Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
Let’s continue with this incredible psalm, remembering that David earlier described the actions of the Lord in rescuing him from the miry pit and setting him on a firm foundation. The natural expected response to this show of grace to the sinner was that we would make the Lord our trust. Those who do make the Lord their trust, they are blessed.
But what does it look like to make the Lord their trust? David gives us some direction in this regard, by providing two descriptions of those who do not trust the Lord.
Trusting the Proud
David speaks of the one who makes the Lord his trust as one who does not turn to the proud.
First off, this implies a difference between the saint and the sinner, since a typical characteristic of those who do not know and trust the Lord in His mercies, these poor souls only have themselves to depend on (or at least another mere man) for their guidance and stability, which naturally breeds a pride and arrogance in their lives. This is an inevitable outcome of trusting our own thoughts and opinions. I cannot depend on my own thoughts and at the same time truly consider myself to be humble, for I have elevated my accumulated bank of wisdom over all others.
Consider a man that has attained a high level of education, excelled in his career, and is confident of his abilities. It is a rare that he will consider others opinions to be equal to his, although for the sake of social graces and professional appearance, this may seem to occur.
Trusting the Lord is a different matter, since many, if not all of the precepts of the Lord go against our natural inclination, and rub against our pride. A believer, trusting in the Lord, will exhibit a willingness to be subdued by the Word as he hears it, and will reject a dependence on those who are confident in their own status.
Trusting the Liar
Many times in the ancient writings, the Hebrews would use a type of poetry that is not familiar to us. Where we tend to look for words that rhyme, or for a certain cadence to the verse, for the Hebrew prophet, much poetry started with a statement, followed by a clarification of the statement.
A prophet using a synonymous poetry style, is seen in the following passages.
Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. – Psalm 120:2
Notice how lying lips are further defined as a deceitful tongue
My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, – Proverbs 3:11
Notice that discipline is further refined as reproof.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5
Multiple parallels in this short passage. Take a moment to identify at least two parallel descriptions in the verse above.
Lets return to our passage in Ps 40 where David speaks of the one who does not make the Lord his trust. Consider that to turn to the proud, is refined in this couplet as going after a lie! Pride and lies are common bedfellows in both the Old and New Testament.
The relation between humility and trust is again brought to my attention, and I ask those who may be reading, to consider the place of humility in trusting the Lord in their experience with the Lord.
Deeds and Thoughts Toward Us
David reverts to considering the One to whom he is praying, the One who has rescued him from the miry pit, and has set his feet on solid ground.
His thoughts and deeds are toward us, toward the hurting and helpless, toward those who suffer and are ignored, toward those who are weak and without guidance. The Lord’s deeds and thoughts are more than can be spoken. More than can be revealed. More than can be communicated.
His character of grace and mercy towards those who trust Him, (and those who don’t) cannot be fully expressed. Of course those who do not know Him, are still the recipients of multitudinous mercies on a daily basis, and yet they have no knowledge. We who claim to know Him, will naturally proclaim Him, even though it is impossible to fully communicate each and every one of His gracious thoughts and deeds toward us.
He is toward us, He is good and He is to be trusted.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 40
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 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.
He inclined to me. He bent down to me.
The psalms speak of the Lords bending down to the saint in many passages. I will supply a few verses that use the very same Hebrew word David uses here, but as you read through the psalms, it will become evident the image of the King of Glory “bending down” is quite regular.
Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! – Psalm 31:2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! – Psalm 71:2
A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. – Psalm 86:1
Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! – Psalm 88:2
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! – Psalm 102:2
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:2
As I was gathering these verses, I was simply looking for the Hebrew word that is translated as “incline” in Psalm 40:1. I was hoping to simply display the fact that the Lord of Glory would incline towards the saint through this simple study, but something much more specific has been observed. Can you see it?
The Lord inclined His ear! He listened to the saint. He took time (I speak as a fool again) to consider the saints concerns and troubles. This was a wonder to the Old Testament saint, a blessing from the hand of God, and a privilege the saint experienced.
How so for us in the church? Do we have this privilege, of the Lord inclining His ear to us?
Oh my friends, we have much more than that. He inclined His life to us, taking on the form of a servant, and was born in our likeness.
He “inclined” totally!
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8 ESV
This is a mystery that is beyond me when I seek to understand it, and rightly so. The very fact that He took time to listen in days of old speaks volumes, for the Old Testament saint did not have a God who was indifferent or standoffish.
How much more for us, in that He not simply listened to the ones he heard, but rubbed shoulders with us, ate with us, walked with us and died for us.
Verse 2 speaks of His deliverance of our lives and a phrase caught my attention as I was a ruminating! He drew me up, “out of the miry bog”
When I first believed, I was so excited about escaping the fires of hell, but not so with the Psalmist. David has a different emphasis in this verse. He does not say He drew me up out of the fiery flames. No no no
The miry bog. A pit of clay. A hole without escape. Not to get too technical, but clay, when wet, has no bearing capacity, in not confined. It is a condition that the more you struggle and fight, the more the clay grabs you, holds you, even consumes you. No hope of escape on your own. A condition of distress, confusion and helplessness.
How often have you been in this condition? All is dark, with no seeming hope and nothing positive on the horizon? This is the condition David recounts as he begins this psalm and speaks of the unilateral help of the only true God in giving us deliverance.
He is the only One active in this set of verses, with the saint being the benefactor, the recipient of the goodness of God.
He is good. Think on these things and praise Him for His many mercies to us!
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 39
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”
In our last post on this psalm, we saw that God had given David a stroke or blow that sent David reeling. He begged for this blow to be removed from his life. The reason for this blow upon his life? It appears to have something to do with his tongue, and had incurred the attention of the Lord.
Our passage today is short, but note how David’s prayers are full of gut wrenching emotion. He is pleading for an audience before the King, and is claiming no rights, as a guest, one who is invited and not necessarily earned his right to an audience.
He has confessed that the Lord has muted him, that he is not opening his mouth. This is necessary for discussion! I know this seems obvious but please let me explain my thinking.
I often spend time on conference calls at work and find that much of my time is spent asking to repeat what someone said. Why you ask? Because someone else (sometimes myself) was speaking over him. When two people speak at the same time, no-one gets a clear message out. Both speakers are showing a level of disrespect to the other, and revealing an attitude of superiority. Granted, time crunches and experience of the topic need to be considered in each conversation, but that doesn’t apply to our passage.
The two people interacting in this passage are the Lord of creation, the true King of Israel and His servant David. David has had his mouth closed by the King, and is currently willing to hear the “other side”. We do not hear of the Lord’s response in this Psalm, for this is not the intent of the Psalm.
David is in His proper place for healing at this time. He requests that the Lord look away from him, that is in relation to the blow that he is experiencing, that he may “smile again”. I love this translation, that he may “smile again”, to be cheerful!
It is good to be a believer, for the regular, common experience of the believer is to be cheerful. A thought that is primarily directed to myself, but as my momma used to say, “If the shoe fits, wear it!”
Psalm 39 is a psalm of confession, including an appeal to God’s eternality in considering our existence, our time on this earth as being nothing.
In our last post on Psalm 39, I sought to understand David’s poetical language describing his existence in relation to God’s existence.
When comparing any time unit, whether 10 seconds or 50,000,000 millennium, the result is the same. Time is insignificant since the comparison is somewhat ridiculous. Be that as it may, David compared and walked away beat up.
As I thought on it, trying to understand David’s thoughts, I also came away feeling a bit hopeless, somewhat out of sync. As you many remember, I brought a New Testament passage into the study to try to find some balance, and thankfully it was helpful.
But as I consider these portions of the Psalms, I need to read the psalm as a whole, for David’s reaction to his previous writing had produced in him the same hopelessness I expressed above, and yet he continues with the following.
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! 9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. 10 Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. 11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
For what do I wait? Waiting speaks of a time element, and David does not condemn this action of waiting. It is not wasted effort as we may assume from the previous passage, where he talks of the futility of our efforts and the fruit of our work passing to those we know not.
This waiting is for a specific action, and the waiting is required due to David’s hope being in God. His hope is not in his own efforts, that is in restraining his heart from expressing his thoughts, his tongue from wagging and flopping in front of his enemies!
Our first few verses in this psalm spoke of David’s effort to “shut up” in front of his enemies. God has accomplished this fruit in David’s life. It seems this “muteness” God accomplished in David’s life may be associated with a stroke from God, a hostility of God’s hand.
This stroke, or blow from God is sometimes associated in the Old Testament with leprosy, although in this instance, I believe David is using the term metaphorically. David is expressing God’s solution to his “yapping” problem as an affliction or a wound, what we may consider as a trial or testing.
This stroke is also described as a “hostility” of God’s hand. This term hostility is used only once in the Word and it also describes a “blow”, and includes a thought of contention or conflict.
David begs for this stroke to be removed, he is under a trial that is teaching, no accomplishing its intended effects, yet David is begging for it’s removal.
How often have we been under a trial and sought to be out of it? Of course as we request prayers for release from God’s stroke, we are often counselled to rejoice in the trial, and James does exhort us in this manner.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. – James 1:2-3
But note that the passage is training us to rejoice when we meet trials of various kinds, for the sake of the resulting patience that will be produced. To joy for the end result. Is this not similar to the outlook the One who took the ultimate stroke for us? He despised the shame, but since He considered the end result, He took joy.
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2
David summarizes the stroke of God on his life by speaking of how God disciplines a man with rebukes. It is good to know that we have a God who cares for us to the point of rebuking us, of disciplining us, of providing a “stroke” upon us to direct us, and to train us.
David again goes poetic, describing the sin that was so dear to him, as a moth consumed. A moth consumed? Some verses translate this phrase as the moth consuming, others as the moth being consumed. I have no idea which is the correct grammatical translation, but the picture of a moth consuming something is clear in my mind.
You see, growing up in our country home, my mother had a cedar closet. Dad built it so she could store her very best blankets and comforters. Remember, that as a Canadian, blankets and comforters were critical possessions in the depth of the January cold!
I remember only once that she opened it while I was with her, and the smell was awesome. All the walls of the closet had unstained, unvarnished cedar lining, and when it opened, the fragrance was almost overpowering.
I occasionally would return to the closet and take a secret woof of the cedar, but my mom wouldn’t have approved. You see, the cedar was installed to keep moths from attacking those precious blankets. If the cedar smell was exhausted, moths would inevitably eat the blankets, slowly destroying it, and given enough time, the blanket would be consumed.
In this passage, David equates God to the moth. God consumes (like a moth) that which is dear to the saint, that which is sin. Slowly, imperceptibly, God is at work, destroying the sin in your life, sometimes through a stroke or blow, as in this passage for David, and sometimes through other means.
Consider this poetic picture the next time you are under a disciplinary action from the Father, for He is seeking to direct our hearts to the only One we should hope in!
“O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
David confessed to his failing effort to control his tongue in our last passage, and like David, I too am guilty of a “speaking” when I shouldn’t. Or better yet, of not trusting God for control of my heart, of my thoughts and therefore of my tongue, especially when in the presence of the wicked.
David immediately follows up his confession with a description of the futility of life, the sheer brevity of our existence.
David speaks of his days as a mere “handbreadth”. This is an uncommon word in my world, and I had to look it up, for my initial understanding was that of a measurement of physical distance, most commonly used in defining the height of a horse.
Low and behold, the modern definition justifies my thinking, in that a handbreadth is a linear measurement approximating the width of a hand, somewhere between 2.5 and 4 inches.
But that is so technical, so soulless. David is speaking of his existence, of my existence and your existence. Is he using handbreadth because he could think of nothing smaller, nothing less significant? His next definition of our lives is that of “nothing before Him, that is in relation to the everlasting nature of God, and our temporal existence actually as nothing, for it is measured in units of time, and time does not impact the Triune God, who inhabits eternity.
Although the Son did enter into His creation (of time!) at one point, in order to partake of flesh and blood. It is good to remember that the time units we swim in, the seconds, minutes, hours days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries and millennium are, in relation to God’s existence “as nothing”.
But as fallen men and women, we dwell in this creation called time, just as we exist in the created atmosphere or on the surface of the created earth. Time, as a created “thing”, is of God, and one of the conditions upon which we exist.
David has established time as being immaterial to God and then speaks of three “surely’s”.
Surely #1 – All mankind stands as a mere breath.
David speaks of all mankind, the entirety of mankind, from the creation to the completion of all, as being a mere breath, a vapor that is transitory, empty and a vanity.
Mankind is a contradiction of terms, in that as David provides his description of it’s nothingness, each man in the sight of God has been sought, loved, served, guided and died for. What contradiction is this. How can we resolve this tension?
I do not have an answer to this – it is above me, and the only suggestion I may have is that David speaks of the duration of mankind’s existence, whereas the death of the Son speaks of the inherent worth of the creation. David is speaking of all of mankind’s existence, whereas Jesus, although having sought all men, is personal, and relates to each of those within mankind.
of his lifetime, let’s say his 70 years during a specific culture and time, with all the limitations and conditions of the time he exists in, is as nothing before God. Nothing, in relation to the conditions the man
Surely #2 – A man goes about as a shadow
At this point, I think David is leaving the group description, that is of all mankind, and focusing, or describing a single man, and in the relation to the previous description, this single man is only a shadow, a negation of light as a result of some body in the path of light.
Previously, all of mankind is described as nothing, or in my engineers mind, a zero, a non value. A single man as described in this verse, is a negation of light due to some blockage of light, the result of some barrier restricting light. This single man doesn’t even warrant being described as that which causes the shadow! A negative effect. Again, for those who understand my thinking as defaulting to numbers much of the time, this single man may be considered less than nothing. A negative value, in relation to comparing time with eternity.
