Desire to be single-minded and live with singleness of heart

February 2, 2017

Worship: By Faith

“By faith we see the hand of God

In the light of creation’s grand design

In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts

Of a holy city built by God’s own hand

A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day

When the longed-for Messiah would appear

With the power to break the chains of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go

In the power of the Spirit to the lost

To deliver captives and to preach good news

In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail

For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.”

— WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH & KRISTYN GETTY & STUART TOWNEND

Video: https://youtu.be/fXB8ihepUpE?list=RDMMyOPHkvbdOpw

Lyrics: http://www.gettymusic.com/by-faith/

Witness:

Several days have passed since I have sat here at my journal. Even now I am getting a late start. It’s almost time to get ready for work, and I am tired and would love to lay down and rest for a few minutes. But I press on. The song above has become a prayer for me as I seek to walk by faith and not by sight.

As I was driving home yesterday, I started to pray. As I began with my usual request for God to be glorified through me, my thoughts began to center around 4 words.

First,

That God would be gloried through

                                                                 My Mouth

Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

Ps 63:3

NIV

My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you —

I, whom you have redeemed.

Ps 71:23

NIV

May my lips overflow with praise,

for you teach me your decrees.

Ps 119:171

NIV

He who guards his lips guards his life,

but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

Prov 13:3

NIV

Second,

That God would be gloried through

                                                                My Mind

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Rom 12:2 NIV

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

Mark 12:30 NIV

Third,

That God would be gloried through

                                                                My Memory

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of the night.

Ps 63:6 NIV

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will meditate on all your works

and consider all your mighty deeds.

Ps 77:11-12 NIV

Fourth,

That God would be gloried through

                                                                My Money

Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of all your crops

Prov 3:9 NIV

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Matt 6:24 NIV

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

"Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you."

 Heb 13:5 NIV

WORD:

Ps 26:1-8 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; 3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.

Ps 26:1-8 1 Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. 3 For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved..

Ps 26:1-3 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. 2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. 3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. KJV

Ps 26:1-3 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2  Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. ESV

I may be accused of beating a dead horse but I want to share an observation made by the Theological Wordbook of the OT. It is a reference to the word “integrity” in verse one. I put it here as an introduction to my study on the claims made by David in this Psalm. Before I share this quote from the TWOT let me share a brief definition of the word used here.

I may be accused of beating a dead horse, but I want to share an observation made by the Theological Wordbook of the OT. It is a reference to the word “integrity” in verse one. I put it here as an introduction to my study on the claims made by David in this Psalm. Before I share this quote from the TWOT, let me share a brief definition of the word used here.

Strongs defines the word used here as:

               

OT:8537 <T) ‎tom (tome); from OT:8552; completeness; figuratively, prosperity; usually(morally)innocence:
((Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

    

TWOT:

    

2522† OT:8552 <m^T* ‎(‎t¹mam‎) be complete.  

2522a† OT:8537 <T) ‎(‎tœm‎) integrity.  

2522b† OT:8538 hM*T% ‎(‎t¥mmâ‎) integrity.  

2522c† OT:8535 <T* ‎(‎t¹m‎) perfect.  

2522d† OT:8549 <ym!T* ‎(‎t¹mîm‎) complete.  

2522e† OT:4974 <t)m= ‎(‎m®tœm‎) entirety.  

       

Two problems of OT theology concern the verb ‎t¹mam‎: self-righteousness and perfectionism. Illustrating the former, David expresses the resolve, "I will walk within my house with a perfect (‎tœm‎) heart" (Ps 101:2 KJV, ASV; marg. and RSV, "in the integrity of my heart"); cf. his not infrequent professions of righteousness (Ps 7:9 *; Ps 18:20 ). Yet the connection with NT Pharisaism remains one of "mere appearance" (KD, Psalms, I, p. 72). "Some of these utterances are no more than asseverations that the speaker is innocent of particular crimes laid to his charge; others are general professions of purity of purpose.... Those who make them do not profess to be absolutely sinless, but they do disclaim all fellowship with the wicked, from whom they expect to be distinguished in the course of Providence" (A. F. Kirkpatrick, Cambridge Bible, Psalms, I, p. 1xxxvii).
For the latter, other than in the above-listed passages referring to God himself, the OT resists claims to ultimate perfection. Noah was said to be ‎t¹mîm ‎"perfect" (Gen 6:9; NASB, "blameless in his time"). But compare Gen 9:21-23 and even the creature "in Eden" (Ezek 28:13, whether Adam or Satan, see ‎s¹‰an‎) who was ‎t¹mîm ‎from his creation until unrighteousness was found in him (v. 15), was by no means incapable of sin. Scripture's preeminent example of the ‎t¹m ‎"perfect" man, is Job (Job 1:1). He claimed to be ‎t¹m ‎(Job 9:21-22) and ‎t¹mîm ‎(Job 12:4) and held fast to his ‎tummâ ‎"integrity" (Job 27:5; Job 31:6), as recognized not only by his wife (Job 2:9) but also by Yahweh in heaven (Job 1:8; Job 2:3). In reference to the root meaning of tamam, he was a "finished product, " well rounded and balanced (IB, III, p. 909). Job, however, prefaced his own assertions by granting, "Though I be perfect, it (marg., he) shall prove me perverse" (Job 9:20 ASV). He admitted his sins (Job 7:20-21; Job 9:2,15; Job 10:6; Job 14:16-17), even from his youth (Job 13:26), confessed that he could not be held innocent (Job 9:28), and ended by retracting his rash charges against God and by repenting in dust and ashes (Job 42:6). As he explained, "If I have truly erred, my error lodges with me"; i.e. he was not guilty of the accusations made by his "friends" (Job 22:6-9) and was ‎t¹mîm‎, wholehearted in his commitment to the person and requirements of God.
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)(italics, underlining, and bold letter were added by me)

