Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good evening, dear ones.

Becki and I did our little walk/jog up the hill again this morning before running off to church. It was a pretty nice day. And now it’s a beautiful night with the full moon shining in a nearly clear sky. Both cats are here in the studio with me. I give them some food here too. They are spoiled fat cats.

Have a good night—and a productive week. That’s definitely the kind I need to have.

Love, Dad/Ray.

If the performance of people who claim to be believers was the only standard I used for determining my own course, I think I could dredge up about as much hypocritical corruption as anyone to support my choice of not being a believer. This is not to say, of course, that there are no credible role models of true Biblical faith out there in the real world. It just says there are a lot of phonies in the mix. It is that sort of duplicity that is the focus of the FOCUS VERSE—those who only have a form of godliness but only use that form for public appearance sake, with little or no interest in being changed by it. Perhaps the most miserable people in the world, and who render the most negative testimony to the Biblical Gospel, are uncrucified people attempting to live the crucified life (Galatians 2:20). There is definitely something out of sorts with that kind of witness—even detestable.

David, besides running for his life from jealous King Saul, was facing trouble from a detestable person like that in Psalm 52. The introduction identifies the target of David’s contempt as “Doeg the Edomite.” I just read some of that ugly story in 1 Samuel 21 and 22. Because of Saul’s insane bent to kill David, and because of Doeg’s bent to please Saul, probably for personal gain rather than do what was obviously right, he ended up killing 85 priests of the LORD at the order of Saul, for no other reason than because Ahimelech, the main priest, gave some assistance to David when he was fleeing from Saul. Crazy ugly stuff! David had to be heart-sick at learning of that massacre—all because of him. But he ends the psalm on a positive note, in spite of struggling to stay alive as Saul’s most wanted. Somewhere and somehow amidst the fray he manages to punch out these lines: “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God: I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints” (Psalm 52:8-9). What a guy! Because of their own choices, neither Saul nor Doeg could hold a candle next to that quality of faith. What a worthy role model!