Now, please don’t get me wrong and think of David giving some arithmetical formulation of men and all mankind. It is my non-balanced literal, numerical thinking that produces this discussion.
David is a poet and is expressing poetically the utter emptiness of his duration of existence without God. His heart is beating correctly, for he realizes his strength can only come from the One who is eternal, outside of the realms of time.
Surely #3 – A man experiences turmoil for nothing
This single man, this one who’s timely existence is equated with a negation, a less than zero value, suffers for nothing. Can you sense the futility David is seeking to express?
This single individual, like all others before and after, keeps themselves busy, works to produce the desires of their heart, spends this duration of time, which has been described as less than nothing in relation to eternity, this single individual spends this time pursuing wealth, wealth that will be taken by some other.
Consider – an individual using an insignificant allotment of time, struggling to acquire wealth that will end up as someone else’s possession, someone who is unknown.
David is speaking hard things to my heart now. Effort expended for nothing, a life spent chasing vapors, years of sweat and toil all to end up in a strangers wallet. How to understand this truth from the Psalmist? What is to be my understanding in order to respond properly? For I hear myself say that I need to be a good steward, to care and seek to provide for the ones I love, and for those God directs me too. And many passages come to mind that speak to caring for our loved ones, of seeking the protection and provision of others.
How can I reconcile this seeming problem in my thinking? Am I to consider all my efforts to be futile? All the time I have spent on this earth as “wasted” and that will be provided to me as a vapor?
Can we take a moment to consider a passage that I think gives some additional light on this psalm? Jesus spoke a hard parable in Luke 12. Let’s visit it for a moment.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
At the risk of oversimplifying the passages we are considering, I understand the Lukan passage, the parable of the rich fool, to be a response to a question from a covetous man, one who wanted more of an inheritance. Old Testament law provided the first born double the amount of inheritance than any other sibling. As an example, if two sons in a family were to receive and inheritance, the first born would receive 66% of the inheritance while the younger son would receive 33%. I understand this one asking the question was looking to find a way around this law, and to get an equal share of the inheritance.
Jesus told a parable of a covetous rich fool to address this mans desire, and to expose him as the fool. Jesus was awesome at nailing a problem with a simple story!
Notice the reason I picked this parable when considering Psalm 39:6. In the 20th verse Jesus places these words in God’s mouth.
…the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
This is very similar to David’s message in the 6th verse of Psalm 39.
So, what of it Carl? Jesus is speaking of covetousness. David is speaking of the brevity of our time in relation to eternity. Both men are directing our attention to the importance of God’s perspective in everything we do and think.
Jesus’ parable seems to drive home the point for me. Covetousness. Accumulating things for the wrong purpose is the issue. A covetous man seeks to provide for himself (only?), to acquire and own things for the sake of his own comfort or ease, even his own pride.
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘
David speaks of the turmoil of our acquiring, and the futility of losing it to others, even strangers.
In a perfect world, ownership would not provide the option of covetousness, but as fallen creatures, it is the condition we find ourselves in. It is a battle we must fight in order to maintain a purity of heart towards God. A battle to find a life of stewarding God’s good gifts and realizing we own nothing.
My friends, we are to steward things and love people in the wisp of time we have, for soon enough our opportunities will be gone.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 39
1 To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” 2 I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. 3 My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
David, how dare you reveal my sin! My “tendency” to open mouth and insert foot. My desire to have everyone know my thoughts, my concerns, my complaints, my solutions, blah blah blaaaaah.
Wasn’t it simply two psalms back, in Psalm 37, where David counselled his own heart, (and own lives), to “be still and wait on the Lord”? Obviously David sought to guard his mouth, hold his peace, and yet out comes the verbal diarehha. So Carl-like! So human.
Let us put some chronology into this accusation, and give David the benefit of our findings. Psalm 37 came near the end of David’s life, after he had experienced all of his trials, opened his mouth at all the wrong times, found his will to be far too weak to control his heart. Psalm 39 is a psalm that comes out of the times David was anointed King, early in his adult life.
You see, even in my blogging, I jump to conclusions, and did not give David the benefit of the doubt, and consider the context of David’s experience and situation when he blew his top! I suppose I may be in need of reading (and living) Psalm 37 – what a great psalm!
Nevertheless, this psalm is an open confession of David’s weakness, and it is interesting that in the first three verses, David does not refer to God as his strength, but as his own will not being able to contain his heart. I will, I will, I will.
How often have you made resolutions, determining with all your heart to perform some duty or habit for the Lord, or even for your spouse, a child, boss, co-worker, friend. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The trouble in my mind is that occasionally I do keep a promise on my own strength and therefore maintain the illusion that I am caption of my own destiny. What malarky.
Jesus, when speaking with His disciples, made the audacious claim, that without Him, they could do nothing.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5
My assumption, due to previous errors and limitations in my thinking, is that the fruit is souls, and this verse is restricted to evangelism. After reading it for the 272nd time, I think I may have limited the message of the Lord to His disciples. The fruit may just happen to be the character/image of our Lord, which includes evangelism, but certainly does not restrict itself to only evangelism.
Back to the psalm, where David admits to loosing control of his tongue, and of his confession of the inner rolling and toiling in his heart, of the need to speak up. He just has to correct the issue, interject, insert his all knowing wisdom, inform the audience of every thought and consideration he ruminates over.
In Psalm 37, David knows where his strength is.
May I be brutally honest. As I have tried to understand and follow Him, I have found some truths, though they may not be surprising to you, have rocked my world. Consider.
A Good Question is a Good Teacher
Did not Jesus constantly ask questions. Was not one of the first things men heard from God (that is recorded) a question? (Genesis 3:9)
The power of a good question!
Early on in my walk, I spent hours and hours trying to convince some of the truth of my thinking. Not so now. Some of my best friends are frustrated with me due to my reluctance to define my belief to the 100th point. To what end will this accomplish? To discuss, argue and go away divided? I have found that a good question, if received by the hearer, may reveal a person who wants to know the answer.
Jesus did this often, in providing short stories of fishermen, and farmers, widows and judges. Some wanted to figger it out. They became followers, even apostles!
I am reluctant at times to give definitive answers, and prefer to suggest passages, or various perspectives to consider. The Word of God is available for all, and if you are thirsty for answers, I direct you to the Word of God. Will you go to the Word of God?
Water is Appreciated by Thirsty Folks
Drowning people don’t want water. In a nation full of Christian/religious radio stations, television shows of preachers preaching, churches on every corner (although that is changing in many nations), many people are drowning in the “good news” I find that many are numb to it, and many may feel it is overbearing and oppressive.
Am I saying to not share the gospel? Of course not. But before you open your mouth and speak great swelling words, show humility in service to others, sacrifice of self for the one who even hates you. Drowning people need a life jacket thrown to them, not exhorted to swim better, or to be told they shouldn’t have fallen out of the boat!
A Quiet Spirit is Influential
Many decades ago, I was in a church when during a business meeting, a decision was required that caused much debate. Debate is good, as long as love is in the midst of it. (Hint – Maybe not so in this instance!) An older widowed man, lets call him Bob, who was an elder (leader) in the church was completely quiet, listening to the concerns. At one point, the head elder spoke up and requested (demanded) Bob’s thoughts.
Bob took time to answer, he answered slowing and deliberately, and he answered in response to the spirit of the meeting and not the topic at hand. At the time, in my youth, and along with the head elder, I felt frustration over Bob’s seeming obfuscation of the issue. Looking back, his wisdom should have been treasured, for whether the roof shingles were to be dark or light was of no matter. Imagine this – division in a church over the color of roof shingles! Let it not be! Bob message sounded like an apostle I read, who wrote – “Love one another”
Did the church continue in a heated discussion? Yes, sadly so.
Well then Carl, how can you say a quiet spirit is influential? It sure didn’t seem to make a difference for that meeting!
Well, decades later this old man thinks of Bob’s quiet spirit, and seeks to emulate the quiet influence he had on me. By the way, the shingle decision wasn’t made that night, but folks went home feeling rejected and hurt. So wasteful!
Oh, to be more like Jesus, who knew when to speak and when to not speak. He is the One David confessed as the One who could control his heart/mouth/tongue.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
Refrain from anger! But I can’t help myself. I loose my temper so easily!
Earlier in this psalm, David spoke to the believers heart in stating “fret not”, and as I sought to try to understand that term, I have come to realize it is not primarily a term that describes worry, as I previously thought, but “to fret” relates closer to anger and wrath. (See Psalms for Psome – Ps 37 – A)
In this set of verses, David speaks of this weakness in his own heart, of his need to refrain from anger, wrath and fretting.
It tends only to evil. What? Is David saying that anger, wrath and fretting is not evil but only brings the believer close to evil? What am I to understand by “it only tends to evil”?
Lets consider some additional translations to hopefully get some clarity.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. RSV
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. KJV
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. NKJV
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. NIV
Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil. YLT
I think a pattern is emerging that may help me with this passage. Most of the passages above speak of anger, wrath and fretting as a gateway for the believer to perform a sinful act. “To tend only to evil” may be a way of describing the pathway of the believer to abandon God’s way and enter into a sinful act, that is through anger, wrath or fretting. This phrase may define the obvious end result of the anger if anger isn’t checked, and abandoned by the believer.
Note that David is commanding the believer to “cease from anger”, not claiming that he is a victim of anger, hopelessly “addicted” to wrath, and without any defense against fretting. The saint is to control their anger, anger is not to control the saint!
So is anger a sinful act? For even the youngest believer out there, a passage in Ephesians must be ringing loud and clear to answer that question. Paul instructs the believer to be angry, but to not sin in the following verse.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, – Eph 4:26 ESV
For every believer, anger is a very real companion, an attitude and emotion that flares up when we feel our rights are trampled on, when we are unjustly treated, or when we are simply selfish and acting out.
I have what many may call a “brooding anger”, You know the type. The type that covers (or hides) the anger until it blows up at some insignificant happening, some occasion that I react to with an overabundance of “fretting”. It is my hypocritical way of appearing spiritual until I just can’t take it anymore. But once it breaks, then my true self appears, all angry and sweaty, raging over something that shouldn’t matter at all.
In my personal struggles with anger, I have found it is directly related to my perceived rights. I heard a teacher once speak of the believer as having no personal rights, nothing he can demand of, and nothing that can be claimed as his own, either spiritually, emotionally, physically. He went on to say that as the believer enters into this attitude, this faith, anger will become less and less a reality in the saints life.
What a heretic, eh? Didn’t we just read that Paul allowed, no he commanded believers to “Be angry”.
So what gives? Are we to be angry or not? The solution I have come to is that both teachings are correct. We are to be angry and yet to cease from anger!
Come on Carl – now you are just speaking riddles. (I hope I am not making anyone angry!)
You see, the teacher was speaking of anger as it related to my rights, my life, my needs, my wants, my thinking, me me me.
Paul is speaking of anger which includes others. Check the previous verse out. He is directly speaking of our dealings with others.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. – Eph 4:25 ESV
So, let me try to explain what I understand is going on. Two types of anger that I will try to differentiate below.
ANGER (in relation to me)
Anger, when it comes to my own circumstances is wrong. It may be sin, and as David teaches us, acts as an entry way into a sinful action. Acting upon anger that is related to perceived rights only draws us down into an never ending spiral of victimization, killing an attitude of gratitude and seeing God as One who delights in taking our happiness away from us.
Isn’t this so typical! Even from the beginning we blamed God for our problems!
As an example, weak as it may be, consider the act of a mugging, and the working out of anger in this action.
If I am being mugged, should I not simply give of what I have to the thief?
ANGER (in relation to others)
For a Neighbor
Paul, when he addresses anger in Ephesians 4:26, speaks of relational anger, anger that is exercised for a neighbor. I often think of this as anger for my neighbor when he is being treated wrongly! When his rights are being violated.
Let’s pick up the mugging incident as an example.
If my neighbor is being mugged, should I not rage inside over the injustice, seek to defend him, seek to protect him?
But you may say this is too simplistic! I would agree, so let’s think a bit further into this topic, and bring another passage into the mix.
With a Neighbor
What does the Lord Himself say when he addresses the topic of anger?
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. Matthew 5:21-22
Again, this passage speaks of a believer, a follower of the One, a disciple of the Savior on how to respond to anger, specifically in the arena of relating to a neighbor, a brother. To be angry with a brother is different I would suggest, than to be angry for a brother as above.
One more time to communicate my message via the mugging example
If my neighbor is being mugged, it dang well better not be me doing the mugging!
Nevertheless, however you understand anger, it is a dangerous emotion and attitude to live in or under. And as David speaks to the end result of anger leading or tending towards evil, he also provides the final condition of one ruled by anger, and therefore becoming an evil doer, in our second verse.
Evildoers will be cut off!
Don’t become an evildoer, and if you struggle with anger, realize the dangerous friend you are allowing to live in your heart and mind. Fight against it, ask for mercy from the Lord Himself, for grace lose the demanding attitude, to die to your perceived rights. And you may find the greatest joy imaginable, for
“those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.”
As you can tell, this is a topic I struggle with, and the nuances of anger are multitudinous. I would appreciate any comments regarding this topic. Let me know of your success in living free of an angry life.
As always, thanks so much for taking a few minutes of your busy day to spend with me, and my efforts in Considering the Bible.
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10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
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12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
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14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
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16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Psalm 37
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
Psalm 37
20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish–like smoke they vanish away.
Psalm 37
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Psalm 37
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Be still. Rest. Do nothing. Grow dumb, in that no voice may erupt from the mouth. This term actually may be translated as be astounded, or stupefied. Keep silent.
