SIMPLE DO'S

        These are two pages from one of my exhaustive 
Bible concordances, but the tiny print and compact
columns are probably a good picture of ALL
those 613 laws facing early Jews.

The law library at the University of Washington was my favorite place to study—away from roommate drama—during the two quarters I attended there (1969-70). No, I wasn't a law student (I was completing some journalism classes), but I knew that my need of a quiet study place could happen amidst the tall shelves of thick law books. So many laws! Thousands of tomes to interpret them!

A few years later I learned of an burdensome spiritual number: 613. That's how many commands good Jews of Bible times were expected to obey. Of that number, 365 were things not to do, and 248 were things to do. Of the “police force” (the Pharisees) pushing all those laws on people, Jesus declared, WOE! All of Matthew 23 jabs at the picky-picky laws they felt duty-bound to impose.

I'm grateful God set the “basics” at ten (commandments), not hundreds. And that Jesus augmented the stark “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not” commands of Moses' time with the compassionate do's and don'ts with The Beatitudes (Matthew 5) as well as His other teachings. Also: that scripture includes other parcels of teaching that support and explain the basics of simple, godly living.

One such passage is Psalm 15, by King David. He wasn't perfect, but he loved God. As a warrior-king, not a priest, he couldn't serve in the Jerusalem temple. But he seemed to yearn for a life of devotion such as he observed in the priests who lived and worked on God's “holy hill” (v. 1). The character traits he highlighted are still true for believers today.

*INTEGRITY. David spoke of a seeking a “blameless walk” (v. 2), despising vile lifestyles (v. 4a) and honoring godliness (v. 4b).

*TRUTHFULNESS. His spiritual role models had impeccable speech (“speaks truth from his heart,” v. 2b), and didn't slander or slur another's reputation (v. 5).

*GODLY CONDUCT. For this character trait, David looked at how someone handled money. He commended those who kept their word “even when it hurts” (v. 4), lent money without exorbitant interest (“usury”), and never accepted bribes (particularly, never against “the innocent”--v. 5).

Throughout all three of these character traits I hear echoes of the Ten Commandments and Jesus' teachings about loving and serving one another. And I'm grateful I'm not burdened by more than 600 Levitical do's and don'ts of long ago. The traits David highlighted transcend the centuries. And they can be journey markers until Christ calls us Home—to Heaven, where integrity, truthfulness, and godly conduct are the norm, for everyone there.

Making Psense of Psalms--Psalm 1: Choices

This blog begins a series on selected psalms that are important for believers to better understand. Next week: Psalm 8.

Psalm 1’s familiar phrase, “like a tree planted by streams of water,” comes to mind when I think about this painting hung above our fireplace. The artist was a great aunt who excelled as a painter and organist. She had a large theater organ with a full pedal board in her home—and how she could max its capabilities! More important, she was a godly woman who lived out her faith. Appropriately, the art I received as a gift depicts the first Psalm’s word picture of spiritual faithfulness. The healthy spiritual “tree”:

            *Draws life-giving water from the flowing stream, this analogy foreshadowing Jesus’ proclamation that He is the living water.

            *Yields fruit in season, as a Christian grows in the graces and “fruits” that reveal Christ working in his or her life.

            *Has no withering leaves.  Unlike normal trees, which yield to the seasonal patterns of growth, fruit, dying and dormancy, the Christian has continuous inner renewal.  D.L. Moody was fond of saying, “All the Lord’s trees are evergreen.”

            Beyond the memorable tree metaphor, Psalm 1 speaks plainly about spiritual choices. At first, this bothered me. I would have thought the opening “hymn” of the Jewish songbook would be exuberant praise. But instead of starting with people praising God, it begins with God blessing us. The first word, “blessed,” in Hebrew is actually plural.  Think of it as “truly blessed” or “blessed-blessed-and-blessed-again.”

            Then we’re given a thumbnail of this godly person’s character: avoiding the progressive moral decline of “walking,” “standing,” or “sitting” with sinners. He may befriend the ungodly in his circle of work and influence, but he doesn’t condone or join in their negative activities and attitudes. He is in the world, but he is not of it.

            Next, Psalm 1 tells us how he shores up his convictions: he diligently studies God’s Word. Jerry Bridges remarked in The Practice of Godliness (p. 93): “As we search the Scriptures, we must allow them to search us, to sit in judgment upon our character and conduct.  We must not treat the Scriptures only as a source of knowledge about God, but also as the expression of his will for our daily lives” (p. 93).

            In contrast, the ungodly are like chaff, the worthless straw the wind blows away when grain is threshed. At the end of time, at the eternal judgment that Rev. 20:11-15 calls the “Great White Throne,” they won’t have, as the phrase goes, a leg to stand on. Even if they did some moral good in their lives, this is not a matter of the “good” outweighing the “bad.” If they ignored or spurned Jesus’ offer of salvation, they will be shut out of Heaven.

            The psalm ends where Ephesians 2:8, 9 presents the rest of the story: we’re not saved by anything we do, but by faith in Christ. Then, we are saved to serve Him. As we do, “The Lord watches over the way of the righteous.”

            How should we respond to His blessing and watch-care? With praise, and more praise. And in that way, yes, Psalms begin with a call to praise.