I came across a scripture last night while sitting at the piano, that made me think.Psalm 119:53 says, "Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law." That is a very serious statement. "The word "zilaphah," which we render horror, is thought to signify the pestilential burning wind called by the Arabs "simoom." (ACC) This showed the great terror or intensity of horror the Psalmist was feeling. It is a graphic expression.
This verse gave me pause. I wonder, when was the last time I felt horror at the actions of those who have forsaken God's Law? When was the last time I was broken-hearted for the great doom awaiting all who resist God?
Too often we do one of two things:
1. We rail against wickedness with no compassion; or,
2. We become indifferent or tolerant and fail to identify and resist evil.
The world we live in today becomes darker with every passing hour. War is everywhere. Drug use is at an all time high world-wide whether legal or illegal. Crime is increasing. Sin is more accepted than ever. Gross immorality and blatant wickedness are tolerated and even condoned or encouraged in the public sphere. Technology has rapidly spread the ideals of wrong. Many of the youth of today have no boundaries or moral compass to guide them. In the absence of absolutes anarchy advances its banner forward. Few bastions of courage remain to resist its powerful onslaught. It is little wonder that Christ questioned, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
So what are we to do? Do we resist wickedness or withdraw in complacency to survive? We must do two things:
1. Stand firm for what is right.
2. Have great compassion.
Standing Firm:
What does it mean to stand firm? Does this mean we scream and yell? Does it mean we shoot abortion doctors? Does it mean we go on national television to condemn evildoers? Does it mean we hold signs and march in protest?
Standing firm starts with the heart. One will never have the stamina to stand against evil if his heart is not cleansed from the very proclivity toward sin that drags all his fellow men toward the abyss. One must seek for justification by faith and purifying of the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Once cleansed, one is possessed by the Spirit of Christ empowering him to walk holy amid the unholy.
With a heart purified and a conscience cleansed before God, one may seek after truth with his whole soul. Guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, one may know what is evil and what is good. One will be able to discern the right pathway and have the strength to stand in the face of evil.
Knowing what is good and true, we must stand for it at every opportunity:
In conversation with friends and neighbors.
In the work-places.
In the schools.
In the churches.
In the stores.
In the streets.
In the prisons.
In the hospitals.
In the courts.
In the legislature.
With every word of our mouths, every thought of our hearts, every vote of our dollar, we are to espouse what is good and eschew evil. This is how we stand.
This verse gave me pause. I wonder, when was the last time I felt horror at the actions of those who have forsaken God's Law? When was the last time I was broken-hearted for the great doom awaiting all who resist God?
Too often we do one of two things:
1. We rail against wickedness with no compassion; or,
2. We become indifferent or tolerant and fail to identify and resist evil.
The world we live in today becomes darker with every passing hour. War is everywhere. Drug use is at an all time high world-wide whether legal or illegal. Crime is increasing. Sin is more accepted than ever. Gross immorality and blatant wickedness are tolerated and even condoned or encouraged in the public sphere. Technology has rapidly spread the ideals of wrong. Many of the youth of today have no boundaries or moral compass to guide them. In the absence of absolutes anarchy advances its banner forward. Few bastions of courage remain to resist its powerful onslaught. It is little wonder that Christ questioned, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
So what are we to do? Do we resist wickedness or withdraw in complacency to survive? We must do two things:
1. Stand firm for what is right.
2. Have great compassion.
Standing Firm:
What does it mean to stand firm? Does this mean we scream and yell? Does it mean we shoot abortion doctors? Does it mean we go on national television to condemn evildoers? Does it mean we hold signs and march in protest?
Standing firm starts with the heart. One will never have the stamina to stand against evil if his heart is not cleansed from the very proclivity toward sin that drags all his fellow men toward the abyss. One must seek for justification by faith and purifying of the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Once cleansed, one is possessed by the Spirit of Christ empowering him to walk holy amid the unholy.
With a heart purified and a conscience cleansed before God, one may seek after truth with his whole soul. Guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, one may know what is evil and what is good. One will be able to discern the right pathway and have the strength to stand in the face of evil.
Knowing what is good and true, we must stand for it at every opportunity:
In conversation with friends and neighbors.
In the work-places.
In the schools.
In the churches.
In the stores.
In the streets.
In the prisons.
In the hospitals.
In the courts.
In the legislature.
With every word of our mouths, every thought of our hearts, every vote of our dollar, we are to espouse what is good and eschew evil. This is how we stand.
However, standing IS NOT ENOUGH.
The second thing we must do is have great compassion. Jesus was the embodiment of this virtue. We never once read where He did not have compassion. Even for his murderers He interceded. Are we not to follow in His steps?
