2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
PS 119: 153-160 is a plea for help from our Psalmist, who for reasons discussed in yesterday’s devotion was a believer beset with troubles far beyond what we normally experience. However, it is more; it reveals the spiritual meaning of the twentieth Hebrew letter, resh, salvation through God’s word. I can’t help but see Jesus Christ’s presence throughout this entire passage, which makes me want to say, “salvation through God’s Word.” See what you think as you read the words of this remarkable passage. “Look at my suffering, and save me, because I have not neglected Your law. Defend my cause, and set me free; save me, as You have promised. The wicked will not be saved, for they do not obey Your laws. But Your compassion, Lord, is great; show Your mercy and save me! I have many enemies and oppressors, but I do not fail to obey Your laws. When I look at those traitors, I am filled with disgust, because they do not keep Your commands. See how I love Your instructions, Lord. Your love never changes, so save me! The heart of Your law is truth, and all Your righteous judgments are eternal.” In understanding the profoundest significance of the Psalmist’s words, we must go back to the very meaning of faith itself.
Faith is a word like the word, energy. We can only define it by what it does, because it is beyond the limitations of the human mind and heart to really understand it. Our Lord reveals it most accurately in HE 11: 1-3. “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval. It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God’s Word [JN 1: 1-4], so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.” If you are wondering what this has to do with our Psalmist’s plea to God to “look at my suffering and save me…,” it has a lot. Our Psalmist had to know that God was the Source from which he could find salvation and understanding of the suffering he was experiencing. Since Christ’s incarnation had not yet happened, and he had no access to what was revealed later by Paul in his teaching, this kind of faith could only be explained by supernatural intervention. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he revealed the nature of God’s plan that sheds light on this. 1 COR 2: 7-8, “The wisdom I proclaim is God’s secret wisdom, which is hidden from mankind, but which He had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made. None of the rulers of this world knew this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Titus 1: 1-3, “ … I [Paul] was chosen and sent to help the faith of God’s chosen people and to lead them to the truth taught by our religion, which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, Who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time, and at the right time He revealed it in His message. This was entrusted to me, and I proclaim it by order of God our Savior. ”
Our Psalmist’s faith is mature indeed. Without ever knowing anything about the Messiah other than the traditional Jewish idea that a Messiah of unknown identity at some unidentified time will come to save the people, this writer knew that salvation was available to him from God. We have the express advantage of the teachings of Paul, Peter, and Christ Himself which flesh out the details. So, the Psalmist’s understanding was a greater leap of faith than our own is. We have these citations, which are a gift from our loving Abba for us: RO 3: 23-25, “Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of god. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with Him through Christ Jesus, Who sets them free. God offer Him, so that by His death He should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in Him.” COL 1: 13-15, “He [God] rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the Kingdom of His dear Son, by Whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things.” 1 PET 1: 18-21, “For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold; it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, Who was like a lamb without defect or flaw. He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.” MT 20: 18-19, “ ‘Listen,’ He [Christ] told them [his disciples], ‘we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will hand Him over to the Gentiles, Who will make fun of Him, whip Him, and crucify Him; but three days later He will be raised to life.’ “
Long before the writer of the book of Hebrews expressed God’s immutability so clearly, our Psalmist understood this principle in (159). HE 6: 16-18, “When a person makes a vow, he uses the name of someone greater than himself, and the vow settles all arguments. To those who were to receive what He promised, God wanted to make it very clear that He would never changes His purpose; so He added His vow to the promise. There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with Him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us.” I have to believe that the Holy Spirit was with our Psalmist at least intermittently. When he says, “The heart of Your law is truth, and all Your righteous judgments are eternal,” his profound faith is exposed beyond question. Truth was later to be described in HE 4: 12- 13. In (160) we see the Psalmist giving an account of himself that fits its construct and has to be pleasing to the Lord. “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart. There I nothing that can be hid from God: everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before His eyes. And it is to Him that we must all give an account of ourselves.” Do we share his same beliefs? Do we accept the eternal nature of God’s righteous judgments? How does our own readiness to give God an account of ourselves compare to that of the Psalmist?
PRAYER: O Lord, we are a blessed people, called to faith and given the Word before the earth was created or we were born. You may allow us to suffer, but never without a righteous reason. That reason is most often connected with Your desire to see us mature spiritually. You love it when we mirror the attitude of the Psalmist and refuse to neglect Your teachings. You want us to seek you out in prayer and in study of Your Word, so that You can reveal Yourself and Your teachings to us. Because You are a righteous God, You will draw limits to the amount of sin You will allow. That is why the wicked shall not be saved. The sacrifice of Your Son on the cross made the way open for our salvation. When we repented and confessed our sincere faith in Him, You deemed us acceptable and saved according the plan You have had in place for this since before the world was created. We humbly thank You, Dear Lord, and dedicate ourselves to obeying Your commands. You are to be praised, honored, & glorified forever. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the spiritual meaning of the twenty-first Hebrew letter, shin, as revealed in PS 119: 161-168. We can share in celebrating the fact that we are all surrounded by the aura of a special and unconditional love that comes to us from the Father. Our lives are blessed abundantly when we make Him the Lord of our lives and consistently obey Him. Peter and I also send you our love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn