Worship in WORD
|
23
Love the Lord, all you his saints! The
Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all
you who wait for the Lord! ESV |
Ps 31:23-24 23 Love the LORD, all his faithful
people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
The New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. |
|
Ps
31:23-24 23 O
love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and
plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24 Be
of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the
LORD.
KJV |
Ps
31:23-24 23
Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. 24 So
be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! Holy
Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable
Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. |
A.
Action – v. 1
B.
Appeal – v. 2
C.
Acknowledge – vv. 3-4
D. Abandon – v. 5
E. Abhor – v. 6
F. Acclaim! – vv. 7-8
II. Help! – vv. 9-18
1. Soul sickness – vv. 9-10
2.
Societal scorn – vv. 11-13
1.
Surrender – vv. 14-15
2.
Shine – v. 16
3.
Shame – v. 17
4.
Silence – v. 18
A. God, for His Great Goodness – v. 19
B. God, for His Sheltering Presence – v.
20
C. God, for His Hesed [ds#j# ]#]
– V. 21
D. God, Who Hears and Answers His
People – v. 22
IV. Heart – vv. 23-24
A. Love – v. 23
B. Long – v.24
Thought flow: Hope→Help!→Hail→Heart
A. Love— v. 23
I want to look at the Hebrew
word Hasid* found here in verse 23. If we consult the many
English translations we have today, we will see that it has been translated in
various ways. For example, as “godly ones (NLT, NASB),” as “faithful ones
(CSB),” as “faithful people (NIV 2011),” as “saints (KJV, ESV, NIV’ 84),” and as “faithful followers (NET).”
Before I delve into this
further, I must say as an aside (and an important one at that) that David may
have had an “Elijah moment,” as expressed earlier in verses 11-13. In those
verses, he speaks of a period in his life where he felt alone, abandoned, and like
the “last believer standing.” But, like Elijah, he found that there is always a
remnant (see 1 Kings 19:13-18). So
David exhorts these “saints,” those who are the “hasid” of God, to love
God (see https://journal4christ.blogspot.com/2022/01/o-love-lord-all-ye-his-saints.html).
Let me point out two things
about the word “hasid,” which is translated in various ways by the aforementioned
translations. First is its meaning, and secondly, its relationship to another
word I wrote about in previous studies.
Its
Meaning:
As noted above, this word has
been translated differently by different translations. Consulting the various
resources I have, I can see why. If we choose to use the word “saints” or “godly
ones,” we may be misled by its widespread use today. On the other hand, if we
translate it with the adjective “faithful,” we limit it to only one aspect of
this word. The word saint can conjure up a more holy and pious person in the
minds of many. Or a special group of men and women that have attained a higher
level of spirituality. These “saints” are distinguished from the ordinary rank
and file person. However, scripture everywhere calls all of God’s chosen “saints.”
We seem to have lost the word’s true meaning, leading to a two-tiered view of the
Christian life.
One resource I read from
defines the word this way, and I think it covers all the bases when translating
it as “saint(s).”
An adjective meaning kind,
benevolent, merciful, pious. The word carries the essential idea of the
faithful kindness and piety that springs from mercy
(from The Complete Word Study
Dictionary: Old Testament Copyright © 2003 by AMG Publishers. All rights
reserved.)
Do you see it? To be a saint is to be giving, gracious, and godly. This is a name God gives to His people. This is a name God calls all His people to be. Therefore, there are to be no “super saints” as opposed to ordinary, run-of-the-mill “saints.”
Its Relationship to Hesed:
The reason we are called saints,
I believe, is because of a word closely related to it. The word hasid is
the adjectival form of the noun hesed. I have written about the word hesed
in many of my previous blog entries. I have done so because this word appears
so often in the Psalms and the rest of the OT.
(see for example→ https://journal4christ.blogspot.com/2021/12/hesed-omnipotent-love-that-will-never.html).
The word hesed is essential
for describing who God is and how He acts. With reference to God, the word hesed
points to His:
“loving-kindness; steadfast
love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.”
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words,
Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Because of God’s prior hesed,
we can be called the hasid or saints of God. As objects of God’s hesed,
He has chosen us to reflect His hesed to the world. That is why it is
wrong and dangerous to have a two-tiered view of the word saint. To do so may give
one an excuse for lax and loveless living. Or it may give one a feeling of
inferiority and failure because they do not see themselves as being as giving,
gracious, and godly as another person they consider a “super saint.”
