To the Upright of Heart

 Psalms 36:1-10 ESV

 

“Transgression speaks to the wicked

    deep in his heart;

there is no fear of God

    before his eyes.

For he flatters himself in his own eyes

    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

    he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

He plots trouble while on his bed;

    he sets himself in a way that is not good;

    he does not reject evil.” (vv. 1-4)

 

Now the wicked are all who make a practice of wickedness, for whom evil and sin and disobedience to the Lord are what they practice. They are not those for whom obedience to God, faithfulness, honesty, integrity, moral purity, uprightness, godliness and righteousness are their practice. So they can be many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are still walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, and who are still living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and against other humans.

 

[Jn 3:19-20; 2 Thes 2:9-10; 2 Thes 3:1-2; Jas 1:19-21; 3 Jn 1:10; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 15:18-20; Mk 7:20-22; Lu 6:45; Lu 13:26-28; Jn 5:28-29; Rom 1:29-32; Rom 2:6-10; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; Heb 3:12; 1 Pet 3:12; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

So, whether one professes faith in Jesus Christ or not he can be among the wicked if sin is what he practices, and not obedience to God. And the wicked are those who do not give glory to God and who do not honor God with their lives, even if sometimes they do with their lips. There is no fear of God before their eyes for they do not take God and his word seriously. For many think that God will let them into his heaven on a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ but while they go on living in sin. That just isn’t biblical!

 

And so many of those living wickedly today, professing Christian or not, are living in secret sin, usually in sexual immorality, and they think no one knows and no one can see, and so they feel confident they won’t be found out. And in order to keep their sins secret they lie and they deceive and they manipulate and put on performances hoping to fool most people. But those closest to them may not be fooled. Yet, that will not keep them from trying, for they are those who are unwise and who plot evil on their beds.

 

“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

    your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

    your judgments are like the great deep;

    man and beast you save, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

    in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!” (vv. 5-10)

 

But God is steadfast in love to those who know him, and he is steadfast in his righteousness to the upright of heart. And who are they? They are those who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), who are walking in his ways, and in righteousness, and who are not walking in deliberate and habitual sin. They are the upright in heart who are dying to sin and living to righteousness (see 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

 

While it is true that in our flesh we can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation, the Scriptures teach that if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God that we must die with him to sin and live to his righteousness and walk in obedience to his commands in his power and strength, by the grace of God. For this is genuine faith in practice. For faith is not something we just profess, but it is what we live in walks of obedience and in surrender to our Lord and in holy living, guided by his power.

 

So, all the glory goes to God, and not to us, for this is nothing we can do in our flesh, but only in the power of God, and only because of what Jesus did for us in dying on that cross so that we will be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice and not obedience, it will lead to death, not to life eternal with God.

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

 

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