Be still before the Lord. No demands or defense. How often do you enter into prayer, whether on your knees or walking into work and you are either defending some action you may be ashamed of (sometimes called confession) or boasting of your latest good deed – don’t deny you do it!
This passage speaks of time again. The lost one has little time. The saint may expect much time. And the Lord isn’t bound by time. Wait patiently for the Lord, for He isn’t on my schedule.
And yet I gotta get the widget sent off, and a dozen doohickies need to be greased, along with the thingamajig and whatchmacallit, both of them are calling to me for answers! Oh the tyranny of the time piece! Oh I am so burdened with the cares of this life and David is telling us to Be still before the Lord and wait. Wait patiently.
If I were to admit to any failure in my Christian life ( and there are many!) this particular blessing of a “timelessness before the Lord” a period of not thinking schedule or duty, of not defending past decisions or worrying about future reactions, of ignoring “possible” outcomes in the coming days.
Be still. A constant attitude of doing, running, moving, thinking, writing, working, hurrying and “being about our Master’s work” may be a trap many of us have fallen into.
Martha was there right with me, getting food ready for the crowd. Doing, scheduling, working and eventually whining to the Lord about some one else.
Mary was before the Lord, being still, waiting on the Lord for His instruction. I imagine she was in a very comfortable mind set, open to His teaching and looking up to Him, seeking to understand and not defend a previous belief. I wanna think this is the condition Mary was in.
Martha seemed to be fretting, and remember this fretting had the component of anger associated with it.
Let’s listen in to Martha’s request as read in a free translation called “The Voice”. I think it expresses Martha’s anxiety
Luke 10:40 – 41 Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.
Martha(interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.
Luke 10:40 – 41 The Voice
Be still Martha. You seem to be exhibiting a bit of rage here with your lazy sister! Your schedule is eating you up, and you are coming off as a whiny nag. As believers, we must remember that those we venerate as saints were humans with the same frailties we experience each day. Martha was struggling, appreciating the situation of having the Messiah in her presence!
David is speaking of fretting not over the success of the evil man, and this doesn’t directly relate to Martha and Mary, yet there are similarities, there are attitudes that seem to parallel David’s concerns.
Be still and fret not.
For me, this is a herculean effort, and even in this closing, I am thinking of doing, working, performing this injunction, of disciplining my life to conform – Oh blasted thoughts.
But wait – It is not about you and I. We are to look to our Savior, and be still before Him, and wait patiently. It is good to look to Him and see how he deals with Martha
Jesus is the Savior and He loves Martha.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. – John 11:5
Jesus is the Savior. Martha was a “woman of action” and went to the Savior – He was approachable, even though He had upbraided her in her little fit above. Yet she expressed a faith in the Savior
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” – John 11:21-23
Did Martha become Mary? No – She still served.
So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. – John 12:2 ESV
It was her nature, even as it may be our nature to be about, working and scheduling, thinking and doing. But this doesn’t negate the need to be still and wait patiently on the Lord.
It is a respite for the soul to be still and to wait.
Do not refuse this great blessing Carl!
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In our previous post, we visited verses 3 and 4, and found keys descriptors of the saints life. Trusting in the Lord and delighting in the Lord. I suggested that this is somewhat of a progression in the saints life, and have found it to be true for myself. But before we get into this post, let’s remember why we are here. Let’s consider the Bible and read the passage for this post
Psalm 37
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
As mentioned above, in the previous verses, David spoke of trust and delight. In this couplet, he introduces the third, overall characteristic of the saint, and that is to commit to the Lord.
I will try to explain my understanding of these two characteristics of the saint, that is of trust and delight, as it relates to my relationship with my wife. I find this last admonition, of committing that is, to easily and naturally continue this storyline.
Referring to my trust in my wife, and my first understanding of her character, I easily believed her words. I found it to be an enjoyable experience to be around her, to try to understand her and to love her, to grow together and to enjoy each others company. Both of these characteristics (that is trusting in and delighting in) have continued through the years, and generally increased consistently. (Hey we are human we have a had a few bumps along the way – Mostly on me!)
But to commit. This is the topic for this blog, for David instructs the saint to
Commit your way to the LORD;….
To commit. To throw your lot in with, to pledge allegiance to, to do, perform or perpetuate. This is an action word of course, and speaks of our orthopraxy, the way we live.
Let me give a bit of an example.
I am over 60 yrs old and I shall be passing from this sphere soon. My mind tells me that to plant an oak tree would be a task that I would not likely benefit from, and yet my faith tells me that planting trees is a good thing. Now of course this thought must be carried over into every aspect of life, not simply restricted to horticulture. But I hope you see my point.
Why live a life of faith? Why continue to commit to a principal, a friend, a mate or the living God, if we seemingly have diminishing returns as we edge closer to our earthly cessation. We need to be reminded that to commit is not a bet with the odds in our favor, or to be dependent on some future occurrence, that if not fulfilled, allows an escape clause to be exercised.
We may never see many of the benefits of a life of faith, of a commitment to a living God, during this 70 odd years on this planet, but that is not the point.
No – Commitment is based on relationship, or better stated (since David said it not I), on trust, for he follows his encouragement to commit with a synonym, that is to
….trust in him…
I left the semi colon in the previous portion of the verse as a reminder to myself that the purpose of a semi colon (;) is to be placed in between a list or series of ideas that are closely related. To commit is closely related to trust, and in my experience, is a fruit of trust.
I will gladly commit to a cause that I trust, that I believe in. I will gladly commit to my wife because she is one I delight in. I will with joy commit to the ever faithful One, the One who fully committed to me in my lostness.
But in all of this discussion, I have accentuated the aspect of trust, delight and commitment, without a corresponding reaction, and yet this is not the God we serve. We can not demand from the King, but we can know his heart and that He is the ever faithful One, One we have learned to trust, that we delight in as we learn His ways and His care for His people.
David continues with the following statement, as God’s response to the saint.
and he will act.
David stated “He will act”. Remember dear friend, that David was pre-cross, a thousand years from that cruel day. And yet the ultimate “act” of God was completed, performed for us. He “acted” by hanging on that cruel cross.
Of course, as we seek to walk with Him during our sojourn down here, He blesses our feeble efforts with acts of mercy, and we surely need the encouragement as we troddle along. But never let the current blessings we may be experiencing (or the burdens either) cloud our view of that day when He acted.
Commit to the Faithful One. Ask Him for the strength to cling to Him, for in ourselves, we surely do not have the ability to.
Praise His name, and be thankful for all His goodness. His mercies extend every day.
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7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Be still. Rest. Do nothing. Grow dumb, in that no voice may erupt from the mouth. This term actually may be translated as be astounded, or stupified. Keep silent.
Be still before the Lord. No demands or defense. How often do you enter into prayer, whether on your knees or walking into work and you are either defending some action you may be ashamed of (sometimes called confession) or boasting of your latest good deed – don’t deny you do it!
This passage speaks of time again. The lost one has little time. The saint may expect much time. And the Lord isn’t bound by time. Wait patiently for the Lord, for He isn’t on my schedule.
And yet I gotta get the widget sent off, and a dozen doohickies need to be greased, along with the thingamajig and whatchmacallit, both of them are calling to me for answers! Oh the tyranny of the time piece! Oh I am so burdened with the cares of this life and David is telling us to Be still before the Lord and wait. Wait patiently.
If I were to admit to any failure in my Christian life ( and there are many!) this particular blessing of a “timelessness before the Lord” a period of not thinking schedule or duty, of not defending past decisions or worrying about future reactions, of ignoring “possible” outcomes in the coming days.
Be still. A constant attitude of doing, running, moving, thinking, writing, working, hurrying and “being about our Master’s work” may be a trap many of us have fallen into.
Martha was there right with me, getting food ready for the crowd. Doing, scheduling, working and eventually whining to the Lord about some one else.
Mary was before the Lord, being still, waiting on the Lord for His instruction. I imagine she was in a very comfortable mind set, open to His teaching and looking up to Him, seeking to understand and not defend a previous belief. I wanna think this is the condition Mary was in.
Martha seemed to be fretting, and remember this fretting had the component of anger associated with it.
Let’s listen in to Martha’s request as read in a free translation called “The Voice”. I think it expresses Martha’s anxiety
Luke 10:40 – 41 Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.
Martha(interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.
Luke 10:40 – 41 The Voice
Be still Martha. You seem to be exhibiting a bit of rage here with your lazy sister! Your schedule is eating you up, and you are coming off as a whiny nag. As believers, we must remember that those we venerate as saints were humans with the same frailties we experience each day. Martha was struggling, appreciating the situation of having the Messiah in her presence!
David is speaking of fretting not over the success of the evil man, and this doesn’t directly relate to Martha and Mary, yet there are similarities, there are attitudes that seem to parallel David’s concerns.
Be still and fret not.
For me, this is a herculean effort, and even in this closing, I am thinking of doing, working, performing this injunction, of disciplining my life to conform – Oh blasted thoughts.
But wait – It is not about you and I. We are to look to our Savior, and be still before Him, and wait patiently. It is good to look to Him and see how he deals with Martha
Jesus is the Savior and He loves Martha.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. – John 11:5
Jesus is the Savior. Martha was a “woman of action” and went to the Savior – He was approachable, even though He had upbraided her in her little fit above. Yet she expressed a faith in the Savior
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” – John 11:21-23
Did Martha become Mary? No – She still served.
So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. – John 12:2 ESV
It was her nature, even as it may be our nature to be about, working and scheduling, thinking and doing. But this doesn’t negate the need to be still and wait patiently on the Lord.
It is a respite for the soul to be still and to wait.
Do not refuse this great blessing Carl!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
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10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
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12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
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14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Psalm 37
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
Psalm 37
20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish–like smoke they vanish away.
Psalm 37
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Psalm 37
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
In our last post, we discovered that David was speaking to us of anger and envy in the believers life, or to be clearer, of the rejection of anger and envy in the saints life. It is to be replaced with a realization that the evil doer, the one who does wrong to succeed, has a short time left. Shortness of time. No longevity, no duration, no constancy. A soon coming end of their success.
Let’s consider our next couplet of verses.
Psalm 37
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
David begins this couplet with the penultimate desire of the saint – to trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord, and out of this trust, do good in the land, as opposed to those evil doers, those who do wrong. Do not base your life on the apparent results of the evil doers, those who find success by abandoning truth. No, focus on the type of God we have. One who is all wise, ever powerful, and yet meek, willing to bend down to our condition, to our failures and feebleness. One who is trustworthy, who exhibits His trustworthiness as we trust Him. Each time we cling to His principles, each time we believe His Word, each time we stand against the wind of public opinion or the evil doer who mocks and persecutes, He shows Himself to be trustworthy. But we must stand. We must trust in the Lord.
A brother years back tried to explain trust to me and it was when the popular slogan “If God said it I believe it’ was influencing the church. It is the very definition of trust, is it not? Sorry to say, I do not believe (trust) that it is a helpful definition.
This brother added one critical term to the saying that I have never forgotten. Trust is hearing God’s Word, understanding God’s Word and then obeying God’s Word.
We need to understand God’s word, in order to have faith. With a faith that includes understanding, or better yet, because of a faith that includes understanding, we are to do good in the land. We can have an understanding that evil doers have a limited time of enjoying their success.
What is it that David speaks of as the expectation, or reward of the saint who trusts in the Lord and does good?
He describes the saint as “dwelling” in the land. To “dwell” in the land implies an expectation of long duration, of a settled condition. Synonyms such as to settle down, to abide, to continue or to remain are found in the Hebrew dictionaries. David is not giving the impression that the saint is to expect a short lived experience, like the evil doer!
He then goes on to emphasize the duration of the saints expectations by describing the dwelling with living securely (CSB), enjoy safe pasture (NIV), prosper (NLT), enjoy security (RSV), be fed (KJV). Each of these translations give us added encouragement to expect not only a long duration, but a fruitful duration.
Delight yourself in the LORD. With verse 4, it appears David is building upon the former action of trust. Consider my earthly condition with my favorite wife.
I met my lady years ago on a bus, and her character was one of truth and conviction. I found her word to be trustworthy. I could easily trust her, understanding that what she said she meant, and what she promised she would do. Trusting her was a first step in my relationship with my wife. It is the bedrock of our marriage and as we grew together as a couple, our unfamiliarity with each of others foibles fell away and we entered into an existence of simple enjoyment. This enjoyment, as last night when she came in the door, I found myself smiling. You know, I have found myself smiling much these last years when I think of her, look to her, hear her voice on the phone. I believe this is the condition of the saint David is describing. Not something we are to work up, sweat over to create a feeling of enjoyment. Be faithful, be thankful, know the Lord and His goodness. Constancy in knowing the true God will create this feeling of enjoyment, this phase of delighting in Him. I do have to admit, this delighting, as describing in the Old Testament, has an intimate connotation. To delight is to enjoy.
In our next post, we will consider the third admonition David gives in the saints experience. For now, consider how you trust Him.
Remember that trusting is to hear a message, understand it, and to comply. Trust is a response to a faithful person, a natural response to someone who has proven Himself over and over again. Consider the many times the Father has given you direction, guidance, encouragement, strength, and deliverance. He has provided a Savior that not only humbled Himself to shame, but suffered an unjust torture and death for your salvation and deliverance. He is easy to trust if the message is not silenced with the raging voices of the world, if it isn’t garbled with the religious raucous we live in, and is not nullified by that self hating voice we sometimes hear.
