Word or World?

  INTRODUCTION:  During the gilded age of the 1890’s there began in America a real serious flirtation with worldly values and entertainments that had been somewhat limited during the course of nation building, which had by and large consumed enormous amounts of capital, energy and protestant work ethic.   However, as the frontier wound down and was even officially closed at the turn of the last century, there was a certain moral and character relaxation, and as the labor saving inventions of a new found industrialism and prosperity enough for maximation of a the material culture grew through the teens and twenties, thereby the whole of the former cultural assumptions were challenged and eventually changed.

Truthfully, the depression of the thirties curtailed much of the new found enthusiasm for living well rather than living carefully and frugally.   Poverty and rumors of war forced society to think again about living before the face of God.  However, the triumph over the forces of evil in the forties and the presumed revival of the fifties gave way to a resumption of more worldly interests for the remainder of the century.   And so we find ourselves in the first decade of this new century with little in the way of a cultural memory of living without a constant and pervasive entertainment and spendthrift environment.  The world as the old saying goes is very much with us.  Sometimes we like to think that this is only a modern phenomena, however, history does indeed report that as empires, kingdoms and commonwealths age – they tend to decay.  The austerity and savings of David the King gave way to the empire building of his son Solomon and the over taxed Israelites tired of supporting the decadence in Jerusalem which existed along side the traditional austere religion of the new temple.

The ancient peoples were caught in the same cultural dichotomy which we face in our time and even that which has been faced in every time:  choosing between the Word of God and the world!  As we read through our four verses today, we can easily sense that the pilgrim poet has well understood our own time and its temptations.

DEVELOPMENT:  One of the amazing hallmarks of our time is the same worldly arrogance noted by the aged poet.  He realized, even as we must that many people do not desire nor even wish for the common grace of our God and King, let alone the special grace of spiritual fellowship given through the Holy Spirit.  .  This is well noted by our psalmist in the twenty-first verse:

 "You rebuke the arrogant, the  cursed,

                                those who stray from Your commandments.”

We see the nature of the condemned described and the reason stated.  Only humble hearts are obedient for they alone will yield to rule and government.  If men and women were not arrogant they would not be disobedient.  Yet, because their eyes are shut, the proud do not know their own true condition.  These proud high and mighty power brokers, who do not desire to know God, will usually set out to censure the godly and express contempt for those who truly seek to do the Divine will.

Charles Bridges in his exquisite and detailed commentary on this psalm notes well that:  “There is no sin more abhorrent to [God’s] character.  It is as if we were taking the crown from his head, and placing it upon our own.”  This reminds me of a scene in a late forties movie version of the Caesar & Cleopatra story.  Early in the film, a young Cleopatra pushes her younger brother bodily off the throne and sits in his appointed place.  Little does the young maiden realize that the Roman officer watching her is far more dangerous to her than her sibling rival.

 One thing that we should learn well from this description of arrogance is the utter humility necessary to appreciate God's gracing of us with His salvation.  Bridges again notes:  “The whole plan of salvation is intended to humble the pride of man, by exhibiting his restoration to the Divine favour, as a free gift through the atoning blood of the cross.  How hateful, therefore, is proud man’s resistance to this humbling doctrine of the cross, and the humbling requisitions of the life of faith flowing from it!”

Of course, not only do the arrogant and wicked fail to appreciate the doctrine of grace, but they also develop a real antipathy towards those who have been so graced.   If we will plead as the psalmist did in last week’s portion of this psalm section: "Grace your servant, and I will live", then we also will probably feel the heat of those who know not our God and King!

Remove from me their scorn and contempt,

                                for I keep Your testimonies.

We see in verse twenty-two the psalmist's condition of being scorned because the scorner apparently knows in his heart that the psalmist has something he does not!  That worldly enviousness of God's given grace can cause all kinds of trouble and despair for us as we try humbly to keep God's statutes.   Our psalmist is evidently quite experienced in receiving such scorn and contempt.

Bridges announces the long known and experienced fact that “The proud under the rebuke of God are usually distinguished by their enmity to his people. They delight to pour upon them “reproach and contempt,” with no other provocation given, than that their ”keeping the testimonies” of God condemns their own neglect.”

Earlier this week I received an extensive email alert to the work of the Sodomite lobby and their friends to destroy the new government partnership relationship with religious charities.  As the commentator well noted – they could care less about the poor being helped or rescued from living on the edge day by day.  They, in their arrogance must have their day and all of life must revolve around their perversion instead of being centered in a righteous and holy God who has only condemnation for them.

We certainly know that Jerusalem as well as all the ancient cities was enclosed in walls.  Towards the end of the nineteenth century – the Austrian Emperor arranged for the walls surrounding Vienna to be torn down and replaced with a circular street around the city in its place.  Thus was born the first outer belt, which was just as effective in containing the vanity of the city of man as any wall ever was.

Philosophers, pundits and humorists of all stripes use the same beltway image to describe what goes on in our own capital city.  A situation, which is similar to that known by our psalmist, who complains that certain rulers gather together for no other purpose than to attack the poet king.

