Lesson 233 - Junior
Memory Verse
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3, 4).
Notes
Blessed
The Psalmist tells us about the two classes of people -- the righteous and the unrighteous. The people who live righteous lives are the only truly happy people. To have God's favour and His blessing upon one's life brings happiness. Without God, one cannot find true and lasting happiness. Sin brings misery, but righteousness is the source of happiness. It has been said that goodness and holiness are not the way to happiness; they are happiness itself.
The first Psalm points out that there are different kinds of unrighteous people. An ungodly person may not necessarily be deep in sin -- he is just without God. There is another class of people who go farther and commit outright sins. Then there is another class, the scornful, who hate God and all righteousness. They deny the Bible and ridicule the believers. These three classes are all sinners, because they do not know God.
The Life of the Righteous
We are told how the happy person lives. A man who has God in his life will live just like the Psalmist tells us. One cannot live a righteous, happy life unless God is in his heart. The Psalmist tells first what a happy person does not do. He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He does not take the aims and ambitions of the world for the rules of his life. He avoids the way of the ungodly for they do not put their trust in God. He does not associate unnecessarily with those who neglect their duty to God. He does not choose companions among the evildoers, for they have not the fear of the Lord. A Christian does not come into the way of sinners, let alone stand there. He does not halt in the sinners' way, to be picked up by them. He does not stand there to see the sins they follow and commit. A Christian does not sit down to fellowship with the scornful who defy God. He does not find rest or ease among the wicked.
The Downward Path
Do you see how, step by step, Satan can lead a person downward little by little? If he can persuade one to do like sinners and to live like them, then he can lead him even farther from God. Next, he will have one failing to do what is right, omitting to do the things that should be done and committing the deeds that should not be done. Gradually Satan will lead him downward until he rebels against God and all that is righteous.
A Love for the Bible
The Psalmist next tells us the deeds of a Christian. Instead of looking to the world for help, a Christian depends upon God for guidance. He worships God according to God's way, not in a limited way that is his own. He loves the Bible, the Word and Law of God. He enjoys the Bible so much that he thinks about it during the day and also at night. He does more than read the Bible in the morning -- at the beginning of the day -- and read it again in the evening -- at the beginning of the night. During the day and during the night, a Christian's thoughts are upon God and His Word. Inter-mingled with the day's work and the night's rest are praises and meditations. "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" [PHL:4:8]).
Joshua was advised to cherish the Law in order that he might be successful and prosper. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" [JOS:1:8]).
Like a Tree
A Christian's life may be illustrated by a tree. Christians have been called "trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD," that He might be glorified [ISA:61:3]). A Christian's life shows growth. As a tree puts out green leaves and fruit, so a Christian will thrive spiritually, and show that there is life within. One who puts his hope and trust in God "shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" [JER:17:7];[JER:17:8]). This is a promise that one whose trust and hope are in God shall be like a tree. Not may be or can be, but shall be like a tree, ever spreading his roots to have a better foundation! Ever showing a healthy spiritual condition! Never moved nor withered! Never without fruit of the Spirit!
A Christian can expect a trying time "when heat cometh." Through every test, his fruit will not cease nor will his spiritual life be dried up. There are insects, blight, and diseases, which can cause a tree to wither. No enemy can take the spiritual life and beauty from one who continuously trusts in God. He is preserved from blemish and decay. "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." This is the happy man.
May we be reminded that these promises and conditions are for all Christians. It need not matter that one has been saved only a short time. It need not matter that one is a child. Any person -- grownup or child -- who puts his trust in God and who obeys God's will shall live and prosper spiritually as the Psalmist said.
Not So with the Ungodly
None of these things can be said about sinners. "The ungodly are not so." Their lives are the opposite of the righteous in character and condition. The ungodly are like chaff which is driven away by the wind, and destroyed. In [MAT:3:12] we read that the time will come when the wheat gathered into the garner but the chaff will be burned "with unquenchable fire." Chaff is of no use! No fruit! No roots! No life! No hope! Such is the sinner.
The two ways of living are described here. Happy is the way of those who trust God It is the narrow way "which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" [MAT:7:14]). Unhappy is the way of those without God. It is the broad way "that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat,' [MAT:7:13]). On which of these ways are you travelling?