Delighting is an enjoyable experience, an experience that is not a drudgery or a “grinding of the teeth” to endure. simply , and I have found that the trust has grown into a delight, into a sense of inner happiness, for I know she is always on the lookout for me. The
Try to listen to Him today. and tomorrow. And the next day. And find the delight David speaks of
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In our previous post, we visited verses 3 and 4, and found keys descriptors of the saints life. Trusting in the Lord and delighting in the Lord. I suggested that this is somewhat of a progression in the saints life, and have found it to be true for myself. But before we get into this post, let’s remember why we are here. Let’s consider the Bible and read the passage for this post
Psalm 37
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
As mentioned above, in the previous verses, David spoke of trust and delight. In this couplet, he introduces the third, overall characteristic of the saint, and that is to commit to the Lord.
I tried to explain my understanding of these two characteristics of the saint, that is of trust and delight, as it relates to my relationship with my wife. I find this last admonition, of committing, to easily and naturally continue this storyline.
Referring to my trust in my wife, and my first understanding of her character, I easily believed her words. I found it to be an enjoyable experience to be around her, to try to understand her and to please her, to grow together and to enjoy each others company. Both of these characteristics (that is trusting in and delighting in) have continued through the years, and generally increased consistently. (Hey we are human we have a had a few bumps along the way – Mostly on me!)
But to commit. This is the topic for this blog, for David instructs the saint to
Commit your way to the LORD;….
To commit. To throw your lot in with, to pledge allegiance to, to do, perform or perpetuate. This is an action word of course, and speaks of our orthopraxy, the way we live.
Let me give a bit of an example.
I am over 60 yrs old and I shall be passing from this sphere soon. My mind tells me that to plant an oak tree would be a task that I would not likely benefit from, and yet my faith tells me that planting trees is a good thing. Now of course this thought must be carried over into every aspect of life, not simply restricted to horticulture. But I hope you see my point.
Why life a life of faith? Why continue to commit to a principle, a friend, a mate or the living God, if we have seemingly have diminishing returns as we edge closer to our earthly cessation. We need to be reminded that to commit is not a bet with the odds in our favor, or is it to be dependent on some future occurrence, that if not fulfilled, allows an escape clause to be exercised.
We may never see many of the benefits of a life of faith, of a commitment to a living God, during this 70 odd years on this planet, but that is not the point.
No – Commitment is based on relationship, or better stated (since David said it not I), on trust, for he follows his encouragement to commit with a synonym, that is to
….trust in him…
I left the semi colon in the previous portion of the verse as a reminder to myself that the purpose of a semi colon (;) is to be placed in between a list or series of ideas that are closely related. To commit is closely related to trust, and in my experience, is a fruit of trust.
I will gladly commit to a cause that I trust, that I believe in. I will gladly commit to my wife because she is one I delight in. I will with joy commit to the ever faithful One, the One who fully committed to me in my lostness.
But in all of this discussion, I have accentuated the aspect of trust, delight and commitment, without a corresponding reaction, and yet this is not the God we serve. We can not demand from the King, but we can know his heart and that He is the ever faithful One, One we have learned to trust, that we delight in as we learn His ways and His care for His people.
David continues with the following statement, as God’s response to the saint.
and he will act.
David stated “He will act”. Remember dear friend, that David was pre-cross, a thousand years away from that cruel day. And yet the ultimate “act” of God was completed, performed for us. He “acted” by hanging on that cruel cross.
Of course, as we seek to walk with Him during our sojourn down here, He blesses our feeble efforts with acts of mercy, and we surely need the encouragement as we troddle along. But never let the current blessings we may be experiencing (or the burdens either) cloud our view of that day when He acted.
Commit to the Faithful One. Ask Him for the strength to cling to Him, for in ourselves, we surely do not have the ability to.
Praise His name, and be thankful for all His goodness. His mercies extend every day.
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7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Be still. Rest. Do nothing. Grow dumb, in that no voice may erupt from the mouth. This term actually may be translated as be astounded, or stupified. Keep silent.
Be still before the Lord. No demands or defense. How often do you enter into prayer, whether on your knees or walking into work and you are either defending some action you may be ashamed of (sometimes called confession) or boasting of your latest good deed – don’t deny you do it!
This passage speaks of time again. The lost one has little time. The saint may expect much time. And the Lord isn’t bound by time. Wait patiently for the Lord, for He isn’t on my schedule.
And yet I gotta get the widget sent off, and a dozen doohickies need to be greased, along with the thingamajig and whatchmacallit, both of them are calling to me for answers! Oh the tyranny of the time piece! Oh I am so burdened with the cares of this life and David is telling us to Be still before the Lord and wait. Wait patiently.
If I were to admit to any failure in my Christian life ( and there are many!) this particular blessing of a “timelessness before the Lord” a period of not thinking schedule or duty, of not defending past decisions or worrying about future reactions, of ignoring “possible” outcomes in the coming days.
Be still. A constant attitude of doing, running, moving, thinking, writing, working, hurrying and “being about our Master’s work” may be a trap many of us have fallen into.
Martha was there right with me, getting food ready for the crowd. Doing, scheduling, working and eventually whining to the Lord about some one else.
Mary was before the Lord, being still, waiting on the Lord for His instruction. I imagine she was in a very comfortable mind set, open to His teaching and looking up to Him, seeking to understand and not defend a previous belief. I wanna think this is the condition Mary was in.
Martha seemed to be fretting, and remember this fretting had the component of anger associated with it.
Let’s listen in to Martha’s request as read in a free translation called “The Voice”. I think it expresses Martha’s anxiety
Luke 10:40 – 41 Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.
Martha(interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.
Luke 10:40 – 41 The Voice
Be still Martha. You seem to be exhibiting a bit of rage here with your lazy sister! Your schedule is eating you up, and you are coming off as a whiny nag. As believers, we must remember that those we venerate as saints were humans with the same frailties we experience each day. Martha was struggling, appreciating the situation of having the Messiah in her presence!
David is speaking of fretting not over the success of the evil man, and this doesn’t directly relate to Martha and Mary, yet there are similarities, there are attitudes that seem to parallel David’s concerns.
Be still and fret not.
For me, this is a herculean effort, and even in this closing, I am thinking of doing, working, performing this injunction, of disciplining my life to conform – Oh blasted thoughts.
But wait – It is not about you and I. We are to look to our Savior, and be still before Him, and wait patiently. It is good to look to Him and see how he deals with Martha
Jesus is the Savior and He loves Martha.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. – John 11:5
Jesus is the Savior. Martha was a “woman of action” and went to the Savior – He was approachable, even though He had upbraided her in her little fit above. Yet she expressed a faith in the Savior
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” – John 11:21-23
Did Martha become Mary? No – She still served.
So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. – John 12:2 ESV
It was her nature, even as it may be our nature to be about, working and scheduling, thinking and doing. But this doesn’t negate the need to be still and wait patiently on the Lord.
It is a respite for the soul to be still and to wait.
Do not refuse this great blessing Carl!
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8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
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10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
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12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
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14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
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16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Psalm 37
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
Psalm 37
20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish–like smoke they vanish away.
Psalm 37
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Psalm 37
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
There was a time in my Christian walk when I first read Psalm 37 in it’s entirely and was literally amazed at the number of familiar verses I found in the passage. It seemed like I had heard each of these verses in conversations or sermons, study books or devotionals. Bumper stickers, bookmarks, posters, book titles – you get my point. I suppose this statement reveals that the Old Testament did not hold a place of priority for myself in my early Christian walk, and to that truth, I admit it, – I am guilty. But no more.
Our first two verses describe the content of the psalm, and the two parties discussed, that is the believer, and the evildoer. Throughout this psalm, David speaks of the characteristics that are to belong to the believer and the fruit of the life a believer is to live.
David also speaks of the evil doer, the characteristics of the life of an evildoer, and the end he will experience.
An an introduction, lets read the first two verses and consider the message the King of Israel is providing us.
Psalm 37
1 Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
David is directing himself, and by association ourselves, not to fret.
To fret. What is tarnation is it “to fret”. My son is a guitarist and when I hear of fret, I think of the neck of a guitar. A secondary definition, I suppose is that to fret is to worry. That is so applicable to my station in life – I am a chief worrier, I actually worry about worrying too much! (I gotta get a life!)
David instructs his soul not to fret, or as I imagined, not to worry. But dang it all, according to a quick study, worry is not the way some understand this term.
The term “fret” is a translation of the Hebrew word “ḥārâ”, Strongs H2734 The good ol’ KJV translates this term in the following ways.
Worry, or any synonym of worry isn’t popping up in the list now is it? It seems synonyms for fret settle around a word meaning anger, wrath or hot displeasure. Not a description of a man in a corner, sitting quietly and worrying.
Isn’t that interesting. David is telling himself not to be angry, displeased, burn up or grieve out over the actions and seeming success of the evildoer. Not to quit worrying. Remember who we are talking of here, the great King of Israel, the man of action that took on any enemy God pointed at. He wasn’t characterized by worry.
He goes on to describe a second response of the human heart, that is of envy. Envy, the green eyed monster. Envy also has a component of a burning with zeal to it, but envy is strictly not equal to jealously. (A previous post on envy, Love Like Jesus – Without Envy may be of interest to the reader.)
Why David? Why should we reject this seemingly righteous feeling of anger and envy towards this apparent success of those who disobey and reject God’s way? Why David – It just isn’t fair!
The best way to bring justice into this condition of apparent success of the lost is to consider their end. They will burn in hell and suffer for all eternity, with no relief and no hope, writing in pain and hating God.
Wow Carl – Are you sure this is David’s message? Ok Carl – let’s just read the passage without dragging some end time theology into it. David is bringing to our attention the shortness of their time, not the result of their crime. (Wow – a poet and didn’t even know it.) David uses terms like fade and wither, an eventual ending of their success, not writhing and screaming in some afterlife that may not have been very clear to the Old Testament saint.
David is describing the here and now, and of the basis of the saints peace in that the success of the evil man will be short lived. Later on in this fantastic passage, David describes the rewards of a saints confidence in the Lord, of the fruit of a settled trust in Him, of the trophy of God’s blessing on a man or woman who shuns anger and envy, (along with a host of additional attitudes David will teach us).
What a fantastic psalm. I am looking forward to our foray into this psalm, but for now I need to close, since if I continue with the verses 3 & 4, I will surely be found to be long in the tooth. In conclusion, consider David’s admonition for the saint.
Fret not
Don’t be angry over the apparent (and seemingly very real) success of evil doers. Their day will come and we will sorrow when it does, for the very real loss they will experience.
Do not envy
Don’t long for the fruit of wrongdoers, but enjoy the blessings that God has provided. Look to Him for your source of joy. Don’t look to what others have, and envy. (The advertising industry understands the power of what “other’s have” over our desires, and we know the advertising industry is not working for the Lord, now are they?)
God is good and His people have much to be thankful for. May His name be honored in our daily lives, and may we reflect the character of our God, and not of this world.
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In our last post, we discovered that David was speaking to us of anger and envy in the believers life, or to be clearer, of the rejection of anger and envy in the saints life. It is to be replaced with a realization that the evil doer, the one who does wrong to succeed, has a short time left. Shortness of time. No longevity, no duration, no constancy. A soon coming end of their success.
Let’s consider our next couplet of verses.
Psalm 37
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
David begins this couplet with the penultimate desire of the saint – to trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord, and out of this trust, do good in the land, as opposed to those evil doers, those who do wrong. Do not base your life on the apparent results of the evil doers, those who find success by abandoning truth. No, focus on the type of God we have. One who is all wise, ever powerful, and yet meek, willing to bend down to our condition, to our failures and feebleness. One who is trustworthy, who exhibits His trustworthiness as we trust Him. Each time we cling to His principles, each time we believe His Word, each time we stand against the wind of public opinion or the evil doer who mocks and persecutes, He shows Himself to be trustworthy. But we must stand. We must trust in the Lord.
A brother years back tried to explain trust to me and it was when the popular slogan “If God said it I believe it’ was influencing the church. It is the very definition of trust, is it not? Sorry to say, I do not believe (trust) that it is a helpful definition.
This brother added one critical term to the saying that I have never forgotten. Trust is hearing God’s Word, understanding God’s Word and then obeying God’s Word.
We need to understand God’s word, in order to have faith. With a faith that includes understanding, or better yet, because of a faith that includes understanding, we are to do good in the land. We can have an understanding that evil doers have a limited time of enjoying their success.
What is it that David speaks of as the expectation, or reward of the saint who trusts in the Lord and does good?
He describes the saint as “dwelling” in the land. To “dwell” in the land implies an expectation of long duration, of a settled condition. Synonyms such as to settle down, to abide, to continue or to remain are found in the Hebrew dictionaries. David is not giving the impression that the saint is to expect a short lived experience, like the evil doer!
He then goes on to emphasize the duration of the saints expectations by describing the dwelling with living securely (CSB), enjoy safe pasture (NIV), prosper (NLT), enjoy security (RSV), be fed (KJV). Each of these translations give us added encouragement to expect not only a long duration, but a fruitful duration.
Delight yourself in the LORD. With verse 4, it appears David is building upon the former action of trust. Consider my earthly condition with my favorite wife.
I met my lady years ago on a bus, and her character was one of truth and conviction. I found her word to be trustworthy. I could easily trust her, understanding that what she said she meant, and what she promised she would do. Trusting her was a first step in my relationship with my wife. It is the bedrock of our marriage and as we grew together as a couple, our unfamiliarity with each of others foibles fell away and we entered into an existence of simple enjoyment. This enjoyment, as last night when she came in the door, I found myself smiling. You know, I have found myself smiling much these last years when I think of her, look to her, hear her voice on the phone. I believe this is the condition of the saint David is describing. Not something we are to work up, sweat over to create a feeling of enjoyment. Be faithful, be thankful, know the Lord and His goodness. Constancy in knowing the true God will create this feeling of enjoyment, this phase of delighting in Him. I do have to admit, this delighting, as describing in the Old Testament, has an intimate connotation. To delight is to enjoy.