Verse twenty-three well illustrates that point:

                “Even though rulers sit together and slander me,

                                Your servant [still] meditates on Your statutes."

Now, I have modified the meditations of God’s servant with the little word still in my translation to indicate that in spite of what the world may think and do, we are to remain faithful to the covenant laws of our God and King for no other reason than the fact that He is indeed God and King above all human claimants to thrones and positions.

Charles Spurgeon who also suffered in this regard, gives this advice.  "The best way to deal with slander is to pray about it:  God will either remove it, or remove the sting from it.  Our own attempts at clearing ourselves are usually failures;"  Who are these malignant characters who would rob God of his servant's attention or deprive the Lord's chosen of a moment's devout communion.  Spurgeon continues his description of this scene:  "It is very beautiful to see the two sittings: the princes sitting to reproach David, and David sitting with his God and his Bible, answering his traducers by never answering them at all."

I just learned this week that the scandal tellers in London even accused Spurgeon of setting a fire in which people were burnt, all supposedly to gain headlines and mention in the papers of the time.   It is a dark world after all that we are traveling through.  The devil would distract our minds with worldly concerns.  And whenever he has called us from our meditation in God's word and our focus on Jesus Christ, he has succeeded in doing what he wanted.  We must learn to let the worldly do their sin, let them despise and hate the name of Christ and all those who would represent Christ in God's world. 

We have a higher calling than to participate in the daily soap opera; we are called to meditate on God's testimonies.  This is the focus of our last verse today:

"Your testimonies are my delight;

                                 they are my counselors."

 We should regularly give more time to the testimonies of the Lord than to the false witness of our foes!  Charles Bridges comments on this section with these words:  "The Christian is a man of faith, every step of his way.  And this habitual use and daily familiarity with the testimonies of God will show him the pillar and the cloud in all the dark turns of his heavenly road."

 We are a pilgrim people like the Israelites in the desert on the way to God's promised rest.  To find our way we must seek His counsel.  But you may ask, what is God's counsel, what is His word, which speaks directly to us this day?

I can remember when public schools had no counselors to meddle and encourage each person to find their own way in life as they determined from their own experience, that which was right and true in their circumstance.  What better counsel could be found in that decade of the fifties and sixties – so long ago?  Well, in many places, the local clergy were still welcome and Christian teachers and administrators often encouraged young people to seek the counsel of the local pastors, who were even sometimes called in for an appointment!

Can you imagine that happening in our day and time?  The union counselors, the high-priests and priestesses of humanism intend to maintain their monopoly of little advise beyond getting in touch with one’s own feelings!  Almost gone from our society is the instruction to lay our behavior, our wants, wishes and desires along side the precious and holy word of God.  If we would do that, it would be ever so much more likely that people would learn to do the right thing.

Of course, we understand the fallen fact of human nature.  But, I certainly believe that the old immorality, whereby sinners knew what they were doing was wrong, was much better for the increase of the gospel than the common amorality which considers the issue of right and wrong never at all.  Was it C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters that imagined the pallid diet of ignorant sinners in comparison to the “greater” sinners who well knew they were standing in opposition to our God and King?  O how the devilish uncle in that tale savored the more tasty fare of absolute rebelliousness to the tepid ignorance of the nominal atheists.

CONCLUSION:  Well our purpose today is not to improve the imagined devilish menu of Screwtape and all his kin.  No indeed, our purpose is to call you all from the world of sin and point you towards the infallible reality of the very word of God.  Let me outline from Charles Bridges commentary, the counsel of scripture for your benefit.

“If you are yet an unawakened sinner, God's counsel is this:

                    His word warns you to turn from sin.

                    His word invites you to Jesus Christ.

                    His word directs you to wait upon God.

 If you are awakening by the power of the Spirit, God's counsel is this :

                   His word will show you your real condition.

                 His word will instruct you in the all-sufficiency of Christ.

                    His word will caution you of the danger of hypocrisy.

 If through grace you are a child of God, God's counsel is this:

                    His word recovers you from perpetual backsliding.

                   His word excites you to increased watchfulness.

                    His word strengthens your confidence in the fullness of grace.

                    His word increases your knowledge of the faithfulness of His love.”

Well may we profit from the very word of God, if we will but listen to it day by day.  Life is indeed a spiritual pilgrimage if we would understand it so and seek daily the spiritual lamp laid out for us in the revelations of David’s God and King.  Well does David describe our daily pilgrimage through life in another passage. 

Turn with me to Psalm 73: 23-26:

“Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand.

You will guide me with Your counsel,

And afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

What great spiritual blessings may be hours from meditation on this incredible psalm.  In last week’s four-verse portion we were invited to open our eyes, and in these four verses we are encouraged to see the choice that we must choose between God’s revealed Word and the world tat would charm us from heaven down into the depths of hell.  May the revealed knowledge of the Holy One of Israel and His love for David is the means of gracing of our hearts as we live and hope in the light of God's word.  Amen.