“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside;
it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 101:3
David, king of Israel, prophet of the most high God, wrote many psalms that can be likened unto the walk of the so-called “modern-day” Christian. Psalms exhorting us to “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.” (Ps. 100:1), and to “. . . Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.” (Ps. 113:1). Yet to me, there could not possibly be a more direct or simple message contained in the entire Bible.
Here David is admonishing us to live a life consecrated unto God, to “. . . make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom. 13:14) As Christians, we are witnesses of the Almighty God, servants of the LORD Jesus Christ, our whole duty in life is to die, to die to the desires of the sinful will of man and to live unto the desires of the Holy Spirit of God. We find this all throughout the Bible, yet no place makes it clearer then II Cor. 5:14,15. Here we read that “. . . if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should NOT henceforth live unto themselves, BUT unto him which died for them, and rose again.” (also see I Peter 4:1-2, Col. 3:1) Paul put it as plain as it could possibly be! If we are dead in Christ (Col. 3:1) then we are dead to the will of sin “. . . that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness . . . ” (I Peter 2:24). This is our calling as Christians, this is our command from our great God and only Savior, Jesus Christ. We are to consecrate ourselves unto God. Be that “separate and peculiar people” (II Cor. 6:16,17, I Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14), that we be not like the workers of iniquity, yea rather, that we “set no wicked thing before [our] eyes.”
This not an easy saying, yet none the less, it is faithful and true, for as it is written: “. . . what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (II Cor. 6:16). We, as the “peculiar and separate people” of the Lord Almighty, must strive in all things to put the will of God as our primary objective. Our every thought and desire must ultimately come under His control (II Cor. 10:5). We must lose this carnal mind and gain the mind of Christ (Rom. 8:5, II Cor. 2:16, Eph. 4:17, Phil. 2:5). Let us therefore, as individual followers of Jesus Christ, join the shepherd king in singing: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes . . .”. |
