Psalms 101; 105; 132
All this happened so they would follow his principles and obey his laws. Praise the LORD! – Psalms 105:45 NLT
God's lovingkindness, faithfulness, righteousness, truth and strength have been established. He is the covenant-keeping God whose word can be trusted. He is the God who calls and delivers. He has chosen His people and He has communicated His plan for them. And all along the way, He has kept His end of the bargain. So what does He expect in return? Obedience. He set them apart in order that they might live lives set apart. They were to be different. They were to live to a different set of standards – His. In Psalm 101, David makes it clear that he understood this. He knew his reign as king was to be different from that of Saul or any other king of any other nation. He said, "I will be careful to live a blameless life … I will lead a life of integrity in my own home" (Psalm 101:2). David wanted nothing to contaminate himself or his kingship. "I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all crooked dealings; I will have nothing to do with them" (Psalms 101:3 NLT). He didn't even want to have those who disobeyed God in his presence. He knew that he was to live a life that was truly set apart, obedient to the commands of God.
God is a faithful God. He keeps His word. But He also expects His people to keep His Word as well. "The LORD swore to David a promise he will never take back: 'I will place one of your descendants on your throne. If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant and follow the decrees that I teach them, then your royal line will never end.'" (Psalms 132:11-12 NLT). God is a faithful God, but He also expects His people to be faithful to Him. He demands obedience. And as Christ-followers we are also expected to live set-apart, obedient lives. Not only that, He has given us His Holy Spirit to make sure that we are able to do so. Because without His indwelling presence and power, we would be incapable of keeping a single letter of His Word – just like the Israelites. We can live obedient lives. We can live differently. We can live distinctively. We have the capacity. But do we have the desire? Is it a priority for us? Are we willing to remove those things from our lives that prevent us from living the lives He has called us to live? Is His faithfulness to us enough to make us want to be faithful to Him?
Father, may we be a people who understand that obedience is not an option. You require it. You demand it. You are holy and righteous. You expect Your people to live holy and righteous lives. And You have given us Your Spirit to make it possible. Yet we still live according to the flesh and according to the world's standards too often. Open our eyes and let us see just how faithful You have been to us so that we might be encouraged to be faithful to You. Amen