To Enter Heaven
Without a doubt, everyone wants to go to Heaven. But everyone will not reach Heaven unless he prepares for it. The Psalmist was concerned about this. When he asked who would abide in God's tabernacle and who would dwell in His holy hill, the Psalmist meant "Who will go to Heaven?" He was asking about the kind of people, not for their names. The question was asked to inquire of the Lord the way to Heaven.
The answer is found in the Word of God; and the Lord lists the things to do, and the things not to do. To go to Heaven is an honour and a privilege that comes to those who live by the Word of God A person will not enter Heaven only because of his family or that which he has inherited. He will have to have an experience with God, which cleanses the heart and affects the outward conduct and manner of living.
This was the answer: "He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." To walk uprightly does not mean in a standing position. To walk uprightly before God, means that our conduct will be honest and just, faithful and fair. It is necessary to be truthful -- in what we pray, in what we promise, in what we profess, and in what we do.
The Power of God
A person cannot live up to all the requirements unless he has the love of God in his heart. The Lord gives one power to live as He would have him live. Some people try in their own strength to live by the Scripture passage which is the basis of the Golden Rule: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" [MAT:7:12]). When they fail, they make an excuse for themselves.
Jesus said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"; and also, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" [MAK:12:30];[MAK:12:31]). It is only the love of God in one's heart that causes a person to have such love for others.
Your Neighbour as Yourself
Another important thing is our treatment of our fellow men -- our neighbours. One should not hurt them in any way. One should neither cause others to be offended, nor be offended by them. When one really loves his neighbour as himself, these things are done according to God's will.
The Tongue
One who works righteousness will not backbite and speak against one when his back is turned. Some try to excuse themselves by saying that they are speaking the truth. If one cannot speak good of another, it is better not to speak at all. How many times the tongue has caused one to get into trouble! It has sometimes spoken that which hurt another, or that which was untrue. "The tongue is a little member,... an unruly evil" which defiles the whole body [JAM:3:5-8]).
The way a person speaks tells what is in his heart. "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain" [JAM:1:26]). "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles" [PRO:21:23]). The Psalmist said, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue" [PS:39:1]).
Never Moved
A Christian does not excuse an evil person, regardless of his position in the world. He honours those who have the fear of God in their heart. He does not accept a bribe. He prefers a clear conscience rather than gaining his own advantage. He will speak the truth even though it is to his disadvantage, and he will not change.
The one, who lives by the Word of God shall never be moved -- not by any wind of doctrine [EPH:4:14]) nor by a tempest of trouble. He is likened to a wise man whose house, built upon a rock, could not be shaken when the floods and winds came [MAT:7:24-27]). There is nothing and no one but ourselves who can separate us from the love of' God [ROM:8:35-39]).
It has been said that the fifteenth Psalm is a test of one's justification. When one is saved, he lives the qualifications of a citizen of Zion, God's holy hill. He is likened to that hill, which cannot be moved.
Clean Hands and Pure Heart
The kind of people who will go to Heaven has been summed up in the twenty-fourth Psalm by these words: "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart." It shows us the importance of keeping ourselves from acts of sin, unspotted by the world, and with a clean conversation. There is an experience in which the heart is cleansed from every secret impurity before God, and which keeps the hands clean before our fellow men. One must be honest with God and men, in his covenant with God and his contracts with men -- no broken promises or false oaths.
God is supreme over all the world, over everything and everyone. He requires a holy life and a holy heart in His worshipers. He wants all our affections, too. With the hands we work, with the tongue we speak, and with the heart we love. All these must be used: for the glory of God. When a person loves the Lord, meditates on His Word, uses his tongue to praise God, and works for Him, there is no time or room for sin. He who humbles himself to seek God shall receive the blessing of the Lord. He is the happy man, and to him will the gates of Heaven be opened. He has happiness here and eternal bliss hereafter.
Questions
1. What does "blessed" mean?
2. How does Satan gradually lead a person on the downward path?
3. What is the delight of a Christian?
4. What are a Christian's meditations?
5. How are the ungodly compared to chaff?
6. How are the godly compared to a tree?
7. How does the tongue cause trouble?
8. What does it mean that one should never be moved?
9. What must be clean and pure in God's sight?
10. How can a person do all these things to live right and to enter Heaven?