Posted on 09/27/2010 4:34:41 PM PDT by HarleyD
Reformed ping.
"There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10)"
Jesus was the blessed man.
And because he was, I am too.
edit: blessed should have been righteous.
Let's look at verse 5:
The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity Psalms 5:5 (KJV)
Hate. There's a strong word that you don't hear many modern preachers emphasize.
Here's another treasure from Spurgeon's Treasury of David:
Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. It is not a little dislike, but a thorough hatred which God bears to workers of iniquity. To be hated of God is an awful thing. O let us be very faithful in warning the wicked around us, for it will be a terrible thing for them to fall into the hands of an angry God! Charles Spurgeon — Treasury of David, The
“None righteous” must be dealt with. God’s declaration is clear from the Bible.
There is either a way out or I am in big trouble.
Does God declare you righteous or does he make you righteous?
Yes, that is what struck me about the Psalms as I read through them.
I also noticed how David really looked at God as, not only God but as his King. Look at this verse.
The King would take care of His subject, protecting and helping them, but they were still subject to the desires of the King.
Since “if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves”, then I’m not made “personally” righteous. (Although I have a hope of a glorified body.)
I believe my righteousness is imputed; i.e., declared.
I agree with xzins. Righteousness is an imputed quality. Once you are righteous, then that's it. The Psalms always seems to deal with the righteous and the wicked. Not always is everything rosy for the righteous and not always is everything bad for the wicked (initially). But it seems to be an absolute.
If you ask someone on the other side of the Tiber, I suspect you might get a different answer. But let's not ask them on this thread.
Caucus on!
My take on 1 John 3:
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do (have the habit of doing) what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love (have the habit of loving) his brother
His seed within us affects us so that we are helped by God not to be characterized by a continuous walking in darkness. We do not "go on sinning."
He out of His graciousness grants us a reprieve and gives us periods of "joy unspeakable and full of glory."
For the most part, when people read the psalms they read them for the positive messages and most miss the dark and ominous messages contained in them.
A minor amusing bit, re that. Last Sunday, in the "traditional service" (just like the "contemporary" one, except they tend Gaither songs instead of CCM Top 40. But that's a rant for another time.) we sand a song "Based on Psalm 139:23", which is
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
Just because that's what I do, I looked up context. The previous 4 verses are:
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Out of context FAIL!
For the most part, when people read the psalms they read them for the positive messages and most miss the dark and ominous messages contained in them.
I read for both. My favorite is Psalm 73. That psalmist's struggle is my own. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever "
Life in this age is full of painful and bad things, and the Psalms speak of them.
And then there's times when they go all eschatological on us:
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.” --ps 58
“Psa 5:6 The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.”
Was David a “bloody and deceitful” man?
But he was declared righteous!
“But he was declared righteous!”
There’s hope for us then. We may not be too “bloody and deceitful”, but we are just one step up as lawyers.
We are in big trouble indeed!
All of our ways, all of our works are as filthy rags.
The way out, we both know it: it is the way of the cross.
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