ס SAMEKH.
“The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love. You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God. Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; let me not be ashamed of my hope. Uphold me, and I will be saved, that I may always regard Your statutes.
You reject all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceitfulness is in vain. All the wicked on earth You discard like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies. My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.”
ע AIN.
“I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors. Ensure Your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me. My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, and for Your righteous promise. Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.
I am Your servant; give me understanding that I may know Your testimonies. It is time for the LORD to act, for they have broken Your law. Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold. Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every false way.”
“The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love. You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.”
We are in the month of January, a month named for Janus, the Roman God of beginnings and transitions. Janus was frequently portrayed as a double-faced figure with one face looking backward while the other looked forward. While there is nothing wrong with retrospection, we need to make certain that we don’t get stuck in the past. The past is there for us to learn from but we must continue to move forward. Here the psalmist is not referring to those who want to learn from their past but to those who say one thing while meaning something far different. The psalmist is feeling overwhelmed and fed up as he battles against those around him who would flatter while they betray.
“Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; let me not be ashamed of my hope. Uphold me, and I will be saved, that I may always regard Your statutes. You reject all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceitfulness is in vain.” In the midst of corruption, the psalmist is begging God to help and justify him.
“All the wicked on earth You discard like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies. My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.” Does God need to be reminded of His power? No. But the psalmist is clinging to his knowledge of God’s nature to comfort and reassure himself that God will remain faithful.
“I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors. Ensure Your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me. My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, and for Your righteous promise. Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.” You can really pity this guy! Obviously, he has taken a stand for righteousness, only to be smacked down and undercut by those around him. It’s bewildering when you try to do the right thing, only for someone to attack you.
“I am Your servant; give me understanding that I may know Your testimonies. It is time for the LORD to act, for they have broken Your law. Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold. Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every false way.” This poor guy is sitting alone in his room, most likely in Jerusalem, wondering if God is ever going to deal with his accusers. This man has tried to be faithful, but has his faith been misplaced? Is God really there and will God really deal with the wrong-doers?
APPLICATION: As I was about to write this section, someone sent me a link to a chilling interview describing an impending international agreement that might use a respected international group to undermine human rights. During that interview, one participant indicated that some government agencies now view the spreading of any kind of negative information as terrorism, even though that information might be completely true. These days, double-mindedness abounds, and those practicing it defend themselves on the grounds that they are protecting the rest of us….from the truth?!?! But what does God think?
We are still studying the effect of decisions taken during the recent COVID pandemic. While many European nations and the United States took draconian measures that destroyed small businesses and isolated people in their homes for months, Sweden took a far more moderate approach and suffered far few consequences. Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” and he was right.
James 1:8 tells us that “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” If we begin to lie, we must keep our lies straight. But if we stick to the truth, we don’t have to struggle to remember which story we have told and to whom. In the end, we can pray with the psalmist, “Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.” Jesus told his disciples in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.” When we focus on God’s statutes, we are following the One who is the truth. May God give us ever-increasing hunger for His Word.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, give us a passion to read Your word, to study Your word, and to live by Your word. Help us to single-mindedly follow You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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