SCRIPTURE: Psalm 101
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. [Psalm 101:2-3]
What I find hard about this psalm is that it seems to ooze self-righteousness; I could see the Pharisees quoting this psalm with confidence.
They were very sincere in their attempt to separate themselves from evil, they were very eager to show themselves righteous to God.
And yet when Jesus deals with them, He rebukes them for their lack of mercy; even more He suggests that their ‘righteousness’ is hollow, hypocritical.
David is not wrong in striving to lead a blameless life, nor is he wrong in being serious about staying as far away from sin as possible.
But apart from a merciful, humble heart, this attitude is SO DANGEROUS!
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. [Matthew 5:6-8]
David hungers and thirsts for righteousness, and Jesus affirms this.
David strives to be pure in heart so that God will come to him (i.e. that he will see God), and Jesus assures him that he will see God.
But in between these two expressions Jesus also asserts that we must be merciful, not judgmental, in how we relate to others.
We need to be merciful because despite our best attempts to be pure in heart, we will always fail to some extent.
We need God’s mercy as much as the next person, no matter how much we hunger and thirst for righteousness.
The best way to read Psalm 101 is with a humble, merciful heart.
We must certainly hate the sin, and be careful in our interaction with sinners, but we must always love the sinner, and like Jesus attempt to help them.
As Jude advises believers: Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. [Jude 1:22-23]
We must hate the sin (even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh), but not the sinner.
Our hunger and thirst for righteousness ought to include our deep desire to snatch others from the fire, not just to keep ourselves from it.
As Jesus has shown us, sometimes loving the sinner may mean entering the fire and getting burned to rescue those trapped in the fire.
We need to be so careful that we are not self-serving in our righteousness; true righteousness includes compassion and mercy for sinners, the company to which we also belong.
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to hate sin even more than I do, and help me to love sinners even more than I do. Help me to be like You, to love righteousness and mercy!
Good intentions come from a good heart. The Lord’s blessing are new each morning and my intentions must also be renewed each and every day because it is so easy to fall to fall from the way.
Not only is the focus on myself but also on others. I will have no part of their faithlessness. Their unfaithful acts I will have no past of. Oh how difficult it is to go against the flow especially when the majority is in the wrong. I need to stand in His presence at all times. I need to find encouragement with fellow believers to be encouragers of one another. One-anothering is a must for His people.
Each day anew I too need to refocus, renew my vision so that I can be GodString this day to serve Him in all I do and say. Help me this day to live for Jesus helping others to do the same.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.