“For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked.”
Psalm 26:3-5 NLT
David wrote that he distanced himself from those who were liars and hypocrites and who engaged in what he called “the gatherings of those who do evil”. In his day there would have been occasions when the people organised orgies, and similar gatherings, pursuing hedonistic goals and pandering to their sinful human desires. How do I know? Because that has been human nature since the Fall, and would have been much the same in David’s day as it is in 21st Century society. Baal worship, practised in Canaan by the indigenous peoples there, was also a religion that involved excesses of a sexual nature amongst even more wicked manifestations of evil. David kept himself apart from such gatherings because, when compared to what he knew God expected of him, they were evil and wicked. Such behaviour also violated the Law and teachings of Moses and over time introduced a moral decline that led eventually to God having to take action against His people.
The problem for David was that, by failing to engage in the evil and wickedness around him, he became a hated figure in his society. We can just hear the accusations of him being a “do-gooder” accompanied by false rumours and gossip designed to drag him down to the level of the liars and hypocrites. But David stood firm, living “according to [the Lord’s] truth” and refusing “to join in with the wicked”. However, we know that David was not immune from the same sexual temptations as the people in the evil gatherings, as we saw from the Bathsheba episode. Paul wrote, “As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace.” “They have no fear of God at all.”” (Romans 3:10-18), a concise series of quotes from the Psalms and Isaiah, but a damning and accurate description of the evil and wicked people that David refused to spend time with.
There is little different today in human behaviour. Yes, Western 21st Century societies are more sophisticated, or so the people claim, but the behaviour is no different. And God’s people, the believers who live in these societies, are facing into the same issues that David did. The internet provides an opportunity for wicked and evil gatherings through social media and pornographic sites. Private parties behind closed doors act out depraved and sinful behaviour and desires. Night clubs dance on until dawn in some places. No difference really to the society in David’s day, except for one big factor – Western societies today have largely rejected God and His ways and have no moral compass to steer them in the right ways.
But we pilgrims are like David, in refusing to engage in evil gatherings. We avoid hypocrites and liars where we can and try to live our lives God’s way, always on the alert for the temptations that will lead to the evil and wickedness lurking below the surface of human consciousness. And when we discover that we have acted sinfully we come to the Cross and ask for forgiveness. Jesus, like David, refused to follow the practices of the society around Him and that ultimately led to His death at the hands of those who rejected His call to a life with God and without sin. We pilgrims find as well that when we meet others, in the office or at social gatherings, we can be shunned and maligned. Accused of hypocrisy. Excluded from the office parties. Pushed to the margins of a wicked society who resent our moral standing.
In this life we will have trouble, Jesus said, but He went on to state that He had overcome the world, and aren’t we pilgrims so very grateful. We may find ourselves harassed and persecuted in our day to day lives, but the time span is infinitesimally small compared with eternity. We live in a Kingdom of people chosen by God. Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory” (Romans 8:29-30). Paul continued, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself” (Romans 8:33). And the climax comes with Romans 8:38, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love”. David knew all this many years before Paul, because God never changes. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. And so we pilgrims trudge on towards glory, in a bubble of God’s love, looking beyond the temporal problems, avoiding the temptations of evil gatherings, with our eyes fixed on the One who made our salvation and future all possible.
Dear Father God. How can we thank You enough for all You have done for us. We thank You for leading and guiding us in the right paths, and keeping us safe on our journey. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 