6/10/07

The Essence of Christ in the Psalms: The Heart Changer

Psalm 37:1-40

Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers.  [2] For they will wither quickly like the grass, and fade like the green herb.  [3] Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.  [4] Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  [5] Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.  [6] And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.  [7] Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.  [8] Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.  [9] For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.  [10] Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there.  [11] But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.  [12] The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes at him with his teeth.  [13] The Lord laughs at him; for He sees his day is coming.  [14] The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow, to cast down the afflicted and the needy, to slay those who are upright in conduct.  [15] Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken.  [16] Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked. [17] For the arms of the wicked will be broken; but the Lord sustains the righteous.  [18] The Lord knows the days of the blameless; and their inheritance will be forever.  [19] They will not be ashamed in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they will have abundance.  [20] But the wicked will perish; and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, they vanish-- like smoke they vanish away.  [21] The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives.  [22] For those blessed by Him will inherit the land; but those cursed by Him will be cut off.  [23] The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way.  [24] When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.  [25] I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread.  [26] All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing.  [27] Depart from evil, and do good, so you will abide forever.  [28] For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever; but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.  [29] The righteous will inherit the land, and dwell in 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 spies upon the righteous, and seeks to kill him.  [33] The Lord will not leave him in his hand, or let him be condemned when he is judged.  [34] Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.  [35] I have seen a violent, wicked man  spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.  [36] Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found. [37] Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity.  [38] But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.  [39] But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.  [40] and the Lord helps them, and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

This Psalm of David is a classic example of the compare and contrast genre of Hebrew poetry.  Job contains this type of literary style, as well as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  This style is generally referenced by a statement followed by a “but” or “however” or “yet”.  It may be a thought, a perception, something seen, some kind of action, etc.  It might be seen in one verse.  For example: Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”  This style takes something that seems true or right and contrasts it with what is actually real or true.  In Proverbs 7, there is a great example of a perception that is wrong.

"Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;  Let us delight ourselves with caresses.  Suddenly he follows her,  As an ox goes to the slaughter,  Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,   [23] Until an arrow pierces through his liver;  As a bird hastens to the snare,  So he does not know that it will cost him his life.  Proverbs 7:18, 22,23

The perception is that he is going to have a wonderful evening of sexual frolic, but the reality is that he is going to destroy his life.

In the book of Job, what we find is a book divided by contrast rather than a verse division.  After all of the calamity in Job’s life in chapters 1-4, there is a dialogue and discourse between Job and three of his friends from chapters 5-31.  These chapters form the context of perceived truth.  Then beginning in chapter 32 to the end of the book, there is the contrasting picture of reality and truth.  Psalm 37 reveals a third motif.  It is a chapter where we find the contrast.  Some Psalms are a back and forth perception and rebuttal (Ps. 22), while others have very distinct sections (Ps. 10).  Psalm 37 is more in line with Psalm 22. 

The contrast is between man fearing man for what man can do, or what man possesses, as opposed to what God is doing.  God is changing our hearts to where we move more and more toward a complete understanding that we should have no fear of what man can do or what we will be missing out on if we yield ourselves to the perfect love and care of God.  I can’t imagine that there was ever a time when the struggle between man’s “things” and God’s was more evident.  That is not to say that man’s greed for things has been more.  It is just that we know about it more because of the tremendous speed in the process of information. 

Television, movies, blogs, photo-taking cell phones, web sites, etc. have made the transference of information practically at the speed of light.  At any give moment, you can get information on just about anyone of any renown in the world.    I believe that all of this attacks our sense of greed, lust, selfishness, and all other fleshly sins and make us discontent with what we have.  I think King David be in horror if he could see the oppressive evil in our day.  You can hear anything, see anything (unfortunately, too much that should not be seen), talk to anyone—anywhere in the world—convey information at the press of a key on a computer keyboard.  Not even wanting to know anything about Paris Hilton, I have no choice because her activities are plaster all over the news, on just about ever web browser and in the newspapers.  I assure you that she is becoming—if she is not already—an icon for hellish rebellion in her generation.  She is just one of literally thousands who portray the ways of worldliness (wealth, power, fashion, etc.) as the only satisfying way of life.  This was David’s struggle.  “How, O Lord, do I deal with all of this” was his cry and ours. 

