Psalm 69:4-8 ESV
“More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who
hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who
attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now
restore?
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I
have done are not hidden from you.
“Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through
me,
O Lord God of
hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through
me,
O God of
Israel.
For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor
has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my
mother's sons.”
Jesus Christ was hated in this way. And, he said that if we
follow him with our lives, doing the things he did and saying the things he
said, that we would be hated as he was hated.
But the hatred is not always outright. It isn’t always that
people’s fists are up in the air and that they are screaming, “Crucify him!”
Sometimes the hatred comes through in very subtle ways. Sometimes it comes in
forms of manipulation, trickery, and subtle insults or distractions to draw our
attention away from the Lord, and away from what he has called us to do.
For, Satan is very clever. He doesn’t always (or usually)
attack us in very outward and obvious ways, for his goal is to deceive us. His
goal is to lead us away from our pure devotion to Christ. So, he is more likely
to try to “gaslight” us in ways that can’t be proven than he is to outright
attack us where everyone can see what he is up to.
And, in this way many people are being led astray, and they
are falling for the lies of the enemy, because the lies are so clever, and
because the lies are masked to appear as something else. So, the unsuspecting
and the naïve may easily be taken in by the enemy because they don’t know his
tricks.
And, the enemy may lead them to turn against the righteous,
too, thinking that they are rejecting what is wrong, because they are deceived.
Psalm 69:9-12 ESV
“For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the
reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my
reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a
byword to them.
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the
drunkards make songs about me.”
The house of the Lord is not a building called “church.” It
is not a church denomination or an institution of human origin. We who believe
in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior are God’s house, which is spiritual,
not physical. And, Jesus Christ is our chief cornerstone.
So, if zeal for God’s house consumes us, we are not being
consumed by anything related to a building or to a church denomination. We are
passionate about holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, and purity being lived
out in the lives of those who profess the name of Jesus.
Zeal for God’s house is like what Paul expressed when he
told the church that he was jealous for them with a godly jealousy, for
although he had promised them to one husband, Jesus Christ, he was deeply
concerned that their hearts were being led astray to “another Jesus” and to a “different
gospel.”
But if you have this kind of zeal for the body of Christ
today, you will probably face much opposition from many within the church, even
from those in leadership positions. They may accuse you of being overly sensitive
or of overreacting, for they have been blinded by the enemy’s lies and they don’t
see what you are seeing.
And, they may well mock you and laugh at you, perhaps even
thinking you are crazy. And, they may whisper about you behind your back. And, they
may even turn others against you. For they may convince them that you are “hyper-religious”
or that you are “legalistic,” and that they don’t need to listen to you.
But we must not let their attacks against us unsettle us or
deter us from what we know is the right way, the narrow way that leads to
eternal life with God. We must continue on the right path, and we must continue
to speak the truth in love, in hopes that people will listen and that they will
turn from their sins to obedient faith in Jesus Christ as their only Lord.
Psalm 69:13-15 ESV
“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the
abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
Deliver me
from sinking in
the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the
deep waters.
Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep
swallow me up,
or the pit
close its mouth over me.”
The Lord delivers us from our enemies in many different
ways. Sometimes it is through physical deliverance, but not always. For, he
promised us a life of suffering for righteousness’ sake. He promised us we
would be hated and persecuted as he was. But he also promised us that good
would come out of our suffering, and that we would grow to maturity in Christ
through it all.
So, if the Lord Jesus doesn’t rescue you physically from
your enemies and from your persecutors, don’t let it unsettle you. Believe in
the sovereignty of God over your life. Believe that God is in control. And,
believe that God is working all things for good in your life if you love (obey)
him and if you are called according to his purpose.
But that doesn’t mean that God is just leaving you to “hang
out there to dry,” i.e. to abandon you to danger. Yes, he will allow us to go
through some tough stuff sometimes. But that doesn’t mean he has deserted us or
that he has left us to our own resources to “figure it out” for ourselves. He
is still with us, and he will carry us through it all. We just need to trust
him.
But if we lean on him for support, and if we trust in his
sovereignty, and if we listen to what he wants to teach us through it all, and
if we walk in obedience to him, and if we do what he says to do, he will keep
us from sinking. He will keep us from failing in our hearts. He will uphold us,
and he will sustain us. And, we will be filled with his joy and with his
purpose.
And, we will continue in what he has called us to do, more
mature, stronger in our faith, and more determined than ever to get out the
truth of his gospel so that many will turn away from their sins, and so that they
will turn their hearts to Jesus Christ in submission to him as Lord of their
lives. And, all this will be for the praise of God’s glory!
Jesus Draw Me Ever
Nearer
Lyrics by Margaret
Becker
Music by Keith Getty
“Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I’ll follow, though I’m worn.
May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart’s testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.
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