“May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie;
But I shall meditate on Your precepts.
May those who fear You turn to me,
Even those who know Your testimonies.
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not be ashamed.” (Psalm 119:78-80 NASB1995)
Who are the arrogant? They are the prideful, the egotistical,
the superior, and those full of self-importance and condescension (disdain and
contempt toward others who they regard as less than them). And this is apparent
by how they treat some people with honor, respect, and value, while they treat
others with disdain (contempt). And many of them are liars, by practice, who deliberately
and habitually subvert (harm) others with their lies, out of contempt and disdain
for them, for they regard them as of no value.
In this context, the arrogant who subvert others with lies
are those who regard followers of Jesus Christ (of God) (who are walking in
obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, who are living holy lives, pleasing to
God, and who are not living as enemies of God) with disdain (contempt). In some
cases it might be a male-female thing where men see themselves as superior, and
where they see women of lesser value (see Luke 7:36-50), or vice versa. But in
all cases someone is being mistreated and harmed by the arrogant.
Now, lest someone might misconstrue what was just said here,
to make it say what they want it to say, in order to do an injustice to a servant
of the Lord Jesus, please read the Scriptures, and please read what Jesus
taught and what he said to those who were opposed to him, and please read the
epistles in their full context. For those who served the Lord Jesus spoke the
truth in love to the people, and they called sin what it was, and they called
for people to turn from their sins and to now obey God, out of love for them.
This, in itself, is not arrogance, and it is not regarding
some people as greater, and others as less. It is regarding them as God regards
them, according to the Scriptures. And the Lord divides people into two categories.
One is the faithful in Christ Jesus, who have died with Christ to sin, and who
have been born again of the Spirit of God, and who are now walking in obedience
to the Lord, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute sinless
perfection. And the other is those who are still walking in sin and not in
obedience to the Lord. The former are Christians. The latter are not saved.
But the purpose of this is not to put anyone down. The
purpose of this is to bring to light that many are they who are not in Christ,
by biblical faith in Christ, who are being lied to, and who are being falsely
promised forgiveness of all sins, and heaven as their eternal destiny, but
regardless of how they live. And so, out of hearts of love and compassion, the
Lord’s servants and messengers are speaking the truth of the gospel of Christ
to the people for their salvation from sin, and so that they will now walk in
obedience to the Lord, so that they will have the genuine hope of eternal life
with God.
For those who fear the Lord are those who honor God with
their lives, who are putting sin to death daily, by the Spirit, and who are
walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands. This does not make them
perfect people in every respect, but they are not those who are living in sin
and who are refusing to obey the Lord and his commands. And this is the
judgment of God, not of human flesh. If sin is what we practice, and not
obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God. And so we speak
this in love, because we want to see as many as possible in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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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They Subvert Me With a Lie
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