Stand Up for What’s Right

Psalm 15:4-5

          Most people want to live in a just world, a world where everyone gets a fair shake. Unless of course you are one of the corrupt people, and want to hang onto your power, the power you obtained by doing injustice. Then you want things to stay just the way they are, but put on a good show by saying that things must change. In order for things to actually change, the evil power-grabbers would have to give up most of their power, like that is going to happen!

          In order for justice on a less global scale to happen, a scale closer to home, we must do four things, according to this psalm. Each is presented in a pair of statements about the character of the person who will be allowed in God’s presence in heaven. Each gives us a good picture of what a Jesus-follower’s walk should look like. Not that a righteous walk gains entrance to heaven; only perfection does that. But since we have accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins, we can now, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, live a life that pleases the LORD, a life that reflects His character in this world.

          The first, (which is really the second, honest communication being the first from verse two and three), is that our judgments would line up with His judgments. We would have the same attitude toward evil behavior that the LORD does. We would reject the actions of the same people the LORD rejects. Those He would label vile, we label vile. We boo at the evil and cheer at the good. We reject the baser actions of people and applaud those who get it right. Too often we spend so much time pointing out the evil that we miss the opportunities to honor those who are doing it right.

          The third deals with the way we make decisions and keep our commitments. Too many people back out of their commitments too easily. I love the way the writer speaks of keeping his commitment, He says we need to keep it “even when it hurts.” When it is inconvenient is when we need to keep it. When it is hard to keep our word is when our character gets tested. We need to do what we say. Our walk must match our talk. People are looking at us, wondering if we are people of integrity. We need to keep our promises.

          Some people solve this by never making promises, never making any real commitment, always keeping their options open. They say “I’ll think about it.” Or if they want to put a spiritual spin on it they will say “I’ll pray about it.” I’m not saying that everyone who says one of these things is making an excuse, but if they don’t actually think or pray, it is an excuse. Let your “yes” be your “yes.”

          The fourth and final practical example of what righteous living looks like deals with money, a delicate subject for most people. The first half of this pair of instructions deals with a rule that was given by the LORD around lending money. When someone made a loan to a poor person, they were to do it without charging any interest. That’s right, 0% loans. In doing so they recognized that their wealth was not theirs, it was the LORD’s, and they had an obligation to help the poor. To charge interest would be a double insult: they can’t afford to pay it, and you don’t need it.

          The other side of money has to do with how money corrupts justice. It is not just the bribes that are taken, but the more subtle taxes and exemptions that get added to legislation that favor one group above another. All these laws have the effect of taking money from one group and giving it to another. They are done as favors for past or future actions. They pervert justice.

          All these specifics answer the question asked in the first verse of this psalm, who is qualified to enter God’s presence. And since we all fail, we must rely on the LORD’s mercy. We must humbly bow before Him, submitting our past, present and future into His hands. And then live a life that honors Him, that reflects His loving character to the world.

Speaking

Psalm 15:1-5

          Has what you said ever gotten you in trouble? Welcome to the human race! Unless you never say anything, either with body language or with the tone of your grunts, you will make mistakes in your communication. Wars have been started over words. Drawing a picture can get you killed. What you say in a BLOG can get your arrested. Can you wait a minute, there is someone pounding on my door.

          The focus of today’s text is verses two and three. We discovered that the qualification for entering the LORD’s presence is perfection, that none of us is qualified to enter. This is the overarching answer to David’s question of who will get to heaven. But then David lets us know that what we do matters. It is not simply what we have in our minds, our thoughts and intentions, but what we do with the rest of our body that make the difference.

          So David starts with the most rebellious part of our body, the tongue. There are four statements about what we say in these two verses, twice as many as the other examples of righteous and blameless living. Twice as many statements, twice as important. Or maybe twice as difficult to master.

          The first gets many people in trouble. We are to speak the truth from the heart. Some people take this to mean that we are brutally honest, with the emphasis on brutal. They say what they perceive as the truth with such directness that it injures those who are on the receiving end. That is not what this is talking about. When truth is spoken it must take into account the hearer. Truth must be spoken from the deepest part of who we are to the deepest part of who they are. If we speak it in such a way that it never reaches their heart, it wasn’t spoken from our heart. If we really want them to receive what we have to say, it must come from our heart. We might say it isn’t coming from their head. Speaking truth takes into account the hearer’s capacity to hear our message.