But God calls all His people
saints. He does so because of His righteousness He bestows on them through
Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
All who place their faith in Christ are declared righteous. God sees us as
saints in light of His Son, in whose image we are being conformed (Rom. 8:29). We are saints - and are becoming saints (Heb. 10:14). Thus whether we perform mighty deeds of sacrifice (John
15:13) or give a cup of water (Mk 9:41) to “the least of these” (Mt 24:34-46), we are
His saints.
The giving, gracious, and godly
life can be summed up in the word love. And this life of love flows out of God's
holy, merciful, steadfast love (hesed!). The Apostle John states
it succinctly this way:
We love, because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NASB
Worship in Witness:
Lord,
Please let me be
described as one who is giving, gracious, and godly, for this is my calling. A
calling that is not done in isolation, but together with all believers. Alone,
Lord, these graces in me may grow cold. But stoked in the firepit of fellowship,
they will always be flamed by the mutual love and encouragement of others and by
the bellows of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord, for Your prior love by which
You chose me, called me, and consecrated me to demonstrate Your hesed
to the world.
— Amen
1 Cor 1:2-3 ESV
2 To the church of God that is in
Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 John
3:18-19 NLT
Dear
children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth
by our actions.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure
and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and
to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
NIV
(' 84)
Mic 6:7
He has shown all you people what is good.
And
what does the Lord require of you?
To
act justly and to love mercy
and
to walk humbly with your God.
TNIV
Worship
in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.heartlight.org%2Fcards%2Fg%2F1john4_19.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Burning
Coals
O, Christian, you are burning
coal
Aflame with a loving fire
With an all-consuming goal
To encourage and inspire
But like a coal that falls
away
This truth you must remember
When you choose to go astray
You become a dying ember
A
Prayer To See The Needs Of Others
Lord open my eyes to see the needs,
And bless others with words and deeds.
Grant to me a heart full of compassion,
And Thy strength to me, do not
ration.
Open doors for me to serve people
In all places, not just under a steeple.
In
Christ's Name. Amen!
Because
He First Loved Us by Cheri Keaggy
We
will stop and help when someone's in a bind
If
we see a need, we will try to make the time
And
while others think of reasons not to love
We
love because He first loved us
We
are quick to say "I'm sorry" when we're wrong
And
instead of holding grudges, we move on
For
we know the Father's grace will be enough
And
we love because He first loved us
Teach
us to love when we don't get it right
So
when the world looks at us
They
will see Your light
Teach us to love and to lay down our lives
And
we'll praise our Father in heaven
We
don't seek revenge; instead, we seek the peace
When
life strikes a blow, we turn the other cheek
We
will persevere when others would give up
And
we love because He first loved us
Teach
us to love when we don't get it right
So
when the world looks at us
They
will see Your light
Teach
us to love and to lay down our lives
And
we'll praise our Father in heaven
Yes,
they'll praise our Father in heaven
We
won't brag, we won't boast
But
if they want to know
We
will point to the One
Who
has loved us the most
Well,
it's not that we don't ever disagree
Still,
when times get hard, you will find us on our knees
You
might say we're all just diamonds in the rough
But
we love because He first loved us
You
might say we're all just diamonds in the rough
But
we love because He first loved
That's
what His love does
We
love because He first loved us
Lyrics: https://flowlez.com/en/songs/because-he-first-loved-us-353421/
(With
corrections made)
Video: https://youtu.be/436Zd0Srd6Q
For Further Thought or Study
It
seems as if David felt that he could not love the Lord sufficiently by himself,
so he calls upon all the saints to bring their hearts full of love, and yield
their treasure unto God.
(from
Spurgeon's Expository Notes. Biblesoft Formatted Electronic Database Copyright
© 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
SAINTS
Chasid
means "to be kind or merciful." These are qualities of God. Thus,
chasid people are godly people because they reflect His character. Saints
praise the Lord for His lifelong favor (Ps 30:4), rejoice in goodness (2 Chron
6:41), and know that God keeps their paths (1 Sam 2:9). God's encounter with
His people through the covenant enables them to walk as His saints.
(from
Holman Bible Dictionary. Copyright © 1991 by Holman Bible Publishers. All
rights reserved.)
* The Hebrew words ds#j #(µesed) and
dys!j* (µ¹sîd) are spelled differently depending on
which reference works you consult. For instance, Strong's spells them as chesed
and chaciyd.
(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006, 2010 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.).
My spellings come
from this resource:
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The
Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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