In our next post, we will consider the third admonition David gives in the saints experience. For now, consider how you trust Him.
Remember that trusting is to hear a message, understand it, and to comply. Trust is a response to a faithful person, a natural response to someone who has proven Himself over and over again. Consider the many times the Father has given you direction, guidance, encouragement, strength, and deliverance. He has provided a Savior that not only humbled Himself to shame, but suffered an unjust torture and death for your salvation and deliverance. He is easy to trust if the message is not silenced with the raging voices of the world, if it isn’t garbled with the religious raucous we live in, and is not nullified by that self hating voice we sometimes hear.
Delighting is an enjoyable experience, an experience that is not a drudgery or a “grinding of the teeth” to endure. simply , and I have found that the trust has grown into a delight, into a sense of inner happiness, for I know she is always on the lookout for me. The
Try to listen to Him today. and tomorrow. And the next day. And find the delight David speaks of
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In our previous post, we visited verses 3 and 4, and found keys descriptors of the saints life. Trusting in the Lord and delighting in the Lord. I suggested that this is somewhat of a progression in the saints life, and have found it to be true for myself. But before we get into this post, let’s remember why we are here. Let’s consider the Bible and read the passage for this post
Psalm 37
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
As mentioned above, in the previous verses, David spoke of trust and delight. In this couplet, he introduces the third, overall characteristic of the saint, and that is to commit to the Lord.
I tried to explain my understanding of these two characteristics of the saint, that is of trust and delight, as it relates to my relationship with my wife. I find this last admonition, of committing, to easily and naturally continue this storyline.
Referring to my trust in my wife, and my first understanding of her character, I easily believed her words. I found it to be an enjoyable experience to be around her, to try to understand her and to please her, to grow together and to enjoy each others company. Both of these characteristics (that is trusting in and delighting in) have continued through the years, and generally increased consistently. (Hey we are human we have a had a few bumps along the way – Mostly on me!)
But to commit. This is the topic for this blog, for David instructs the saint to
Commit your way to the LORD;….
To commit. To throw your lot in with, to pledge allegiance to, to do, perform or perpetuate. This is an action word of course, and speaks of our orthopraxy, the way we live.
Let me give a bit of an example.
I am over 60 yrs old and I shall be passing from this sphere soon. My mind tells me that to plant an oak tree would be a task that I would not likely benefit from, and yet my faith tells me that planting trees is a good thing. Now of course this thought must be carried over into every aspect of life, not simply restricted to horticulture. But I hope you see my point.
Why life a life of faith? Why continue to commit to a principle, a friend, a mate or the living God, if we have seemingly have diminishing returns as we edge closer to our earthly cessation. We need to be reminded that to commit is not a bet with the odds in our favor, or is it to be dependent on some future occurrence, that if not fulfilled, allows an escape clause to be exercised.
We may never see many of the benefits of a life of faith, of a commitment to a living God, during this 70 odd years on this planet, but that is not the point.
No – Commitment is based on relationship, or better stated (since David said it not I), on trust, for he follows his encouragement to commit with a synonym, that is to
….trust in him…
I left the semi colon in the previous portion of the verse as a reminder to myself that the purpose of a semi colon (;) is to be placed in between a list or series of ideas that are closely related. To commit is closely related to trust, and in my experience, is a fruit of trust.
I will gladly commit to a cause that I trust, that I believe in. I will gladly commit to my wife because she is one I delight in. I will with joy commit to the ever faithful One, the One who fully committed to me in my lostness.
But in all of this discussion, I have accentuated the aspect of trust, delight and commitment, without a corresponding reaction, and yet this is not the God we serve. We can not demand from the King, but we can know his heart and that He is the ever faithful One, One we have learned to trust, that we delight in as we learn His ways and His care for His people.
David continues with the following statement, as God’s response to the saint.
and he will act.
David stated “He will act”. Remember dear friend, that David was pre-cross, a thousand years away from that cruel day. And yet the ultimate “act” of God was completed, performed for us. He “acted” by hanging on that cruel cross.
Of course, as we seek to walk with Him during our sojourn down here, He blesses our feeble efforts with acts of mercy, and we surely need the encouragement as we troddle along. But never let the current blessings we may be experiencing (or the burdens either) cloud our view of that day when He acted.
Commit to the Faithful One. Ask Him for the strength to cling to Him, for in ourselves, we surely do not have the ability to.
Praise His name, and be thankful for all His goodness. His mercies extend every day.
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7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Be still. Rest. Do nothing. Grow dumb, in that no voice may erupt from the mouth. This term actually may be translated as be astounded, or stupified. Keep silent.
Be still before the Lord. No demands or defense. How often do you enter into prayer, whether on your knees or walking into work and you are either defending some action you may be ashamed of (sometimes called confession) or boasting of your latest good deed – don’t deny you do it!
This passage speaks of time again. The lost one has little time. The saint may expect much time. And the Lord isn’t bound by time. Wait patiently for the Lord, for He isn’t on my schedule.
And yet I gotta get the widget sent off, and a dozen doohickies need to be greased, along with the thingamajig and whatchmacallit, both of them are calling to me for answers! Oh the tyranny of the time piece! Oh I am so burdened with the cares of this life and David is telling us to Be still before the Lord and wait. Wait patiently.
If I were to admit to any failure in my Christian life ( and there are many!) this particular blessing of a “timelessness before the Lord” a period of not thinking schedule or duty, of not defending past decisions or worrying about future reactions, of ignoring “possible” outcomes in the coming days.
Be still. A constant attitude of doing, running, moving, thinking, writing, working, hurrying and “being about our Master’s work” may be a trap many of us have fallen into.
Martha was there right with me, getting food ready for the crowd. Doing, scheduling, working and eventually whining to the Lord about some one else.
Mary was before the Lord, being still, waiting on the Lord for His instruction. I imagine she was in a very comfortable mind set, open to His teaching and looking up to Him, seeking to understand and not defend a previous belief. I wanna think this is the condition Mary was in.
Martha seemed to be fretting, and remember this fretting had the component of anger associated with it.
Let’s listen in to Martha’s request as read in a free translation called “The Voice”. I think it expresses Martha’s anxiety
Luke 10:40 – 41 Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.
Martha(interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.
Luke 10:40 – 41 The Voice
Be still Martha. You seem to be exhibiting a bit of rage here with your lazy sister! Your schedule is eating you up, and you are coming off as a whiny nag. As believers, we must remember that those we venerate as saints were humans with the same frailties we experience each day. Martha was struggling, appreciating the situation of having the Messiah in her presence!
David is speaking of fretting not over the success of the evil man, and this doesn’t directly relate to Martha and Mary, yet there are similarities, there are attitudes that seem to parallel David’s concerns.
Be still and fret not.
For me, this is a herculean effort, and even in this closing, I am thinking of doing, working, performing this injunction, of disciplining my life to conform – Oh blasted thoughts.
But wait – It is not about you and I. We are to look to our Savior, and be still before Him, and wait patiently. It is good to look to Him and see how he deals with Martha
Jesus is the Savior and He loves Martha.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. – John 11:5
Jesus is the Savior. Martha was a “woman of action” and went to the Savior – He was approachable, even though He had upbraided her in her little fit above. Yet she expressed a faith in the Savior
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” – John 11:21-23
Did Martha become Mary? No – She still served.
So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. – John 12:2 ESV
It was her nature, even as it may be our nature to be about, working and scheduling, thinking and doing. But this doesn’t negate the need to be still and wait patiently on the Lord.
It is a respite for the soul to be still and to wait.
Do not refuse this great blessing Carl!
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8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
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10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
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12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
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14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
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16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Psalm 37
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
Psalm 37
20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish–like smoke they vanish away.
Psalm 37
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Psalm 37
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Psalm 37
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
In our last post, we considered David’s experience under God’s hand, considering verse 1-10, and 17, 18
Todays post will deal with David’s experience with men while in the same condition of sin we considered in the last post. (Psalms for Psome – Ps 38 – A)
May I simply state that there are some differences that are somewhat enlightening. Let’s take a few moments to read through the remaining verses of this wonderful psalm.
Psalm 38
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. 12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. 13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. 16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!”
In our previous post David refers to the light of his eyes having left him (v 10), but in relation to his distress before God, he mentions nothing of diminished hearing.
When God “remembers” ,
it is synonymous with taking action!
As a matter of fact, his groaning and cries were expected to be answered by the Lord, especially when you consider the psalm is a remembrance psalm (v 1), a psalm that speaks of God “doing” something, of remembering and acting.
David was all ears for a response from God, but not so with men. He has become like a deaf man, he “does not hear”. I am taking this as a choice on his part, not that he had for some reason become physically deaf. David makes a choice to go deaf to men.
Although I cannot say I have been under the intense scrutiny that David is experiencing, the council he provides is invaluable. How often have we heard a comment or statement from a friend or foe, that has intimidated, coerced, or simply discouraged us from the truth of God in our lives. Might it me better to be “deaf” to some of the statements made by our fellow man.
Also, it is revealing that the recounting of God’s dealing with David in verses 3 – 8, there is no mystery, no injustice or duplicity hinted at. God is dealing with his servant and the servant understands God is dealing with him. David knew of God’s actions and was asking for mercy from God, since God is bountiful in mercy.
Not so with men. Mercy isn’t hinted at in the verses David pens in relation to men. No, it is not so withmen. David speaks of men seeking his hurt, even his seeking his death. David describes men laying snares, or spreading lies and treachery to inflict pain.
It appears the only way for men to relate to David is through the poisonous tongue, a lie here, and a deception there. They spend time thinking of ways to cause hurt and pain on the King. Meditate on evil intent. Spread their disinformation, trusting that others will simply accept the gossip, the lies and deception. It costs men nothing to lie (in their minds) and provides the effect they want (they think they want!)
This is instructive for those of us who are living in ‘1984’, as it seems we are slipping/falling into a culture where truth is an image and “facts” can be manipulated to an end. Blatant lies are rampant and pushed as truth, and we cannot afford to simply take every news report or headline as a fact. We must be grounded in the truth of Scripture, the hard information that David reveals to us in this passage, that there are men out there seeking our hurt, our poverty or weakness and our very lives. Simple acceptance of a human authority is a risky thing nowadays. Selective deafness, may have an advantage. Selective deafness and a discerning spirit, based on the written word of God.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. 20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
Our foes are very real, and their strength may seem to be gaining in these days. As believers in the Chief Shepherd, we should expect to be hated wrongfully, and we need to follow after good, no matter the response from those around us.
David’s final prayer is worth dwelling on, for only the Risen One can help us.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
I love the smell of gardenias, and living in the south as we do, we have the climate to grow those bad boys. A few years ago, my wife recognized my hankering for the smell of gardenias and bought four or five plants for our back yard.
A few years passed and this year, the “hills were alive” with the essence of gardenia. It was glorious. For approx. 2 weeks, the plants exploded in blooms, and the yard was awash in the most glorious aroma. I ended up sitting on the grass for periods of time, just downwind from one particular plant that produced more flowers than leaves. It was truly unbelievable. One of those times when the goodness of God was experienced in a very unexpected way.
Since then, my wife and I have been busy with a number of tasks that have drawn us away from the back yard, but yesterday I had a reprieve and entered our gardens out back. Our nectarine trees are full of fruit, so much so that we have had to brace the branches from snapping off – our peach tree lost the central trunk three years ago from too much fruit on it! The plums are actually producing fruit this year – a first!
God is good, and the fruits of our labor in the back yard is a reflection on the work of God in nature.
But as I mentioned earlier, the gardenia bushes were my first target, hoping to smell that smell again, but alas, the bush had browned out. The bush was still plenty healthy, with vibrant green leaves, and plenty of life, but the flower had browned. out.
Sad day to say the least, but I decided I wanted to smell that smell again, so I got my pruning shears and started “hacking” (pruning for those of you who are knowledgeable of horticulture!).
As I mentioned above, this particular bush had been thick with flowers, so the hacking was fairly extensive. As I hacked and hacked, I thought of the next crop of gardenias and the joy it would bring, and also of the last crop of gardenias and the surprise and delight we experienced with the flowers.
And then I thought of Psalm 1, where the saint is described as having seasons of fruit bearing, but that the leaves were evergreen (See Psalms for Psome – Psalm 1). This gardenia produced such an abundant harvest of flowers, and in such an unexpected time, but the season of the flower had passed. After all, it was but for a season. The leaves continued, showing life, but the fruit / flower was but for a time.
And as soon as that thought settled in my mind, John 15 also nudged it’s way into my thinking, especially when I considered that my hacking was fairly aggressive.
If my wife had been there, she may have asked my to take a little less “off the sides”, if you know what I mean. No, this bush, to produce again, needed to be aggressively hacked, reduced in size so the root stock could support vigorous growth in the future.
As God may be “hacking” at your life consider two take aways from my day in the back yard.
First – Occasional Fruit Bearing
Psalm 1 speaks of seasonal fruit bearing, and yet consistent green growth. A consistent growth based on a plants roots near to the source of water, and yet fruit bearing in its season.