          The other side of this line of our text is that we are to be speaking truth, not our truth, but His truth. Not truth as we see it from our perspective. We need to make sure what we speak to another person’s heart is the truth. But often we shade the truth in a way that we benefit from its application. But truth is an equal opportunity offender. Truth steps on everyone’s toes.

          This ties into the next line dealing with slander, the use of our words to color someone else as the bad person. Remember, ninety percent of what we communicate is not what we say with our words. It is our body language and the tone of our voice that carry the lion’s share of communication. Our words can say that we trust the neighbor, but the roll of our eyes sends a stronger message of mistrust. You can say “trust him” as a question, a command, a sarcastic snipe, or a reassuring encouragement.

          The next two lines of verse three expand slander toward other people. Slander can end up doing harm to other people. When we don’t speak the truth from the heart we end up hurting others. It can be as destructive as if you stabbed them with a knife or hacked into their bank account and stole their money. What gets said in the press can ruin a business or a family.

          You see, we are responsible for not just what we say and how we say it, but also to some extend how it is received. We have a responsibility to know the hearer and their heart condition, and speak the truth to them in the best possible way so that they are able to hear the truth. And in the process we have the responsibility to protect others from what other people might hear about them as the truth is spoken. We don’t want our telling to injure them.

          Speaking the truth can be difficult, but we must learn to do it. But we need help. We must do this perfectly. We must be blameless. Lord, help us!

The Twenty-Plus-Four’s

Psalm 24, 54, 84, 114, 144

There should be no doubt in the heart of a Jesus-follower about whose world this is. It is the LORD’s (Ps 24:1). And He has the right to set the qualifications for entry and in habiting His world. And He does (vv3-4). We must be clean by His standards, not our own. Not everyone meets these standards. When we do, blessings follow (vv5-6). But we must invite the LORD’s presence in our lives (vv7 & 9). The writer uses imagery of ancient city doors that were drawn up to open and dropped for protection against an enemy. He calls on these doors to be opened. He is really calling on the people to open up their hearts in order to receive Him into their lives. What have you done to signal your welcoming of God’s presence in your life?

When slander comes our direction it can feel as though the world is coming to an end. Psalm 54 briefly captures some of that desperation. He feels powerless (v1) and unheard (v2). Godless people are attacking him (v3). He speaks in faith of the LORD’s sustaining power (v4) and of his enemies’ destruction (v5). And when deliverance comes, he will be ready in worship. The LORD has been faithful in the past, and he has confidence He will be with him in the future.

There is just something about the LORD’s presence that satisfies like nothing else. Psalm 84 begins with a wonderful picture of that yearning and satisfaction. Ever fiber of his being wants the LORD (v2). He sees a bird nesting in the Temple and hears its song and is jealous because it can live in the Temple and he can’t (vv3-4). You might say that this kind of longing for a physical place does not happen today. But I know many people who have gone to Israel so that they could walk where Jesus walked, be baptized in the Jordan River, and float in the Dead Sea. Some visit Rome to walk through the Basilica of St Peter or to Wittenberg to see where Martin Luther started the Protestant reformation. Places can have meaning.

Psalm 114 recounts the effect of God’s presence in the life of Israel at one particular moment in their history. The Psalmist compresses the Exodus from Egypt and their entry into the Promised Land into a quick succession of events instead of two events separated by forty years of wandering in the desert. No geography can prevent the LORD from accomplishing His purpose. He asks these geographic elements why they fled (vv5-6). And then he answers his own question. They fled because the LORD was present. His presence accomplishes His will.

Battle is a common theme in Scripture. Being part of the force that protects a nation is an honorable profession. The Psalmist asks for the LORD’s help in his military endeavors (Ps 144). The presence of the LORD in battle is not a contradiction in His character. He is loving and just. He cares for His people and punishes wrong doing. These are not mutually exclusive. It is “both/and” not “either/or”. If we think “either/or” on this issue then our image of God is incorrect, too small, too anthropomorphic. The LORD can be on one side in a battle, opposing some and upholding another. He does not always sit on the sidelines, but becomes involved in battle.