The Light

Psalm 18:20-30

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁰ The Lord dealt with me ^(A)according to my righteousness;
    according to ^(B)the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
²¹ For I have ^(C)kept the ways of the Lord,
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For ^(D)all his rules^[a] were before me,
    and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²³ I was ^(E)blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from my guilt.
²⁴ So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵ With ^(F)the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁶ with the purified you show yourself pure;
    and with ^(G)the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁷ For you save ^(H)a humble people,
    but ^(I)the haughty eyes you bring down.
²⁸ For it is you who light my ^(J)lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
²⁹ For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can ^(K)leap over ^(L)a wall.
³⁰ This God—his way is ^(M)perfect;^[b]
    the word of the Lord ^(N)proves true;
    he is ^(O)a shield for all those who ^(P)take refuge in him.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2018:20%20-%2030&version=ESV)

I had a light bulb come on today!!! I want to tell you about it but first of all let’s talk about the first part of this passage.  It could sound like David is a little self-righteous as he speaks about how clean he is.  He is far from being blameless but yet in the eyes of God he is.  David isn’t “self” righteous, he is righteous through the salvation of the Lord.  God set up a way for people to be cleansed from their sin and David followed those commands.  God set up a way for us to be cleansed too, through the blood of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes through Christ who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day to conquer the death of sin.  Just like David, if we know Christ, we can say that we are righteous too but not on our own account.

My “awwhaaa” moment came when I read 25-30.  So often we hear, “If God is so holy why does He let terrible things happen?”  God showed me the answer to that question in these verses.  Look at the characteristics of God, He is merciful, blameless, and pure to those who know Him.  Look at what He is to those who do not know Him, He makes Himself look tortuous.  For those who are separated from the Lord, they will not see Him as a loving God because they themselves have not become pure.  To the one who knows Christ, they see a God who forgives but to the wicked they see a God that torments.  As we keep on reading we see that God will save the humble person but brings down the one who does not know Him.  So you may say, “Then why do bad things happen to good people?” The answer is right there in these verses.  Do you see it?  Verse 28, “It is you who lights my lamp, the Lord my God lightens my darkness.”  Yes, we are going to have times of darkness, which is a part of life, the result of the very first sin.  Yet, those who trust in the Lord see the light, they see Him in those times of darkness.  Those who do not know Him only see torment.  David recognizes the only way he can defeat the troops, the only way he can jump over walls is by putting His trust in His Lord and Savior.  It is all about where your heart is.  Are you merciful to others when they hurt you?  Are you blameless?  Are you purified?  If you are the light bulb has come on but if you are not then torment will soon follow. 

Trust in Him, who can purify and show you blameless.  Seek the One who can give you rest.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila