Destruction and Rejoicing

Last Sunday I discoursed on Psalm 5, a psalm of David. As I began to deal with the last verses of that Psalm, time was giving out. I can sense when a congregation is becoming saturated with information. When that happens, it is time to start winding down. However, being one who likes to milk all he can out of a verse, I was frustrated that I was not doing justice to the last verses of the Psalm. I was merely hitting the high points. Because of this, I felt let down after the sermon. Such are some of the peculiar trials that belong to preachers. So I will ease myself of this frustration by commenting on those verses in a written meditation.

Psalms 5:10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. 11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. 12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

In this Psalm David is interceding to God against his enemies. He prays to God to destroy his enemies. Observe in verse 10 that David’s enemies have also rebelled against God. Those who rebel against God will also oppose God’s servants. When David prays to God to destroy his enemies, he is asking God to do what God has already purposed to do. David had just said in verse 6:

Psalms 5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray that the will of our heavenly Father be done. When we see God destroy the wicked, we are seeing that prayer answered. Notice that connected with the destruction of the wicked is the rejoicing of the righteous. When the wicked are destroyed the righteous are shouting. Now just why is this?

In verse 11 David acknowledges that God defends the righteous. A vital part of that defense is the destruction of the wicked. If the wicked were not stopped at some point in the pursuit of their counsels, they would completely destroy the righteous. This fact is vividly expressed in Psalm 124.

Psalms 124:1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; 2 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 3 Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:

That the righteous are still numbered among the living in this earth is owing to God’s judgment of the wicked throughout history. Therefore, when the enemies of God’s people are destroyed, the righteous should rejoice. And we see this pattern in Scripture. When the wicked Egyptians, the oppressors of Israel, were drowned in the Red sea, Israel sang for joy (EXO 15:1-21).

Or consider the wicked Athaliah, who destroyed all the royal seed in Judah save one and seized the reigns of power. Observe God’s people rejoicing when she was destroyed.

2 Chronicles 23:21 And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

The wise man Solomon said it well.

Proverbs 11:10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

When God destroys Mystery Babylon, which has persecuted the apostles, the prophets, and the saints, God calls upon His servants to rejoice.

Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

But, as I noted in closing last Sunday, the ultimate answer to the prayer of Psalm 5:10-12 will be realized at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (2TI 4:1). Paul describes what will occur at this time.

2 Thessalonians 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Observe that at Christ’s appearing, the wicked will be destroyed from the presence of the Lord. This fulfills the petition of PSA 5:10:

Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

The wicked do not want God. That is their counsel and by that counsel they shall fall. God will grant their desire and forever banish them from His presence. At this time also the Lord will be glorified and admired “in all them that believe,” that is, in “all those that put their trust in thee,” as PSA 5:11 states it. Then the righteous will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (MAT 25:34). They shall “come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (ISA 35:10). This ultimately fulfills the petition of PSA 5:11:

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

So the last three verses of Psalm 5 express in prayer of the yearning we have for the coming of our Lord. In view of the final overthrow of all our enemies and the everlasting joy that shall accompany that event, we do well to sum up PSA 5:10-12 in this simple prayer:

Revelation 22:20 Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Excellence or Seduction, Part 2

Last week I sent you a meditation on the first half of Proverbs 12:26:

The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.

Today I would like to deal with the second half of that verse regarding the way of the wicked.

Notice first that this verse is a sentence. A sentence is a unit of thought. Therefore, the words and the arrangement of the words in this sentence are conveying an overall thought. This sentence consists of two independent clauses. An independent clause contains a complete thought and can stand alone as a separate sentence. The first independent clause is this statement: "The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour." The second independent clause is this statement: "The way of the wicked seduceth them." These two independent clauses are contrasted by the conjunction but. An overall idea is being expressed by these contrasting statements. The overall idea is the difference between the righteous and the wicked showing that the righteous is superior to the wicked.

The second clause deals with the way of the wicked. It teaches that their way seduces them. Now let’s define some terms.

Way – Course of life or action, means, manner.

Seduce - To lead (a person) astray in conduct or belief; to draw away from the right or intended course of action to or into a wrong one; to tempt, entice, or beguile (deceive) to do something wrong, foolish, or unintended.

Deceive - To ensnare; to take unawares by craft or guile; to overcome, overreach, or get the better of by trickery; to beguile or betray into mischief or sin; to mislead.