I hear many rant and rave against wickedness. However, I rarely hear those same voices stirring hearts to compassion for the lost. Rarely do I hear solutions of how to firmly yet compassionately stand.
How can we expect that through harsh words we will turn the hearts of wicked men toward God? I am not stating that firmness should not be utilized. It has its time and place. However, firmness without compassion borders on injustice and hate.
The only ones who reaped the wrath of Christ in the Gospels were those who wore the garb of religion and yet practiced lives of empty pride, prejudice, and hypocrisy. Upon all other men and women, boys and girls, Jesus had great compassion. Jesus reached out to the soldiers, the rulers, the beggars, the fishermen, the tax collectors, the harlots, the common folk, the foreigners, the locals, the weak, the strong, the mighty, the lowly, the rich, the poor, the sick, the well: upon ALL men He had great compassion.
He knows more truly than anyone else how great is the darkness in which we walk. He knows most clearly how far we have fallen from the Garden of Eden. He knows most deeply the yearning for all men to come back to Him. Knowing all this we know of Him, can we do less than Him?
So when you hear in the news that a government refuses to allow aid to its stricken people, do you pray and contribute when able? When you hear the news that one child has killed others, do you reach into the lives of children in your community to prevent it? When you hear that pornography is common to more than 50% of all men, do you pray for their purity and encourage their faith? Do you intercede for their deliverance from temptation in our present sensual world? When you hear a brother or sister has fallen in their walk, do you stoop to help them up again or do you gossip and kick them about until they have no hope to go on?
When someone hates you or does you wrong, do you forgive or do you carry a grudge? When crime increases do you visit the jails to share the path of righteousness? When marriage and family are attacked in society, do you voice your position to your legislators? Do you contribute your finances to the causes of good even if it requires sacrifice? When communities suffer from difficulty and darkness, do you volunteer your hands and heart to be a light? This is compassion.
Finally, when you walk past the thousands in your life, what do you see? Do you notice their clothes, their tattoos, their piercings, their multicolored hair, their imperfections, their flaws, their beauty, their race, their position, their status? Or do you see each one as a child of God desperately loved by Him Who longs for their return? Do you recognize them as souls of infinite value facing an unspeakable end? If this is how you see people - as Jesus does - then you can identify with the Psalmist when he penned those words, "Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law." Lord, let me be more horrified and do more to compassionately stand for righteousness that I may reach others beyond myself to rescue them from eternal despair!
I hear many rant and rave against wickedness. However, I rarely hear those same voices stirring hearts to compassion for the lost. Rarely do I hear solutions of how to firmly yet compassionately stand.
How can we expect that through harsh words we will turn the hearts of wicked men toward God? I am not stating that firmness should not be utilized. It has its time and place. However, firmness without compassion borders on injustice and hate.
The only ones who reaped the wrath of Christ in the Gospels were those who wore the garb of religion and yet practiced lives of empty pride, prejudice, and hypocrisy. Upon all other men and women, boys and girls, Jesus had great compassion. Jesus reached out to the soldiers, the rulers, the beggars, the fishermen, the tax collectors, the harlots, the common folk, the foreigners, the locals, the weak, the strong, the mighty, the lowly, the rich, the poor, the sick, the well: upon ALL men He had great compassion.
He knows more truly than anyone else how great is the darkness in which we walk. He knows most clearly how far we have fallen from the Garden of Eden. He knows most deeply the yearning for all men to come back to Him. Knowing all this we know of Him, can we do less than Him?
So when you hear in the news that a government refuses to allow aid to its stricken people, do you pray and contribute when able? When you hear the news that one child has killed others, do you reach into the lives of children in your community to prevent it? When you hear that pornography is common to more than 50% of all men, do you pray for their purity and encourage their faith? Do you intercede for their deliverance from temptation in our present sensual world? When you hear a brother or sister has fallen in their walk, do you stoop to help them up again or do you gossip and kick them about until they have no hope to go on?
When someone hates you or does you wrong, do you forgive or do you carry a grudge? When crime increases do you visit the jails to share the path of righteousness? When marriage and family are attacked in society, do you voice your position to your legislators? Do you contribute your finances to the causes of good even if it requires sacrifice? When communities suffer from difficulty and darkness, do you volunteer your hands and heart to be a light? This is compassion.
Finally, when you walk past the thousands in your life, what do you see? Do you notice their clothes, their tattoos, their piercings, their multicolored hair, their imperfections, their flaws, their beauty, their race, their position, their status? Or do you see each one as a child of God desperately loved by Him Who longs for their return? Do you recognize them as souls of infinite value facing an unspeakable end? If this is how you see people - as Jesus does - then you can identify with the Psalmist when he penned those words, "Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law." Lord, let me be more horrified and do more to compassionately stand for righteousness that I may reach others beyond myself to rescue them from eternal despair!
