Lips That Defend

Posted on by korgrocker

“those who say, ‘By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us – who is Lord over us?’ ‘Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,’ says the Lord. ‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’”
Psalm 12:4-5 NIVUK

Human beings are blessed with the ability to reason and communicate. Even from an early age, children can weigh up the pros and cons of a situation and make a decision. To supplement our mental powers, we have instincts such as “fight or flight” when faced with danger. So all in all, a human being is an impressive example of God’s creative powers, far above all other created beings on our planet. But why should we be surprised? We read in Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’”. Then in Hebrews 2:7-8a we read, “You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under their feet …”. But due to sin, corruption of God’s creation followed, and David correctly recorded man’s propensity to lie, deceitfully adding an evil element into his reasoning powers. 

Those people who follow the way of evil, lying and cheating their way through life, justify their position by claiming that they are outside the rule of the Lord, not as a conscious thought, or in so many words, and instead they rely on their intellects to defend themselves in life’s situations. But they will of course get away with it, at least for a while. There are some very clever people in positions of authority in countries all over the world, there because of very quick and shrewd minds, able to talk their ways into places where they want to be. And with their mental and communicative skills they become arrogant and claim, “Who is Lord over us?”  With the passage of time they hone their skills and really believe that their “own lips will defend [them]”. 

But waiting in the wings is the Lord of all. He sees all that is going on and will arise to correct the situation. David visualised the time when God will protect the poor and needy  “from those who malign them”. The significant words in these verses are “I will”. We worship the God who will. The only thing that we are unsure of is when. But in God’s plan for this world “when” will happen one day.

There are people groups everywhere who come into the needy and poor categories. This is not always a financial scenario, and many live their lives deprived of the means to realise their full potentials. In some parts of the world, women and girls are deprived of education. In others, a person’s family and ancestry determine their status in life. Many are enslaved against their wills, forced to work long hours doing menial tasks for little of no money. But in all these cases their plights do not escape the Lord’s notice. Because the scales of justice will one day be balanced, God’s “I will” will indeed prevail. He will protect the helpless and defend the needy.

We pilgrims are aware of a different Kingdom, one where the Lord is King. One where there will, one day, be no more sickness or crying. But a Kingdom of which we are citizens now, and one that we encourage others to join. There is salvation for all available through Jesus, and the Apostle James wrote, “Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?” (James 2:3). We don’t know whose names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but as Martin Luther wrote, “First, there will be people in heaven I did not expect to be there. Second, there will be people not present in heaven I was certain would be there. Third is the greatest surprise of all—that I will be there myself!” 

There will come a day when the intellect, and defensive lips of mankind, will be of no further use to Godless people. It may be because their lives will be cut short when God intervenes to protect the poor and needy. But eventually for those who escape judgement in their natural lives will one stand before Him. But for us pilgrims it is far better today to use our God-given ability to reason and communicate about the things of our wonderful Heavenly Father. Daily we offer Him the praises of our lips not the lies and deceit of sinners. And the worship of our hearts will ultimately prevail on that glorious day when we see Him face to face.

Dear Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You today, the Maker of Heaven and earth. Amen.

Olives

Posted on by korgrocker

“Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realise God’s justice continues forever? All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies. You love evil more than good and lies more than truth.
But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love. I will praise You forever, O God, for what You have done. I will trust in Your good name in the presence of Your faithful people.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭52:1-3, 8-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A Psalm about two people. A great warrior who tells lies and the Psalmist who likens himself to an olive tree. It could be the actor list for a stage play or the character list in a fantasy novel. But then the seriousness of the message unfolds. David, the Psalmist, was recording the wrongs of a man called “Doeg the Edomite”, a man who massacred priests at Saul’s behest. We can read about the event, and his evil, in 1 Samuel 21 and 22. But what can we learn from this Psalm? I think the main message is that there is an eternal reality about God and His righteousness and justice. There have been many men and women, past and present, who are self-serving, mirroring the behaviour of the “great warrior” and thus assuring themselves the fate reserved for evil people. Perhaps David introduced a hint of sarcasm when he referred to Doeg as being a “great warrior”, because anyone with that title would be expected to be brave and courageous, and with a character befitting the word “great”. David referred to Doeg’s tongue as being like a sharp razor; he was apparently no stranger to boasting about his ruthless deeds and he used his mouth as the vehicle for underpinning his evil reputation. But Doeg was a man without a conscience and his one motivation in life was to maximise his own selfish rewards – an original “what’s in it for me” person – and he came to a early end, dying, according to Jewish traditions, at the age of 34. In today’s culture, the spirit of Doeg lives on, and many a person, not just those in a position of power or leadership, shipwreck their lives on a sea of lies and deceit. 

But David turns away from his rant to more personal matters. He likens himself to an olive tree. Why an olive tree? Why not an oak tree? Or one of those cedars of Lebanon? Perhaps he saw an olive tree planted close by while he wrote down his thoughts in God’s house, and was impressed by its fruitfulness. He saw the blessings of God manifested in this vigorous, long lasting tree; it was perhaps getting close to the time of a rich harvest of olives, and he equated it to his own life of trust in his loving Heavenly Father. A life full of “olives” of praise and thankfulness, a life founded on his relationship with God.

The moral of the story is that sooner or later, a life of deceit will face a time of reckoning. Lies will be exposed before the almighty Judge. And those people who commit to a life of righteousness will be amazed at how blind such deceitful people can be. They will laugh about the fate of even the most mighty of “warriors who do not trust God“. The righteous look on and observe godless, self-seeking evil people as they tumble down the slippery slope leading to the ultimate home of the father of lies.