When our flesh cries out for satisfaction, the Spirit reminds us that only God gives satisfaction.  The allures of the flesh give only a momentary application of fulfillment.  The Spirit’s supply is eternally gratifying.  The Lord delivers this truth to David from verses 1-7a.  The rest of David’s song is somewhat like commentary to those first verses.  Notice there are two classes of people: those who are evildoers and those who trust in the Lord.  This is a very clear breakdown of what evil is: evil is the result of not trusting the Lord.  (Even a believer can do evil.  When a believer lives out his life not seeking God’s leadership, trying to do things in his own strength, being ruled by fear, demanding things go his way, he is living a life of evil.)  God is about changing our hearts from people of evil to people of righteousness, not just from the point of imputed righteousness, but to the place of practical righteousness.  In fact, this change is a part of the salvation process which includes justification (a one time God-inacted, God initiated work), sanctification (a continuing God-empowering activity) and glorification (a final God-purposing act for eternity).  In each of these, however, there is the element of trust.  Romans 5:1 says,

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks to the Philippian Christians about sanctification in chapter 2, verse 12,

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

Paul is talking to believers…so it is not working for one’s salvation.  This is not a slavish terror but wholesome, serious caution.  It is a nervous and trembling anxiety to do right.  Paul has no sympathy with a cold and dead orthodoxy or formalism that knows nothing of struggle and growth. 

David says to “dwell” and “cultivate”.  It doesn’t matter what you do or who you are.  Your occupation is not the issue.  As someone once said, “Bloom where you are planted.”  Whatever you do, do it with faithfulness.  Let the trust you have for God be that which exemplifies and defines your life.  As such, doing that which is good will be the identifier of what is important to you.  Settle in, be comfortable in the “kingdom” of God.  Evil doers live in accordance with the ruler of their kingdom: themselves, as dictated by the “powers of darkness.”   Those who dwell in the kingdom of God become intimately joined with faithfulness.  The word “cultivate” in the Hebrew means to “associate with” or “become intimate with”.  Therefore, faithfulness becomes our “soul-mate.”  However, faithfulness is directly tied to our trust in the Lord…it is not an action that we “perform” alone.  It is in concert with the One in whom we trust. It is a daily rational approach to sanctification.  It asks the questions:  will I submit to the work of God today or will I live as if I am the center of the universe?  Will I agree with God about what He wants to do or will I simply go about my business as if He desires no intervention in my daily affairs?  Will I try and live a “good” moral life or will I allow Him to complete the work He has begun?

In verse four, we find one of the most misinterpreted verses in all of Scripture.  Much emphasis is given to the second phrase, “and He will give you the desires of your heart” without giving much thought about anything other than we will get what we want.  In ancient literature, especially in the Book of Law, we find a syntax that exposes “condition” (protasis) and the consequence (apodsis).  For example, Exodus 19:5 says,

Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

And, again, in Acts 1:8, this example,

but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Therefore, we must realize that the second part of verse four…He will give you the desires of your heart…is the apodsis of “delighting in the Lord.”  That in which we find our greatest expression of life becomes our delight. 

Delight in something means that we find our pleasure in it.  It is something that satisfies us.  It is something that draws us to it.  I think many people only look at the apodsis and not the protasis. 

The second misunderstanding is that seen this way: all we have to do for God to give us what we want is to delight ourselves in Him, and then He will give us what we want.  What is missed here is that, if that is true, we have just manipulated God (we have spiritualized His “heavenly servant” model) to give us what our selfish hearts want.  Example: Does God want us to be patient?  Yes.  So, we pray, “God make me patient.”  Now, we have delighted in the Lord by doing what He wants us to do.  Then, we say, “give me that job; keep me from suffering; make things easy; make my kids respectful and respectable; etc.”  This reveals a heart ruled by self.  In opposition to this kind of erroneous thinking is the correct prayer stance that is a response to “delighting in the Lord”: Lord, I know that your Spirit is working patience in me; I realize that the only way that this can happen is to use me in situations where I might not like to be (dealing with rebellious children, honoring my spouse with kindness and gentleness when that is not what is coming to me, willing to work with diligence and respect when all others are doing just enough to get by).  But, I desire patience because that is what will ultimately glorify You.  So, Lord, I am asking you to do Your work, in Your way and in Your time.”  Where does a heart-prayer like that come from?  Yep, from the work of the Spirit in our hearts.  But notice.  These are not just words that we think will get us what we want…NO!  They reveal the true desire of our hearts.  That is what God is after…hearts that desire His heart!  When I delight in the Lord, the things I ask for, the desires of my heart will be not what I want, but what He wants.  It is actually a concurrence with His heart.  The “name-it-and-claim-it” crowd does not like the proper exegesis of this verse because it muddles their “self-demanding” theology, i.e., that God exists only to be at whim of their calling.

Verse five is represents a similar contextual sentence as verse four in that the word “commit” is a word that represents “covenant.”  It reflects the removal of all other entities for which we might be responsible to or accountable to.