The way of the wicked is the course of life and action that they choose to pursue and how they pursue it. Now it is the way itself that seduces them. That is, the way they conduct their lives is itself leading them astray and drawing them from the right course of life and action. The way itself beguiles or deceives them to do wrong, foolish, or unintended things. Once they are is in the wrong path, one wrong leads to another wrong. Wrong decisions lead to more wrong decisions. In other words, the way itself seduces them. And the sad thing about being seduced or deceived is that it can happen to a person unawares. He may not realize that he is being led astray. Even if he knowingly does wrong, if he keeps doing wrong he will eventually think it is okay. When that happens, then the way of the wicked has seduced him.

Therefore, a wicked man can think he is doing what is right and best for him when in reality he is doing what is wrong and worst for him. His way looks good. It seems advantageous. It looks more excellent than the way of righteousness. But in reality his way is seducing him.

In the light of these facts consider this verse:

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Here is a man, who thinks his way is right; but that way certainly ends up in a place he did not intend. His way has seduced him. His way seemed to offer advantages that it could not deliver in the end.

It is for this reason that Solomon gives us this advice:

Proverbs 4:14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

If you would avoid being seduced by the way of the wicked, then take the following steps. First, ask God to show you any errors in your way.

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

If you resist reproof and the exposure of errors in your way, then you will never find the right way.

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Proverbs 10:17 He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

Then open your Bible with a prayer to God to teach you His way.

Psalms 86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

Psalms 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

And when God’s way is made plain to you in His word, then follow it.

Psalms 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

In so doing, you will avoid the seduction and destruction of the way of the wicked. You will be found among the righteous. You will have made the more excellent choices. And, therefore, as our verse says, you will be “more excellent than your neighbour.”

Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.

May this message find you and me in that more excellent way of righteousness.

Excellence or Seduction, Part 1

I always want a Bible in close reach. This is not a bad idea since man lives “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). For example, I keep a Bible in the glove compartment of my car and one by my bedside. Sometimes before I go to sleep, I will open the Bible by my bedside and just glance in it. I try to light on one verse and read it just to seal the day with a word from God before I sleep. One night as I did this, I lighted upon this verse:

Proverbs 12:26 ¶The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.

Of course, this is a verse from the book of Proverbs, which is one of the Poetical books of the Bible. The Poetical books abound in the Hebrew poetic form known as parallelism, in which poetic rhythm is achieved by the repetition of ideas. In the case of this verse, this is an antithetical parallelism because the ideas are in contrast. The contrasting ideas in this verse are the ideas of excellence verses seduction.

"The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour." First of all, who are the righteous, especially considering that Romans 3:10 teaches that “there is none righteous, no not one”? Enter the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our Lord Jesus came into this world to save God’s elect from their sins and to make them righteous before God.

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus Christ) shall many be made righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Sinners are made righteous by the obedience and blood shedding of Jesus Christ. By their obedience to God’s commandments, the elect manifest that they are righteous. We do not become righteous by doing righteousness, as most believe. Rather, we do righteousness because we are righteous.

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Now if you would know if you are one of the righteous, then do righteousness. And if you are one of the righteous, then you are more excellent than your neighbour.

Consider the definition of excellent.

Excellent - Of a person or thing: That excels or surpasses in any respect; preeminent, superior, supreme.

The saints (holy persons) that are in this earth are called “the excellent” in Psalm 16:3:

But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

Your neighbour may have more wealth, power, education, and fame in this world than you, but if you are righteous, you are superior to him in the eyes of God. And will you vastly surpass him in the Day of Judgment. The Psalmist had this to say concerning those who glory in their worldly riches:

Psalms 49:11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. 15 ¶But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. 16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

The honoured and esteemed of this earth, those who excelled according to men of this world, are compared by God to “the beasts that perish.” When the morning of that eternal day dawns, it is the righteous (the upright) who shall dominion over the great of this earth. Being the excellent, they shall excel in that day. This being the case, doesn’t it make sense to heed the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness:…

Would you be a more excellent person, a more excellent parent, a more excellent son or daughter, a more excellent student, a more excellent employer or employee, a more excellent neighbour? If you would truly excel, seek righteousness. Seek the right Bible. Practice the right faith. Go to the right church. React to stress, provocation, and offences in the right way. In short, do righteousness and so manifest that you are righteous. Then you will be truly excellent, yea, more excellent than your neighbour.

There is much to be said for the second half of our verse, but that will have to wait. I am like Elihu today in that “I am full of matter” (Job 32:18). Therefore, you may be receiving more meditations “from the pastor’s study.” God grant you all grace to excel.