March 29, 2023

Passage Read: Psalm 67-70
Meditation Verses: 69:26-28

Thought

There are those who believe they are saved, maybe even trusted in the Lord at some point, but turn and become some of the worst people on the face of the earth. Like the Pharisees of old, the chief priests and teachers of the Law, they are people who should know God but persecute those who are seeking Him and walking in His ways. Jesus reserved His strongest condemnation for them, and the psalmist here has harsh words for their kind too. This psalm even foretells some of the insults Jesus suffered, it likely also reveals His heart for those religious people who have no sense of the heart of God, who twist His Law to oppress others, rather than do good to them as it actually commands.

Application

In some respects, we have become so afraid of being like the Pharisees that we've cast off all restraint and are now changing the grace of God into a license for immorality. The pendulum has swung far the other way. The error of the Pharisees was not their strict or high view of the Law but hypocrisy, such that they expected much from others, even things God never required, but didn't also hold themselves to the same standards. Now we hesitate to establish and require obedience to any standard for fear of being labeled a pharisee. God will cast out the heartless hypocrites, but He'll also condemn the false prophets who promote immorality and lawlessness. He will condemn both; both kinds still need strong rebuke today. And I need to walk in faithfulness to the Lord, submitting to His will as revealed in the Law and throughout Scripture, not using the Law to abuse others nor leaving believers enslaved to their flesh. Both are equally wicked.