September 6 I Monday

Psalms 148-150

1 Corinthians 15:29-58

 

“In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” —Psalm 10:4

 

Of all the psalms, reformer Martin Luther wrote this about Psalm 10: “There is not, in my judgment, a psalm which describes the mind, the manners, the works, the words, the feelings and the fate of the ungodly with so much propriety, fullness and light, as this psalm.” David spends about ten verses describing the attributes and attitude of the wicked man. Words and phrases that David uses are: arrogant, boastful, greedy, prideful, haughty, sneers at all his enemies, mouth full of lies and threats, and lies in wait to ambush and murder. At the end of the description, David concludes, “He says to himself, ‘God will never notice; He covers His face and never sees’” (Psalm 10:11).

      Certainly, we have heard stories throughout history of how other humans have treated one another, and some of the horrific things that took place under the sun. When we come to texts like this or behold the wickedness that is prevalent in our world, we have to remember that much of the hostility and evil that we see at work is actually animated and brought to life by spiritual forces in dark places.

      When God created man in the beginning, He created us in His image to be a reflection of Himself in this world. An image-bearer is like a mirror; it does not generate an image, but simply reflects an image. Humanity, therefore, reflects whatever has consumed its attention. For the believer, as we behold God and are filled with His Holy Spirit, we reflect God to the world around us. But for those who are hostile to God, they are reflecting another spirit. The wicked man in Psalm 10 reflects the spirit that he yielded his life to, which, in fact, mirrors the description of Satan, who is in enmity with God. This gives us a sober reminder that we can resist God or we can comply with Him, and we can resist the devil or comply with him, but we can never be neutral. We are designed to reflect something outside of ourselves.

      In the New Testament, Jesus summarizes God’s law in two commands: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39). As Christians, we are called to love God and love others. The wicked man is the antithesis to these two commands; he despises God and seeks to dominate others.

      Whom do we seek to reflect?

 

Prayer: Lord God, I want to reflect You to the world around me. Grow my love for You and for others around me. Thank You, Lord.


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