My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
--Psalm 101:6 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 26, 2013 of Psalm 101; 1 Corinthians 7; 2 Samuel 7-8.
Psalm 101 is one of those in a smaller group sometimes referred to as the "royal" or "enthronement" psalms, so called because they focus primarily on the position of king, either an earthly king or God Himself as King. Here we have David, anointed by God to rule over His people, setting ethical standards for himself and for his administration. Of course, the standards he wanted to set are so high, only Jesus will be able to perfectly meet them when He returns to establish His kingdom on the new earth. And we know that David failed to live up to his own expectations, most notoriously by sinning with Bathsheba. But his intentions are noteworthy for a number of reasons, and were likely very heartfelt at the time he made these promises.
After first giving praise and glory to God, David pledges to try to live ("give heed to") a blameless life, to be a man of great integrity, to keep the kingdom of God as his top priority and not to obsess on worthless things of the world. He vows to stay away from those who do not obey the Lord and to not have anything to do with them, their actions, or any of their works. He even says he will act against evildoers, going so far as to claim he will destroy them.But then he promises to hold in high esteem those who are faithful and do follow God. While he may try to rid his kingdom and especially his administration of the bad people, the good ones he will allow to stay and dwell with him. He finishes by making it clear that his intent is to remove from his presence and his rule all those who do iniquity, who do not follow the Lord.
Although David may have failed a little in their execution, his ideas and his ideals are very good even today. We should adopt some of his standards and apply them to our own daily life. First, we should be careful how we associate with non-believers, especially those who blatantly and openly sin. Granted, we cannot positively impact a non-believer if we don't interact with them and witness to them. Nor can we completely isolate ourselves from the world. We must carry the Gospel to those who need to hear it. But we want to influence them and not allow them to influence us. Next, we need to put less importance on the things that the world can provide and more emphasis on maturing our faith and expanding the kingdom of God. And finally, as much as possible, we should surround ourselves with other believers of good faith. In this way we can support and teach and uphold each other. This is what God would have us do, as He instructed through the vows of David. Amen.
Dear Father in heaven, thank You for giving us guidance through the pledge made by one You anointed as king so very long ago. The standards he tried to set for himself are those we need to follow ourselves in our daily walk. With Your help, Father, and the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, we can avoid the traps Satan would set for us by the hands of those who do his bidding. In the name of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we pray. Amen.
After first giving praise and glory to God, David pledges to try to live ("give heed to") a blameless life, to be a man of great integrity, to keep the kingdom of God as his top priority and not to obsess on worthless things of the world. He vows to stay away from those who do not obey the Lord and to not have anything to do with them, their actions, or any of their works. He even says he will act against evildoers, going so far as to claim he will destroy them.But then he promises to hold in high esteem those who are faithful and do follow God. While he may try to rid his kingdom and especially his administration of the bad people, the good ones he will allow to stay and dwell with him. He finishes by making it clear that his intent is to remove from his presence and his rule all those who do iniquity, who do not follow the Lord.
Although David may have failed a little in their execution, his ideas and his ideals are very good even today. We should adopt some of his standards and apply them to our own daily life. First, we should be careful how we associate with non-believers, especially those who blatantly and openly sin. Granted, we cannot positively impact a non-believer if we don't interact with them and witness to them. Nor can we completely isolate ourselves from the world. We must carry the Gospel to those who need to hear it. But we want to influence them and not allow them to influence us. Next, we need to put less importance on the things that the world can provide and more emphasis on maturing our faith and expanding the kingdom of God. And finally, as much as possible, we should surround ourselves with other believers of good faith. In this way we can support and teach and uphold each other. This is what God would have us do, as He instructed through the vows of David. Amen.
Dear Father in heaven, thank You for giving us guidance through the pledge made by one You anointed as king so very long ago. The standards he tried to set for himself are those we need to follow ourselves in our daily walk. With Your help, Father, and the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, we can avoid the traps Satan would set for us by the hands of those who do his bidding. In the name of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we pray. Amen.
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