Psalm 14:1-3 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (KJV)
This is the state of man after the fall, Romans 5:12 “For in Adam sin entered into the world, and so death by sin and so death passed to all men, for all have sinned.” And yet God in his mercy extended his grace to all through his Son (read John 3:16). John simplifies this message in using only one syllable words in I John 5:12 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”. Paul describes the simply preaching of this grace of God to those who reject this message as foolishness. I Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”. While we by faith believe in Jesus as the gift of our salvation the wisdom of this world rejects God plan of salvation and instead creates their own plan, each according to their desire.
As I study verse one of this psalm, I realize that the fool in all of his wisdom is not only corrupt, and rejects God, but they also deny God’s existence to all those around him, but deep down they know that God exist. In Romans chapter one we see that because of this rejection, God has given them up to uncleanness and a reprobate mind through the lust they have within themselves. And since the wisdom of this world rejects God plan of salvation, while deep down the wicked know the judgement of God they not only continue their sinful ways but also have pleasure in them. Therefore, there is only one way for anyone to escape this fate and that is by excepting Jesus as your Savior. As Paul states in Romans 8:1 “There is therefor now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but by the Spirit.”.
1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.
3 He that backbite not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honored them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt, and changes not.
5 He that puts not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (KJV)
This psalm asks two simple questions: who may dwell in your tabernacle and who may live on your holy hill? The answer is simple also:
He whose
walk is uprightly (blameless)
does what is righteous
who speaks the truth from his heart
has no slander on his tongue
does his neighbor no wrong
casts no slur on his fellowman
despises a vile man
honors those who fear the LORD
keeps his oath even when it hurts
lends his money without usury
does not accept a bribe against the innocent
He who does these things will never be shaken
This psalm summaries the reading found in the five psalms today. The question for the day was “who is God to you?”. Reading the five psalms today, I pray that you realize that God is really the one that controls the events in our life if we walk in his ways. A crisis for the righteous then is just a turning point in our life that God uses to take us in a new direction. If I accept this realization than how should I live when facing a crisis? This psalm answer this with giving us several principles to live by and to make the focus of our desires to see God’s face. Proverbs 3:5 simply states this life as one that trust in the Lord with all your heart and lead not on our understanding.
As I was studying God’s Word and reflecting on his nature and the relationship that we have to him the phase “your heavenly father” kept coming to mind. It is amazing as we travel the path that God has for us on this earth how the view we have about our earthly father and our heavenly father both changes as we mature. As I look at how the child’s view of their father changes as they mature, I see these steps. First, he is daddy the strong arms that support you, the smiling face that looks upon you as you look at him. However, he soon becomes the one that tries to keep a child from going in the wrong direction when the child beings the process of exploring the world around him and starts the process of refusing to heed the father’s direction. This discipline from God is sometimes hard to understand and is something we might try to resist, just as a child resist an earthly father’s discipline. This is one of the first changes we go through in the way we view our earthly as well as our heavenly father as we mature. These views change with the circumstances that develop as we mature and take on new roles in life. As we mature, we in the right relationship with our earthly father we can look back and see how our life was shaped by his involvement in our life. At the same time our relationship to our father changes with these circumstances and new relationships. The one thing that does stay constant is this: we are the child, and he is the father.
One of the truths that I try teaching my children was the only thing they could give me were hugs and kisses since these truly came from hearts and are theirs to give away. These are precious to me since everything else I needed; I could provide for myself. This truth can also be seen in our relationship to God. He does not need anything from us since everything belongs to him already. However, our worship of our heavenly Father could be compared to the way that our kids give hugs and kisses to their earthly father. With this truth in mind, how can I worship God? The answer is simple. Follow the principles in this psalm and then give God the worship He desires, hugs and kisses from the heart from a child. Then God can make the same statement in the courts of Heaven about you as he did about Job. Job 1:8 “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschewed evil?”
Proverb chapter three provides a wonderful conclusion for today’s reading. As you read this Proverb remember that it was written to a son, an individual, about the real purpose of life. The purpose of this Proverb is not a “how to success in life”, but a “how to live a life pleasing to God”. Sometimes we forget that when we practice God’s way, we face opposition from the ungodly. We see this example in the first family with the death of Abel by the hands of Cain. As we study the scriptures and the issues that we face in life we realize that there is a battle between the way of God and the ways of the ungodly or the wicked. So, the decision my son is simple. Do you walk in the way of God, or follow the ways of the wicked?
My 5 Daily Psalms 