Saturday, April 12, 2014

Psalm 31:1

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely
Psalm 31:1

1 To the chief Musician [natsach], A Psalm [mizmowr] of David [David]
In thee, O LORD [Yahovah], do I put my trust [chacah]; let me never ['al] [`owlam] be ashamed [buwsh]: deliver [palat] me in thy righteousness [tsadaqah].  KJV-Interlinear

1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
In Thee, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Thy righteousness deliver me.  NASB

This psalm is a prayer for deliverance, expressed in terms of faith and confidence.  It is addressed to the chief musician, ‘natsach,’ which refers to one who glitters from afar, a chief, someone eminent, a goal, a bright object at a distance toward which a traveler is heading, truth, confidence in travel, assurance of knowing where one is going.  And it all points toward God, the personal God, who is Jesus Christ.

The musician speaks of music, and music portrays grace.  As life unfolds all around us, the music which is the grace of God, plays on, uninterrupted.  Regardless of our circumstances, grace is always there.

And when one pursues ones spiritual life, and grows up then your knowledge and confidence develops such that you know that you are doing the right thing.

With greater growth, you develop greater confidence.  With greater confidence you lose any possibility of being ashamed of your beliefs in God, in Christ, in doctrine, in your whole outlook on life.

With all of the anti-Christian attitudes out there, especially in social peer pressure situations, it is easy to be embarrassed or ashamed.  But lack of growth or knowledge and certainly lack of experience in life can easily lead to embarrassment.

But pursuing a daily study, day in and day out, builds up a defense against the mockings of the world and the pressures that will try to turn you away from your spiritual life.

We will all face failures, and embarrassing situations, that will make it easy for people to point at us and make fun, or mock, or gossip and so forth.  But that is their problem, not yours.

The Bible never guarantees you absolute success in everything that comes from this world. Quite the opposite, the Bible warns us of the many hazards and disappointments that will come from this world.  Nothing from this world is permanent, and nothing from this world edifies as doctrine does.

So, while the uninformed and naïve make fun of you, they are really mocking at themselves for pursuing nothing, as they presume that you are.

Righteousness, ‘tsadaqah,’ means objectivity, rightness, virtue, legitimate prosperity, justice.  And that is what God gives to us through doctrine.  That is what you acquire through the pursuit of your spiritual life, while the world pursues nothing and no value, you pursue something of intrinsic value beyond imagination.

The world flips a coin and gambles on heads or tails.  You look at doctrine and know with certainty and confidence, the ultimate outcome of your entire life all the way into eternity.