65 You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised.
66 I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.
67 I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.
68 You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.
69 Arrogant people smear me with lies, but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your instructions.
71 My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
72 Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.
73 You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your regulations are fair; you disciplined me because I needed it.
76 Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.
77 Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight.
78 Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me; meanwhile, I will concentrate on your commandments.
79 Let me be united with all who fear you, with those who know your laws.
80 May I be blameless in keeping your decrees; then I will never be ashamed.
Good judgment and knowledge are not qualities naturally known to man. This is why our Psalmist prays "give me the sense to follow your commands".
In fact...the most common qualities found in the heart of man are selfishness and deceit. Truth seems to have no place to dwell unless something supernatural occurs.
The saga of man-made global warming is a perfect example. My point here is not to be "pro or con" but to mention the process. We now know the story about the IPCC emails. You will probably have lost all faith in the scientific community. The uncovered emails are rich with collusion, disinformation, conspiracy and cover-up. Not to mention...the dubious methods used to purloin the information. We could call this a "Watergate" all over again.
Now, why would our scientists...the very community of people we trust to objectively uncover truth... collaborate on such a broad scale to proclaim something that is very possibly not true? Or, at least, cannot be demonstrated to be true by objective scientific models? Why would they conspire to silence members of their own community who disagree?
Don't blame the scientists.
Our Psalmist today says "teach me good judgment and knowledge". The implication being that we don't derive it from our own human resources. Good judgment and knowledge are gifts from God. In fact, the Psalmist continues by saying "I used to wander off until you disciplined me". George Washington once said "our enlisted me are sly and cunning and bear continuous watching". It seems to me our first president was wrong only in the fact that his statement should have been applied to his entire army.
Without God's constant direction and discipline we are no different than those scientists. Those are difficult words to swallow. It is only by "closely following God's Word" that we have any chance to dwell confidently in the arms of truth.
We prefer to think better of ourselves.
But...that makes us no different than the "arrogant people who smear with lies." One weakness with arrogance is it affords no opportunity for disagreement. For...why would anybody disagree with truth? The humility demanded by Philippians, chapter two, is not evident in such an attitude. Our Psalmist says the lies of those arrogant people were actually good for him because it taught him to pay attention to God.
We live in a complex world...filled with uncertainties and ambiguities. Wouldn't it be nice if we could believe there are truthful answers? Well, now you know, there are...straight from the heart of God. Of course, there will be those folks out there...some of them our friends...who arrogantly disdain us. It's painful, but "the unfailing love of God comforts us".
Live boldly out there today...
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