Secondly – Maximum Fruit Bearing
John 15 speaks of the Master gardener “hacking” at our lives for the purpose of greater fruit bearing, whatever that fruit bearing may consist of. He may be aggressive in His “hacking” at times, but His purpose is to get rid of the brown flower – it has served its purpose – and for the bush to produce fresh flowers that will please the gardener and visitors of the garden. As the hacking hits home, remember that the hacking doesn’t hurt the root, simply the branches. Not the invisible, only the visible. Not the life, but the evidence of life at one time.
Remember the importance of the root. And hack away!
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
As mentioned in our introduction Psalm 38 is a psalm of David in sin. The next two posts will consider…
David’s experience under God’s hand
Verses 1-10 with verses 17 & 18 giving a summary.
David’s experience with men
Verses 11-16 with verses 19-20 supplying a summary.
In verses 1-10, David gives us his experience in relation the the Lord, his God. One subject that David does not resort to is excuse making. He does not deny his sin. Denial of sin is not the intent of David’s cries. He is addressing the what, not the why of his experience in this psalm
Lets look to the Psalm
1 A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.
Anger and wrath. David realizes the effect of his sin on his relationship with the God of Israel. He is not denying the anger, or the justification for the wrath, the slow burning wrath that is welling up in God towards His servant. He is asking God, his God, to relent, to find mercy. Discipline is actively working in David, Gods arrows reside in David, a wounded warrior. David expresses his condition as an enemy of God, one who is at war with Him, and who is currently wounded with a God’s weapon of choice.
Both the “arrow of God” and the “hand of God” is pressing into David, a relentless piercing of a dart in David and a terrible pressure is on David, constantly present with the King of Israel. The King of Israel is not privileged in his stand with God. It doesn’t work like that in the Christian life. Sin will be exposed! As a matter of fact, he is more responsible since His ministry and work for God is so public!
Sin will be exposed. Sin may be forgiven. Guilt may be absolved, but the repercussions of acts of sin are deep, painful and may be long lasting. David, in the following portion, describes the deep, painful experience of God’s displeasure in his life. His spiritual life is in shambles and his entire existence has lost purpose. Everything he has desired is now up in smoke, and his greatest confidant has become a most powerful enemy.
His existence is tragic. Take a moment and consider.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. 7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
David, the sweet poet of Israel, is using his skill in describing his pain. Festering wounds (like on a battle field) and no soundness of flesh. Is he describing actual physical wounds on a battle field or describing the battle weary condition of his spirit? You be the judge, but I can’t help but see this as David’s inner life, his connection with God being in tatters!
It is interesting that at this time in his life, David was, to all appearances, peaking! He was the King of Israel, and had consistently led his armies to victory. Saul had been defeated, and the nation was unified. The potential for greater dominion was almost indescribable. He had promises directly given by God for his dynasty.
And yet, he was feeble and crushed, groaning out pleas of mourning and sorrow. How different our inner life may be from our appearances.
Take note of this truth, my friends. As we rub shoulders with our brothers and sisters on a Sunday morning, we get the impression all is well in everyone’s life. Not until we gain trust through relationship do we begin to know what is going on inside a brother! And this relationship is only begun in a church meeting. For trust to grow, we have to walk with a brother, share with a sister, do coffee, have lunch, attend to hospital visits, discuss loss jobs, assist in sickness, and experience disappointments.
If you are like myself, we naturally turn away from the pain of others, from those who are “under judgement”, whatever it may be. This is the recipe for a surficial Christianity, where we convince ourselves everything is good, while we sink into a despair and loneliness, a self deception that will cause us to experience our own inner battle.
David has opened up and given us a chance to view his thoughts, fears and struggles. We are reading the writings of a man looking to God, looking for relief, a ceasefire!
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes–it also has gone from me.
How conflicting it must have been that the One David was in battle with, is the very One to which he longed for, that he sighed for. God is the All in All, and His position in our lives is multifaceted. He is not a simple deity that we have constructed in our vain thoughts, but the God of the heavens.
David is on his last legs. He has described his festering wounds, heavy burdens, his mourning and groaning, his failing strength and the light of his eyes – the light is gone!
17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.
David was ready to fall. Constant pain and sorrow were all he could see in his future. There was no hope in his own efforts, and his longing for God was ever present. What conflict! What a dead end for him.
Until confession was offered, there was no resolution. Confession of sin before his holy and loving Father is the only resolution David had.
It is the same for us my friend. It is the only way we may find our way back from a time of rebellion, back to experiencing His loving kindness.
At the risk of repetition, lets consider the last two verses as a conclusion, reminding us of the Kings plea before the Almighty.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart. This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 38 is a psalm of David in sin. He exists in the midst of knowing his own sin before the Lord, of the adultery, the deception, the murder. He has fallen, and is wallowing in a cesspool of condemnation, both in his thoughts, emotions and feelings.
This psalm is a second in a series of psalms that catalogues David’s writings while he is in the throes of his estrangement from God. Psalm 6, our current Psalm, Psalm 51 and Psalm 32 gives us an overview of King David’s struggles in processing through this self inflicted personal and public tragedy. This psalm provides David’s inner doubts and despair, much like Psalm 6, but prior to his full confession and repentance in front of the Living God in Psalm 51.
This psalm may be considered seeing two “persons” impacting David and his sin.
First off, David describes his Experience with God. We will look at verses 1-10 and summary verses 17 & 18 in our next post. A concluding post will look at verses 11-16, recording David’s Experience with men. Verses 19-20 will supply a summary regarding men and their “mercy” (ahem) towards David.
The last two verses caught my attention this morning, and I would like to settle on them for a wee bit. It is a common refrain through the psalms that although many psalms start out in sorrow and in pain, each psalm ultimately ends with hope. This particular psalm describes a saints heart when in despair, a hope the saint may have while under trial, while being abandoned, while alone and under conviction of sin.
Let’s take a moment to read the last two verses and consider.
Psalm 38
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Take note my friends, that David, in the midst of all the pain and loss he describes in the verse 1-20, knows Who to call out to. He knows the One that can be approached, that will act. He calls out to God, claiming three names in his relationship with him.
He calls out to God as
LORD (Yᵊhōvâ)
The God of the covenant, of the promise. David call’s out to the One who initiated relationship, who pursued and promised.
my God (‘ĕlōhîm)
The name Moses used to describe the all-powerful creator of all things. The One to whom nothing stands in the way, the One to whom David claims as his own, his God, his powerful God
O Lord (‘ăḏōnāy)
A reference to David’s personal Master, his Lord, not just the Lord, but his own Lord. Even in the midst of his pain and distress, he never disowned his Lord. The very pain he went through may have been because he hung on, he persevered with a faith that accepted his sin, that owned his culpability and brought it before his Master.
But let us not stop with the three primary names David refers to in his closing plea. He also tags on “my salvation” and I realize I may be taking license in my next statement, but consider.
Many times in the Old Testament, God is referred to as the salvation of the nation of Israel and of individuals. Two verses as examples.
But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. – Isa 45:17
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. – Lam 3:26
Let’s remember whom God has designated as the One we are to look to for salvation, for His very name is Jesus.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Mat 1:21 ESV
When David tagged on “my salvation”, was he looking to the One who would walk amongst us, live a spotless life, speak truth to hearts and experience physical, emotional, spiritual sufferings we know nothing about. I like to think he was.
My salvation is found in no one else, not even my own self effort or supposed obedience to any moral code I may have erected in my mind.
David was in the midst of his deepest failure, and in the middle of this deep valley of despair, he looked to Him who was the salvation of Israel, and did not promise to “do better”, or “act nicer”. No – his trust was in someone outside of himself, in the ever living One.
Jesus is worthy of our trust. He is the only One we can approach in the midst of our sin, whom we can have confidence in that He will not utterly reject us.
He is good. Look to Him in your despair, in your pain, in your disappointment. He has suffered beyond our comprehension, understands deep despair, and disappointment and is waiting there for us.
Truly, He is good!
I do hope you will join me as we begin at the beginning of this psalm in our next posting. (I think I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself!) Hope to hear from you – Thanks for visiting!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! 11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.
David breaks forth in prayer. He is walking in the steadfast lovingkindness of the Lord, and is asking for a continuance of this love for the ones who know Him.
To ask God to “continue” His steadfast love is to ask God to “stretch it out”, or to lengthen out this steadfast love David experienced. And yet the psalmist, David himself, speaks of the steadfast love of the Lord as being from everlasting to everlasting in Psalm 103:17.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, – Psalm 103:17 ESV
Here we see a glimpse of a saint praying for something that is a reality. David is praying for the extension of the Lord’s steadfast love into the future in our verse above, and yet in the 103rd psalm, David teaches us that the same steadfast love is constantly on those who fear Him. Is this some sort of contradiction?
Lets read the two passages side by side and consider the message of both.
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you… Psalm 36:10
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him… Psalm 103:17
This “contradiction” disappears in the careful reading of the two texts, as it often is true of apparent contradictions in the Word. Notice that David is praying in Psalm 36:10 for the experience of the steadfast love of the Lord to be stretched out, to continue with the saint who knows the Lord, who is in relationship with the Alpha and Omega.
In Psalm 103:17, David is stating a fact of the steadfast love of the Lord as being “on” the saint. Experience of the saint is not considered in this verse, simply a statement, awesome as it is, of the constant, continual truth of the love of God towards those who fear Him. The lovingkindness of the Lord is on those who fear Him. A fact we can depend on, believe in, find comfort with, even if may not be experiencing the steadfast love of the Lord.
And yet we sometimes (often?) find that our thinking of the lovingkindness of the Lord is distorted, somewhat stilted or twisted. Sometimes, in our “fear of the Lord”, we see Him as One who “lords it over us”, who is scary, somewhat unapproachable, far far away, and even dangerous.
But if I am reading David’s prayer of the 36th psalm correctly, this experience of the steadfast love of the Lord must be a pleasurable, fulfilling, desirable, enticing experience. Else why would he beg for the continuance? And this continuance of the experience of the steadfast love of the Lord is the subject of his prayer, he is seeking to continue to experience this love in his life.
Fear and love, both combined in our experience with the Lord. Fear of the Lord and the steadfast love of the Lord. The fact of His continual love and the desire for the continuance of experiencing His love.
What is missing in my thinking? We all know that our experience and the truth may be completely at odds with each other. I think this is the issue I am considering. Many of my times of living in fear has taught me that it is often not based in truth. I recently posted a time in my life of learning this relationship of fear and truth in Let Me Tell You a Story – Horsehair. In this experience, a single lie settled in my thinking and controlled my thoughts for weeks!
To experience the steadfast love of the Lord is dependent on truth. Imagination, group think, logic and reasoning on their own may only cripple us regarding God and His ways with us. For us to continue to experience the steadfast love of God requires our fear to drive us to truth, to the Word where we find One who approached us, entered a dangerous condition, suffered through terrors, fears and torture, offered up His very life and finally died a cruel death on a bloody cross.
His is the life that had the steadfast continual love of the Lord on Him. He feared the Lord, and the Lord’s love was on Him. He trusted in this truth, even when the experience was excruciating, dealing a death blow to His life.
As we walk this pilgrim way, we need to remember this double pronged truth. Truth that the steadfast love of the Lord is on those who fear Him, and of our need of prayer to experience His love, to be controlled, filled and rejoicing in His love.
He is good.
Let us remember He is a completely different type of love than we naturally understand.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
God’s Goodness to His Own People
David now breaks forth with the experience of the saint, the one who knows the steadfast love of the Lord, and how precious this love is to the saint. The earlier verses described a state that creation existing in, and yet did not appreciate the love of the Lord, those who did not understand or accept this love.
David now speaks of those who have come into covenant with the Lord, whose steadfast love is a constant in their lives. How precious this love is.
Precious
This particular word David uses (yāqār), refers to something that is rare or costly. Let’s consider what David may be saying.
Rare
The first time this word shows up is in 1 Samuel 3:1, where the word of the Lord is described as rare.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. – 1Sa 3:1 ESV
Is David seeking to inform us that the lovingkindness of the Lord is “rare”?
In the time of Eli, the word of the LORD was precious / rare, in that it was uncommon, not a recurring, consistent occurrence. No word of the LORD had been given to man for quite a while, as a matter of fact for decades, and it was precious or rare. To be precious does have a component of rarity, but I see this rarity in that the love of God is of a completely different quality than that of any other love.
God’s lovingkindness is not rare or precious simply because it appears unavailable. This is the result of our blindness and rejection. No, the lovingkindness of the Lord is bountiful. The very next two verses in our psalm speak of the abundance of a feast, and of drinking from a river. These are not descriptions of scarcity!
Costly
This same word that David uses in describing the lovingkindness of God in Psalm 36, is also used of Solomon’s palace foundations. The foundations of the palace were costly stone.
The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. – 1Kings 7:10-11 ESV
So what is David trying to communicate to us? The steadfast love of the Lord is precious, (of a different quality) and costly.
Costly. To be expensive. The lovingkindness of the Lord is costly, but to whom is the cost associated. During the time of David, for the Lord to provide guidance or protection, cost Him. His honor and glory were often dragged through the mud in being associated with the nation of Israel, and with the occasional actions of His greatest saints. He is a God who stoops down to His creation, who associates with the lowly and poor, who exercises a patience and care for His people that we do not understand or often consider.
Of course the saint, as a beggar looking to the Master, could claim a cost in exercising patience for the Lord’s assistance, but we often forget that any assistance is an act of love toward us. Maybe the saint could claim a cost related to discipleship. This is and always will be a reality. This may be an accurate statement, but I’m not sure this is where David is going.