I know this is a long quote, which may be a sin in this “Twitterverse” age we live in, but brevity would not make the point clear here. Now with this out of the way let’s look at the claims David makes in these verses.

David begins his prayer/defense with mention of his internal walk.

He references two things: his integrity and his trust in the Lord. His integrity led to outward actions. This is seen in the verb, “walked” (or “led” ^NIV or “acted” ^NLT). The foundation of his integrity -- that which undergirded his internal attitude and outward acts -- was his trust in the Lord. The word for trust here conveys the idea of hope and reliance in reference to God.

The TWOT is helpful here in its discussion of the term “trusted.”

jf*B* ‎(‎b¹‰¹µ‎)

This is one of two words used in the OT to express trust or reliance upon, the other being ‎µ¹sâ ‎(q.v.) … in Hebrew, ‎b¹‰aµ ‎expresses that sense of well-being and security which results from having something or someone in whom to place confidence. It is significant that the LXX never translates this word with" believe in" but with "to hope," in the positive sense "to rely on God" or to be persuaded," for the negative notion for relying on what turns out to be deceptive. This would seem to indicate that ‎b¹‰aµ ‎does not connote that full-orbed intellectual and volitional response to revelation which is involved in "faith," rather stressing the feeling of being safe or secure. Likewise, all the derivatives have the same meaning "to feel secure," "be unconcerned."
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

David’s trust, hope, security, reliance was placed in, as we shall see, the One he worshiped (vv. 6-8,12).

The Amplified translates verse 1 this way:

VINDICATE ME, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide.

Ps 26:1 AMP

Without confidence in God, no one can walk with integrity. If I don’t believe in the faithfulness of God, why would I commit to living a life pleasing to Him? If a person doubts the trustworthiness of the LORD, they will inevitably live a life of double-mindedness (James 1:8, 4:8). They will try to serve two masters, which is impossible (Mt. 6:24; Lk. 16:13). These latter verses demonstrate an important part of trust. In fact, they form the foundation of trust, which is love. David loves God; therefore, he trusts in God; therefore, he walks with integrity. The double-minded cannot truly trust in God. They end up being hypocrites. This is the very people David does not want to associate with (v. 4). David desired to be single-minded and live with singleness of heart (cf. Jer. 32:39).

Let me end with a quote from someone I quote from quite often. Not that I have knowledge of these references. Having a Bible program enables me to find such jewels. But I do enjoy reading Spurgeon’s devotional thoughts and receive an updated version of them on a daily basis in my e-mail from Allister Begg of Truth for Life ministry. This portion is rather long, and the article it comes from is even longer.

Whole-hearted Religion - Jer. 32:39

We must, dear friends, have one walk, or else our life will make no progress. He who travels in two opposite directions will find himself no forwarder. How is it that some professors are at much the same place as they occupied twenty years ago? Years have made them more grey, but not more gracious... Like a pendulum, they travel far but get no farther. Growth, progress, advancement - none of these can they know, for they are double-minded, and so run to and fro in the earth and wear themselves out with vanity. Multitudes of people are doing this. They make such progress one Sunday that they resolve henceforth to live unto God. They begin at a steam engine rate, they plough the sea of life in their eagerness; they are like a vessel which has had new boilers put into her, but by tomorrow where are they! They have burst their boilers, or they have allowed the fires to go out, and henceforth they are without spiritual life or motion, and lie like logs upon the stream. This will not do; we must have one way of uniform vitality. I do not say that we can always make apparent progress at the same rate, for powerful under-currents affect our life, and a man may be doing much who is successfully overcoming adverse influences. When a fierce wind is blowing a captain may know that he will be driven on shore if he does not steam right into the teeth of the hurricane: if he does this is he not making the surest real progress if he manages to keep where he is and avoid the fatal danger? I say, then, that if we do not seem to advance we may, nevertheless, in the judgment of God be making true progress if we resist the mighty impulses which would otherwise hurry us on to destruction: but if we have two ways, and steer this way and that way and every way by turns, with the view of pleasing men and making things easy all round, we cannot speed towards the desired haven. 

We must choose and keep to one way, or we cannot attain to usefulness. What influence has a double-minded man? If a man speak for God today, and so lives tomorrow that he virtually speaks for the devil, what power has he over those around him? How can he lead who has no way of his own? If your actions play fast and loose with truth; if your life is a chequer-work of black and white; if you are everything by turns and nothing long, what force for good can you possibly exert? Consistency and unity of life are necessary to usefulness.

(from Spurgeon's Sermons, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

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