Friday, July 12, 2019

David's Lifestyle of Worship - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 101:2,

"I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart."

David knew the Lord and worshipped him in many ways. This psalm itself is an expression of his worship. However, within it he enumerates many other ways he will worship the Lord. In the spirit of Paul's encouragement to us all, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1, David commits himself to a variety of ways to worship the Lord with his life:

He will be careful to live a blameless life, verse 2.
He will conduct the affairs of his house with a blameless heart, verse 2.
He will not look with approval on anything vile, verse 3.
He hates what faithless people do and won't participate with them, verse 3.
He will keep the perverse of heart far from him, verse 4.
He won't have anything to do with what is evil, verse 4.
He will silence slanderers, verse 5.
He will not tolerate arrogant and haughty people, verse 5.
He will keep his focus on the faithful and dwell with them, verse 6.
He will only allow those "whose walk is blameless" to serve him as king, verse 6.
He will not allow those who practice deceit or speak falsely to dwell with him or stand in his presence, verse 7.
He will put to silence the wicked, verse 8.
He will expel evildoers from Jerusalem, verse 8.

Most all of this psalm is comprised of a listing of the many ways David had determined to worship the Lord and express his heart for him in the way he conducted his life. Note that David was a man of great faith, listed among the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32, a man after God's own heart, Acts 13:22. What David committed himself to do in this psalm was not an effort to earn or obtain the Lord's acceptance of him, or to establish himself as worthy of God in any way. David's commitment here was an expression of his love, adoration, reverence and faith in the Lord. David worshipped the Lord with his life.

David truly exemplified the kind of faith James speaks of, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2:18.

Is the Lord due anything less from any one of us?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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