The cost associated with the lovingkindness of the Lord is the cost that the one who loves pays. For the Lord of glory to humble Himself for a small nation in the middle of three continents, with a young shepherd boy raised to King, and promised an never ending dynasty. This is a costly love committing to a young shepherd boy, whose children would eventually commit acts so vile that the kingdom would be lost, and one of those children would be born in a nation under the thumb of Rome, in a manger, with a cross in His path.
Let us remember the preciousness of the love of God, of the quality of the love He has for us, and the cost He paid to flood our lives with His lovingkindness. Let us not consider our cost to high, for if we do, it may be that we have forgotten of the preciousness of the love of God. His love is of a completely different character than our understanding of love, and the cost of His love was His very life.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD.
David begins such a wonderful description of our God, with the backdrop of the wicked man, showing our Gods beauties for all of creation in these two verses.
This post will spend a few minutes in verse six.
Righteousness
When I mention righteousness, what do you think? Is it the idea of always being right? Of never having to say you are sorry?
When I think of righteousness, I think of balance.
Let me explain
God is holy. God is love. God is good. God is gracious, God is mighty, God is great, God is pure, God is jealous, God is true, God is faithful, God is light…. And God is One, perfectly aligned within Himself with each of His attributes, with each of His characteristics. I fear I am speaking foolishly here, but consider. He is not in tension within Himself as to what is a correct action, or struggles with a decision, experiencing inner turmoil as to the proper way to proceed. No, He is at peace within Himself.
Each of these characteristics of our God is not in conflict with one another, where His love is arguing with His purity, (rescue or condemn the sinner) or His holiness is struggling with his mercy (remain separate or join fallen humanity) Each characteristic provides potential conflict for us, if we seek to live within these bounds, but not so with God.
You see, He is righteous, that is, He is not in conflict within Himself, and this balance, this peace is the essence of His righteousness. He is righteous, and performs all things righteously, since He is the standard of all existence. His holiness is not ignored in order to love His creation. His jealously is not staining His faithfulness. No – all of God’s characteristics are in balance, in harmony.
Mount Hermon
This righteousness that belongs to the Lord is solid, without wavering and is a constant within the life of David. David, as he looks to the mountains, sees what he has always seen, a solid mass of immovable rock.
God’s righteousness is visible to all, for the mountains are of the greatest geological formation on the earth, and cannot be hidden.
Judgements
If you are like myself, (which, if you are, try to find a way to change!!) when you hear of “judgement” you automatically think of condemnation. But a “judgement” is simply a decision that is made based on knowledge received, upon which a course of action will be pursued.
If I see an ice cream stand on the side of the road, I judge that it would taste great to have some ice cream, and based on that decision, I slam on the brakes, backup and pull into the parking lot. Although this judgement may satisfy my desire for yummy ice cream and cause a fender bender, my point is made. The results of the judgement may be positive or negative, depending on the recipient!
God’s judgements, His decisions are mysterious. His judgements are past finding out.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! – Rom 11:33 ESV
A number of these decisions may seem to have a negative impact in our experiences, but our interpretation of the judgement may, and usually is, far from the intended purposes designed by God.
You see, God’s judgements, His decisions are like the great deep. David could see the mountains, for the mountains were ever before the psalmists eyes, but the great deep was a massive mystery. Whether he is speaking of the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, or the Mediterranean, the Old Testament prophets knew very little of life in the great depths. Admittedly, the culture was dependent on the sea in many ways, yet the ancient Israelite floated on the sea, and did not delve into the depths. Mysterious, like the judgements of God. Even the great man of God David admitted to his lack of understanding the judgements of our God.
Truly, it is good to remember that there is mystery in our relationship with God, and His Son Jesus Christ. As we walk through our pilgrim way, let us remember that God does mysterious feats that we cannot predict within our lives and the lives of others. And let us be thankful for the mystery, for in all His ways, He is perfectly righteous in all His judgements.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD.
David begins such a wonderful description of our God, with the backdrop of the wicked man, showing our Gods beauties for all of creation in the verses 5 & 6.
This post will spend a few minutes in verse five only, since this description of our God is such a blessing after slugging through the depressing, discouraging, painful description of the wicked man. Necessary, but in no way as edifying as the following passage.
Let’s consider our God.
God’s Goodness to All Creation
David describes four characteristics of the Lord in verses 5 & 6, as he seeks to describe God’s attitude toward all creation. Notice that in verse 6, David speaks of the LORD’s saving of man and beast. Not until the opening of verse 7 does David speak of those who know the love of God.
These verses speak of the universal love God has for His creation.
Steadfast Love
Mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness. The Hebrew word חֶסֶדcheçed, kheh’-sed describes loyal love, a devotional love extending for life
This love is not an emotional love, as we often think of when we speak of love in our modern society. This is a covenantal love, a love of the will. Hosea uses this word in describing the vows God made to the nation of Israel
And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. – Hosea 2:20 ESV
In my research, I found a wonderful resource (Hebrew Word Lessons) I would like to recommend to my reader if they study the Old Testament. I would like to thank Sarah E. Fisher for this work she has provided. Her comments on Hosea 2:19-20 caught my attention and expresses this devotional loyal love better than I.
“Notice the word Hebrew word for LOVE (ahava) was not in God’s wedding vows, but khesed was. Love is an emotion, and emotions can wax and wane. Khesed reflected a boundless, loyal, everlasting,love in action, and this is the kind of love God has for His people. It’s a much, much, fuller, grander love.” Sarah E. Fisher, Hebrew Word Lessons- Khesed- LOYAL LOVE in Action
David is speaking of a loyal, covenantal love, a love that is dependent on God’s loyalty, His faithfulness to his own word. A sure and steady promise is this love of God, of His will for His people, as the writer in Hebrews reminds us.
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. – Hebrews 6:17-18 ESV
David not only expresses the type of love God has for the creation – that is, a loyal, faithful love, not dependent on emotions or feelings, He expands the concept to include the extent of the loyal love. This is beyond me, since the fact that God has entered into a loyal love should be enough to satisfy creation. But David sees this loyal love extending to the heavens, it is beyond his sight, and beyond his comprehension. It is all he can see and he cannot find its limitations.
Praise to the God Who is loyal.
Faithfulness
When the word faith comes up in a conversation, I automatically think of my faith, my belief, my relation to God. In the Old Testament, when faith is mentioned, it was almost universally considered an ongoing commitment, a faithfulness. In this phrase, of course, we are not looking at any of creations faithfulness, for we are sorely lacking in any exercise of faithfulness to our Creator. Truth be told, we are a treacherous, unfaithful, and promise breaking sort.
When push comes to shove, we are a Judas.
When push comes to shove, God is Jesus, the faithful One, who would give up His rights, His glory and power, His honor and dignity in order to be faithful to God, following the Father’s will to the cross. Emotion, as discussed above, was not Jesus friend in the final days, for He cried out to God for a deliverance, and yet He was faithful to the Father.
David again describes this faithfulness as extending to the clouds. When David speaks of clouds in this passage, he refers to a thin cloud, what appeared to him as a fine dust in the skies. A wispy type of cloud.
When I first read this passage this morning, I considered this description of God’s faithfulness to be somewhat less (in extent) than the infinite description of the heavens when he speaks of God’s lovingkindness. I am not convinced that this is David’s intent. I don’t think he is comparing the lovingkindness of God as being greater in extent that God’s faithfulness. David wasn’t an physicist, or a scientist when he penned this beautiful psalm. He was a Hebrew poet. When he looked to the skies, at night, he would see the heavens, during the day, he would recognize the clouds. Both beyond his reach.
This in instructive, as the passage not only speaks of the extent of God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness, but of God’s continual availability. Whether dark or light, God is there to depend on, to relish in His promise of love and faithfulness to His creation.
My friends, when we consider the wicked man as David did in the first four verses, we find a creature that is self centered, internal, taking, plotting, lying and without resistance to evil. Our God has a loyal love and faithfulness, not to ones who deserve it, for then these descriptions of God would be unnecessary. Loyalty and faithfulness is not exercised when both parties are in an enjoyable unbroken relationship. David’s description of God was no less true prior to creation, but when creation fell, and wicked man rose up, the character of God described in these verses became a shining hope, and a benchmark upon which we can know our own state of existence.
Dwell on the lovingkindness and faithfulness of our God this fine day my friend, and rejoice that your very existence came from a loving God, One who is forever faithful.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
1 To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 4 He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.
In our last post, we looked at the first two verses, and it didn’t look good. I mean, the trend of this wicked man was downward from the get go!
Let’s hope for the best, but I’m gonna warn ya. Our next two verses do not provide much hope!
Words
The very words that come out of our mouth are described as “trouble”. Deceit I get, I understand the lying tongue, my goodness I get it! But the psalmist states that the wicked man’s very words are trouble.
And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
Psalm 41:6 ESV
This term can be translated in a number of ways, including “emptiness” or “a vanity of words”. This may be emphasizing a hollowness of communication, but shouldn’t be considered a neutral condition that we may consider allowable. Vanity is often associated with idol worship, and we know God’s attitude towards idols!
Let us not speak vain or empty words. Empty words are definitely not associated with righteous activity, with loving actions or a spirit of mercy!
A Change of Behavior
The psalmist now describes the wicked man’s actions, his doings, his outward appearance and behavior. It is interesting that the wicked man ceases to act wisely. Does this imply that the wicked man acted wisely in the past? Was this wicked man of a better ilk in the past, of some better character prior to his listening to transgression, prior to his self flattery?
Was this wicked one of a better ilk in the past, of some better character prior to his listening to transgression, prior to his self flattery?
I heard a philosopher speak of the necessity of time in relation to our existence, and that time allows for change. Time allows for change. Change that occurs as either growth or decay.
This wicked man is decaying, rotting on the vine, becoming less as time passes, by listening to transgression, by avoiding the fear of God, by elevating his own self importance before his eyes. The decay is becoming evident to those around him by his behavior.
He begins to stop acting wisely and to stop doing good. But this is simply a point in time, a fraction of a moment, when the direction of his life is determined. To stop doing good and think we can remain neutral is a fallacy.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. – Luk 11:23 ESV
We are either with God or against God. There is no middle ground, and that is why I am stating that this stopping of doing good occurs in a mere fraction of a moment, since this state of neutrality can not be maintained.
A Leader of Wickedness
This man of wickedness now blooms into a leader of wickedness. He plots his day while others sleep, spending time on how to attain his goals. He is consumed with his thoughts of greatness, and he has no one to guide him, or to caution him, since the fear of God has been ignored, even silenced to his ears.
He establishes himself in a path that is not good. The term speaks of a steadfastness, a withstanding or refusal to be moved. He has chosen to be in a path that is not good, and his very intent is to remain in this path.
To be in a path that is not good, he eventually must lay his defenses down. He does not reject evil. He may have rejected evil before, but I tend to think this is simply the decay settling into his person, a strength of resistance simply not available to this man.
Story time
My wife and I went walking last night on our favorite path, lined with massive trees, bushes and grasses. It so happened that one of the tress we enjoyed last year had fallen, now on its side, with the trunk completely broken. No saw had come upon the tree. No – it had decayed from the inside out and the strength of the trunk had disappeared. Last year it appeared strong. One swift wind, and its inner lack of strength gave way to the wind. The tree is down.
Such is the life of the wicked man. Early listening to transgression, denial of the fear of God, speaking lies to his self in the form of self flattery, becoming “neutral” towards truth and finally setting himself in a bad path. Finally there is no resistance to evil.
I find it interesting that when the psalmist describes this man, he refers to an absence of good. Not until the fourth verse, does he use the term evil. Yes, iniquity is referred to, but that it cannot be found in the wicked man’s own eyes. I also admit trouble and deceit are spoken of as coming of his mouth. This is the beginning of the wicked mans inward decay being exposed to those around him.
This is our condition. Or should I say this is our condition, our eventual destination if it were not for the steadfast love of God. He is the Savior, the Deliverer and the One who brings us back from the edge.
I am very much looking forward to the psalmists descriptions turning from the wicked man to the righteous God. For He is good, and we certainly need Him!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
1 To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 4 He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.
In our last post, I veered from the specific passage above in discussing a topic brought to mind by the verses above, and that I find I am coming back to often in my thinking.
I would like to consider these verse with the approach spoken of in our previous post (Psalm 36 – Introduction). We are sinners. Yes, we have been granted the righteousness of Christ, but we live below, and David is describing the wicked man in the verses above. As mentioned earlier, we shall find good counsel in understanding this description of the wicked man as a description of our own condition while we walk with Him during our pilgrimage.
Let’s consider David’s description of the wicked man, the man we are if we are honest with ourselves, the man we are without the grace of God being shed abroad in our lives.
Transgression speaks to the heart
Even as I sit here and consider this passage, I am reluctant to admit of the times I listen to sin speaking to my heart. Do not get me wrong, I understand that the sin thoughts are not necessarily sourced in my own soul, but the fact that I listen to them is the shame I experience. Oh to be willing to turn a deaf ear to the whispers I hear in my heart. Deep in my heart, where there is more mystery than understanding, transgression speaks to me.
Transgression utters, or declares to my heart, and gains a foothold when there is no fear of God before my eyes. This term “speaks” is interesting since it is used of God speaking in many passages of the Old Testament. Now before any one tries to condemn me for associating sin with God, that is not my intent. My intent is only to notice that “speaks” is commonly used to describe a message that is “spirit” and we know that by study and experience, this includes spirits that are not of God.
No fear of God
Transgression gains a foothold in the wicked because there is no fear of God before our eyes. Transgression may “utter” all day long, and with no fear of God, will gain that foothold and progress into a growing struggle with sin. This we all can attest to and suffer under!
