger is said out loud, most of it to God, rather than acted out. Alongside that, the psalms say more than once that God himself is slow to anger.
Start with your own anger, then the psalms of anger against wrongdoers, then anger at God, and last what the psalms say about God's anger. Tick the ones you want and print them. The hardest verses are included because they are in the book.
For your own temper. These verses slow the reaction down rather than pretending it is not there.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret; it leads only to evildoing. The verse gives its own reason: anger left to run leads somewhere worse.
Stand in awe, and don’t sin.Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Ephesians 4:26 quotes this line as be angry, and don't sin, while the World English Bible and King James Version of the psalm read stand in awe.
Set a watch, LORD, before my mouth.Keep the door of my lips.
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Set a watch before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. A prayer for the moment before the words come out.
My heart was hot within me.While I meditated, the fire burned.I spoke with my tongue:
My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
My heart was hot within me, and the fire burned. The psalm names the feeling as sorrow stirred while he kept silent (verse 2), but a heart growing hot until he speaks to God fits pent-up anger too.
Sometimes called the imprecatory psalms. They ask for judgment on people who have done harm, in strong language, and most of the asking is addressed to God.
LORD, you God to whom vengeance belongs,you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out.
O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
God to whom vengeance belongs, said twice. The psalm hands vengeance to God by name, then complains that the wicked kill the widow and murder the fatherless.
Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me.Fight against those who fight against me.
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me. The writer asks God to do the fighting. Later he says he had fasted and prayed for these same people when they were sick (verse 13).
Break their teeth, God, in their mouth.Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
Break their teeth, God. The anger is at those who are meant to judge but plot injustice (verses 1 and 2), and the psalm ends: there is a God who judges the earth.
Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,he will be happy who repays you,as you have done to us.
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Spoken by captives who wept by the rivers of Babylon. The verse calls happy whoever repays Babylon, and verse 9 goes further. Verse 7 recalls Edom shouting raze it over Jerusalem.
The psalms let the writer question God directly, and even tell him to wake up.
Wake up!Why do you sleep, Lord?Arise!Don’t reject us forever.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
Wake up. Why do you sleep, Lord? The people in this psalm say they have not forgotten God (verse 17), and ask why he seems to have forgotten them.
God, why have you rejected us forever?Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
God, why have you rejected us forever? Here God's own anger is the complaint: why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture.
God's anger in the psalms is aimed at wrong, and the psalms say it does not last.
God is a righteous judge,yes, a God who has indignation every day.
God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
A God who has indignation every day. The anger belongs to a righteous judge, so it is aimed at wrongdoing, not at random.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. The next verse adds that he will not stay angry forever.
But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them.Yes, many times he turned his anger away,and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
Many times he turned his anger away. The psalm is a long history of the people provoking God, and this verse records him holding back.
Ephesians 4:26 in the New Testament reads be angry, and don't sin, and the World English Bible gives Psalm 4:4 as its cross reference. In the King James Version the psalm itself reads differently: stand in awe, and sin not. The psalm goes on: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.
Psalms 35, 58, 69, 109 and 137 ask God to punish enemies, sometimes in shocking terms. Read in full, they also say what was done first: love repaid with hatred in Psalm 109:5, Edom calling for Jerusalem to be razed in Psalm 137:7. In these psalms the writers bring the anger to God and ask him to judge. They do not describe carrying out revenge themselves.
Psalm 37:8 is the most direct: cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Psalm 4:4 and Psalm 141:3 are short prayers for the moment before you speak.
Psalm 35, Psalm 58, Psalm 69, Psalm 109 and Psalm 137 contain the strongest anger against enemies. Psalm 44 and Psalm 74 turn the complaint toward God himself.
Psalm 103:8 says the LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. Psalm 86:15 and Psalm 145:8 say nearly the same.
Psalm 30:5: his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Psalms for Enemies and People Who Are Against YouPsalms for JusticePsalms for PatiencePsalms for Peace of Mind and ComfortPsalms for Forgiveness and RepentancePsalms about Forgiving Others and Reconciliation