Moving into Wisdom

[HKHaugan]

Psalm 132  Moving into Wisdom 

There’s a TV ad that shows a couple moving up a mountain path with an obscure looking castle on top.  Half way there they meet a bearded man sitting cross legged with his elbows on his knees and his palms extended upward.  He is supposed to represent the wisdom the ad is claiming will gratify both the buyer and the viewers who see it.  Here wisdom is defined as making a good visual choice, having a good visual possession and making a good visual impression.

  Yeah, right.  Give me a break.

 As we move into Psalm 132 keep in mind the themes in Psalm 131.  It summarizes the wisdom the Holy Spirit brought to David.  Five simple insights say it all:

 First, pride in the heart leads to viewing the world around us with arrogant judgment, self-satisfaction, material wealth, status and acceptance. 

 Second, David now sees these things with Lord-centered eyes. 

 Third, he doesn’t get lost in things beyond his control, or dwell on wishful thinking.  

 Instead, fourth, he relaxes in the Spirit like a child rests in the contentment he feels in his mother’s presence after one of her meals. 

 So, fifth, he pleads with believers in God to do the same; put their hope now and forevermore in the Lord’s hands. 

 The ‘how’ comes next as we peruse Psalm 132, the natural follow-up to Psalm 131.

 Psalm 132 starts with “O Lord.”  David’s composure is totally in the Lord as he asks Him to remember his hardships which are also understood as his self-denials; how he endured pressure through faith in Him.  This is foundational for us because it speaks to the one thing Jesus exemplified in everything He did---faith.  This understanding is not based on how good David is but on the faith he was given to endure, to deny self and let the Lord have the reins in his life. Like David, this is exactly what Paul found and why he was such a strong advocate of being justified by faith not works.  As he put it, “That which does not proceed from faith is sin (Rom.14:23).” 

 Deeds done by trying to be good without God come from a sinful heart trying to justify self with good intentions.  You can’t satisfy self-justification.  Self-justification is a hungry tiger lying in wait to feed on guilt, pride and a bevy of other self-consuming attitudes.  Self-justification always puts you on the defensive. You can say, “I made a mistake but this is the reason I did what I did.”  “I hit him but he deserved it.”  Then there was the lawyer I knew that made a financial deal with a jewelry fence who told me after he was caught and sentenced, “I did it for my family.”  Self-justification is all about ‘me,’ self-protection and being in control. 

But deeds done by faith in the Lord will produce real fruit, not seeking admiration by others to make me feel good about myself.  Control belongs to the Lord.  He’s walking with us.  He’s in charge.  When we walk in faith we have no idea what good really is until it happens. Turning one’s self over to Jesus Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit produces deeds that are motivated by wanting to please the Lord. That’s when God works through us and He gets the glory.  It’s when we step out in faith at a moment’s notice and react in faith to what is in front of us, that’s when God’s good happens. That’s when we come alive and stay alive.  That’s why Paul says, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain (Php.1:21).”  Defensiveness is based on fear for self.   Faith is based on the grace of God (Eph.2:8).

 Our personal testimony begins with what we experience when we have faced every next moment with the Lord in mind.  What happens then is the Spirit leading us into the unknown, the unpredictable and the unexpected.  Face it, we don’t know what any next moment will bring.  That’s precisely why faith is the will of God in that moment.  He is the good happening through us when He is our motivation.  As Paul puts it, “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness [faith], holiness [function] and redemption [result](1Cor.1:30).”   Jesus is our mission, our ministry and our fulfillment.  For us then, faith in the Lord brings God’s good, right and perfect will into the open.   Faith is the real definition of being good and doing good. 

 The way to experience the goodness of God that is faith, is activated through the Scripture.  It is our faith, function and redemption manual. 

 Faith is righteousness.  Righteousness is being right with God.  Faith is being right with God because God is faithful (1Cor.1:9).

 While we have only gotten through two words in this Psalm, it is imperative to see that the themes in David’s Psalm can only be understood through faith.  This explains why David continues by speaking in the third person, “He [that is David speaking about himself] swore an oath to the Lord and made a vow to the mighty One of Jacob…”  It is like David is looking in the mirror and seeing himself speaking to God, vowing to God, declaring an oath to the Lord, who is the One and only God of the ages past, present and future.  He is visualizing himself outside of his body having a conversation with God.  He knows he has been anointed by God but sees himself realistically as a fallen child of God, now forgiven and ready to do His will. 

 You can really feel his passion if you see how he has mourned over his past in Psalm 130, crying for His mercy (vs.1-2).  Out of this passion arises the vow to build a temple (a major theme) for the Lord God (vs.2-4) no matter what it takes.  While David will never do that, his son Solomon fulfills the vow.  Perhaps this is an insight we have been given to pray that our children will carry on the hope of salvation in Jesus and its creative spiritual life found in God alone. 

 Let that be a hint as we continue our survey of Psalm 132.  David follows his faith-action theme with a primary theme, his burning desire to build a temple suitable for the worship of God.  I’ll put a different, but, what I believe is a helpful twist, rather than the usual commentary outline.  That’s next.