The fear of God. Many who read this blog may know that I spent years under the fear of God – no wait – let me correct myself – more specifically under the fear of the judgement of God. There is a tremendous difference. The fear of God, in my understanding now, is to know the living God, the fountainhead of knowledge, wisdom confidence and life.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. – Pro 1:7 ESV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. – Pro 9:10 ESV The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. – Pro 10:27 ESV In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. – Pro 14:26 ESV The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. – Pro 14:27 ESV
Do not believe the lies spouted by many that the fear of God produces a sour spirit. The fear of the Lord is a wellspring of life.
Flatterings
He flatters himself! But this isn’t the boastful arrogance of a loud and proud man speaking of his greatness. No no no. This refers to the quiet ruminations within himself, of his discussions with himself, where he is telling himself how great he is! And who is to argue, if the fear of God is now a distant influence!
Pride of self, a self inflicted perception of ourselves that we are better than we truly are. We flatter ourselves. To flatter is “to praise excessively from motives of self interest” This must be recognized as being so out of touch with the nature of God as to be obvious.
Is self flattery of the character of our God…
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8 ESV
This too seems so obvious, if we are honest with ourselves. How often have you considered yourself better than your neighbor, your boss, your friend or your spouse? Paul addressed this danger amongst leaders, even apostles within the Corinthian church.
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. – 2 Corinthians 10:12 ESV
Even those who may consider themselves to have low self esteem, flatter themselves with their weakness, in their standing in comparison with the appearance of others, their lack of confidence, of their inabilities, or a host of other characteristics that they use to draw attention to themselves.
We are to consider ourselves with sober judgement.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3
Was it Spurgeon or some other saint who said that the believer was not to attain to a high self esteem, nor a low self esteem, but of no self esteem.
God is to be the only One we are to esteem. Consider the wise, mighty and rich in Jeremiah 9. They had attained. But they were instructed not to esteem their own selves but the LORD who practices love justice and righteousness in the earth!!! (By the way – we don’t practice love justice and righteousness!)
Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV
Let us break for now and continue with the next two verses of this passage in our next post. Suffice it to say, the first two verses do not offer much hope to the wicked man. And in our next post, verses 3 & 4 will only expose more difficulty and trouble, problems and traps.
Who is able to rescue me? Who can deliver me from this awful condition!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 36
1 To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 4 He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.
The wickedness of man and the goodness of God.
This psalm magnifies the differences between our existence and the character of our God. For the first four verses, David dwells on the wicked man. As I read passages such as open this passage, where the Old Testament speaks of a “bad” fellow, I am reminded of an old pastor who focused my thoughts on identifying with the bad guy in the story.
We so often want to associate with the godly, the righteous and the beautiful (at least I do), that we often miss the truth the Word is trying to provide. Without continuously acknowledging our sinful tendencies, habits, actions, thoughts, and motives, we tend to “join the righteous” in righteously excusing our “trip ups” and condemning those sinners, and in our effort to look good, we become hypocrites in the eyes of many! This should not be so!
This concept reminds me of a time, very early in my faith, when I sought the Lord and found only sin. Everywhere in my experience, I found rebellion, acts of sin, transgression and failings. I so wanted to be close to God and to love the Lord Jesus, and yet found sin. I confessed this to a believer, and he simply stated that when we press in, the light of God exposes our nature. Get used to it!
Humility and a consciousness of our “self” is the result of facing the One who is truth. Is this not the experience of those we read of in the Old Testament.
Consider Isaiah
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” – Isaiah 6:5 ESV
Or Ezekiel
Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. – Ezekiel 1:28 ESV
David often confesses his sin, acknowledging his failings.
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah – Psa 32:5 ESV
Daniel joins in the confession of his nation’s sin
We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules Dan 9:5 ESV
You may be reminded of other instances in the Old Testament where a saint, in seeing the Lord not only glorifies the One above, but reduces his own standing in his own eyes. (Somewhat of a difficult verse for the self esteem movement!)
Consider Job
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” – Job 42:5-6 ESV
The New Testament continues with this witness.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” – Luke 5:8 ESV
Paul was knocked down before he was called.
Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. – Act 9:3-5 ESV
Paul even spoke, as an old man of God, of his being (not was) the chief of sinners, the foremost of sinners.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. – 1 Timothy 1:15 ESV
Oh the tension we find in our seeking of the truth. We have been provided the righteousness of Christ through faith in our Savior and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, and yet our sinful tendencies are ever before us. That “wicked man” that we drag behind us, constantly seeks to pull us down. Ignoring or avoiding this truth will not benefit our souls. As my favorite wifey reminds me at times….
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. – Numbers 32:23 ESV
The battle is real my friends. The war has been won, but we each have battles to fight. In all of this discussion, a sense of humility and a consciousness of our wickedness needs to be ever before our eyes. But in the very moment I speak of this, let it be understood that there is a danger of only acknowledging our sin. We cannot lay in the cesspool of our needs, and not be looking off to the great and mighty Jesus.
As Paul reminded the sin laden Corinthians, we need to remember the nature of our God, and of His forgiving nature, His nature of comfort, and of His continual love toward those who fall. Paul directed the believers to mimic God’s nature in the following passage when confronting a condemned believer, that they
… should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. – 2 Corinthians 2:7-8 ESV
We are to live in the truth, and that includes acknowledging to ourselves and our Father, our weakness, sin tendencies and failings. This is a bitter pill to swallow but this truth will produce within us a humility greatly needed within the church today.
And we are to rejoice in the salvation our great God has provided. A salvation that delivers us from past guilt, current sin and a future of release from the presence of sin.
A brother in the Lord has recently been experiencing tremendous trials, especially from family members. His entire world is being shaken to the core with experiences I would wish on no one. He and his wife are struggling with the pain of hateful actions and hurtful words from “loved ones”.
My wife and I pray for them, and often speak of their trials. We are at a loss of what we can do to fix the conditions they are in the middle of, and other than prayer, seek to listen to their concerns, helping them by giving them a sounding board.
In a recent reading, wifey and I came across 1 Peter 3:9.
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Challenging words to read, but to apply in my friends situation is beyond my imagination. To bless those who hate me, revile against me and do evil towards me is otherworldly.
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. – Luke 6:27-28 ESV
Personally, I have been challenged in areas of forgiveness in my faith, and have found release as I release others from my bitterness and anger toward them. But I must confess, it is a struggle. To forgive, to bless those who revile against me, is the character of our Lord and a fruit of His Spirit.
In the past week or so since this concept in the Word began to have a greater influence in my thinking, and I have been reminded of the story of Dirk Willems, an Anabaptist who lived in Holland during the 1500’s. The following story is repeated throughout the internet, but I am referencing a copy of the story from “Christianity.com” for your reading convenience
One of the Anabaptists who died in flames was Dirk Willem. His story is particularly touching, because he forfeited a real chance to escape when he turned back to help one of his pursuers. Dirk was captured and imprisoned in his home town of Asperen in the Netherlands. Knowing that his fate would be death if he remained in prison, Dirk made a rope of strips of cloth and slid down it over the prison wall. A guard chased him. Frost had covered a nearby pond with a thin layer of ice. Dirk risked a dash across it. He made it to safety, but the ice broke under his pursuer who cried for help. Dirk believed the Scripture that a man should help his enemies. He immediately turned back and pulled the floundering man from the frigid water. In gratitude for his life, the man would have let Dirk escape, but a Burgomaster (chief magistrate) standing on the shore sternly ordered him to arrest Dirk and bring him back, reminding him of the oath he had sworn as an officer of the peace. Back to prison went Dirk. He was condemned to death for being re-baptized, allowing secret church services in his home and letting others be baptized there....
Dirk was burned to death on this day, May 16, 1569.
My friends, much of my Christianity is merely theoretical in nature, and when I am challenged in my faith, find it easy to argue against the truth. It seems Dirk Willems blessed his enemy, and was rewarded with a torturous death. It may be easy to say I would do the same, that I would love my enemy, but the power of my reasoning spirit sometimes dominates my thinking.
Was Dirk a family man?
How could he abandon his wife and family by returning to his captor? Was he not tasked with the command to love his wife as the Lord loved the church. Is this return to the captor elevating love of enemy above love of wife? Is the example that Dirk provided of greater worth to his family than self preservation? This is a very difficult discussion for me, as I would naturally run, not looking back, not concerned about the welfare of those who would do me and my family harm.
Was the escape from prison and apparent success of his avoiding recapture the will of God?
It seems obvious that God had provided Dirk’s escape, much like many believers have escaped from the clutches of the enemy. Peter was delivered from prison, with his guards eventually put to death. Paul escaped using a basket out of a window.
Could Dirk have continued with his escape, considering the pursuer as receiving his just recompense for his evil life? I could easily justify this type of thinking, especially after studying through Psalm 35, specifically Psalms for Psome – Ps 35 – B. And yet in the background, I hear the verses of loving our enemy, of blessing those who revile against us.
I am in no way taking away from Dirk Willems and his tremendous exercise of forgiveness and blessing to his enemy. This is definitely not my intent in this post. I am simply admitting that at this time in my Christian walk, I am confessing my lack of understanding (willingness?) on how to bless those who revile me.
Dirk’s story is an ultimate example of a man obeying the Lord’s command to love his enemy.
Surely, our daily lives have opportunities to mimic the Lord’s example of loving our enemies. Think of a recent time when someone may have said something against you, or insulted you or gossiped about you. How have you responded? Have you returned a blessing to those who curse you? Or like I, justified my reactions, ignoring the leading of the Spirit of God.
May God give us wisdom and power in loving our enemies.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 35 26 Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! 27 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” 28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.
In our last post on this marvelous psalm, we came away with David’s plea for vindication, based not simply on his own blamelessness, but on the righteousness of God.
We spoke of the difference of vindication and vengeance, and reminded the reader that vindication is an overturning of a false conviction, of a clearing of his name, of regaining a good reputation.
In our closing verses above, David pulls back on his requests for active judgement from the Lord, and requests the passive allowance of God, that of letting his enemies fall into their own traps. David often draws on this type of request. A fuller discussion on it may be found in a previous post on this psalm (Psalms for Psome – Ps 35 – B)
In our verses considered this morning, David is summing up his prayer. He asked the Lord to allow his enemies to fall into their own trap, then in verses 22-24, boldly looked to the Lord for active deliverance from his enemies, in the form of vindicating his own actions. The truth will be established, even within his enemies hearts.
The result of this vindication of David is shame upon the enemies
Let them be put to shame and disappointed …
Shame and disappointment are often found together in the Word. As a matter of fact, the root word used here for disappointed is translated as ashamed or shame occasionally in the Old Testament, and is used to describe embarrassment. If I understand this phrase right, he is asking the Lord to allow his enemies to be put to shame and experience humiliation, embarrassment.
My friends, no one enjoys experiencing humiliation. To be humbled by forces beyond our control, by others that bring secrets to light, bringing shame into our lives is a horrible experience, cutting to the very soul. And yet, self humiliation is exalted in the Word. Self humiliation brings forgiveness.
Consider the humbling of Manasseh
Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. – 2Ch 33:9 He (Manasseh) prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. – 2Ch 33:13 And he (Amon – Manasseh’s son) did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. – 2Ch 33:22 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. – 2Ch 33:23
David is seeking for his enemies to experience a humiliation, a reckoning with truth. Earlier in this psalm, David looked for his enemies to experience truth in their hearts. Now he is looking to have his enemies experience disappointment in their plans for him, for the truth to come out and all to see the evil that has been perpetrated on David.
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor …
I think David returns to the shame, dishonor and disappointment he prayed of earlier.
Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! – Psa 35:4
In our verse this morning he speaks of his enemies being clothed in shame and dishonor.
When you hear the term “be clothed”, what comes to mind?
I am not a “clothes” horse, as I would rather wear a raggedy pair of work pants and an old t-shirt, something that I “cloth” myself in. I value the appearance of being average, or even poor, and consider myself an ordinary fellow, one who tries not to put on airs. Nevertheless, at work I am sometimes called upon to wear a tie (ick), and even a suit jacket. (Say it isn’t so Carl.) This type of clothing does not “fit” me, and I feel out of place as I wear it. My internal person and outward expression are at odds with each other.
David is looking for these opponents to be clothed in shame and dishonor.
These enemies are to experience the shame, and not simply internally, without any of their peers knowing. These enemies are to be seen as “shamed” ones, men who are openly disappointed in their plans of wickedness and lies. They are to be put to shame, and also to be fully exposed to all of their shamefulness.
David is looking for their internal person and their outward expression is be the same.
David’s enemies did not delight in his righteousness. They sought to tear it down, to destroy it. They will experience shame, dishonor and disappointment
David’s fellows, those who delight in his righteousness, will shout for joy, and attribute to God the salvation of His servant. David also shall tell of God’s righteousness, and praise Him.
As we close on this psalm, let us consider on additional question.
Who is speaking in verse 27? Of course David wrote this verse, but throughout the psalm he appeals to his blamelessness, and God’s righteousness. Three verses refer to righteousness in this psalm.
Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! – Psalm 35:24 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” – Psalm 35:27 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. – Psalm 35:28
Verse 24, David appeals to God’s righteousness. Verse 28, David again speaks of telling others of God’s righteousness.
Verse 27 contains the quandary. Is this the Lord speaking of His own righteousness through the Psalmist? Is this the Lord taking possession of this prayer and interjecting his own instruction? As if God is instructing those who delight in His righteousness to shout for joy. To say forever – Great is the LORD.
No other verse in this psalm refers to David as being righteous, only blameless. and as we saw earlier in a previous post, their is a difference.
He is righteous, totally balanced in all His wonderful attributes, without any inner conflict or external contradictions within His person
Considering the Bible 