“Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.” —Psalm 86:8-11
A young woman with whom I spoke recently said, “I’ll be all right. I believe in God, but I have my own ideas about Him.” Such a casual view of God may provide some comfort and assurance to those who hold it, but it will come short of reality and in the end will prove inadequate to face life’s greatest challenge, which is death and its aftermath.
There are, after all, only two approaches to knowing God: revelation or imagination. The scripture says, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him [I Cor. 8:5-6].” The “gods many and lords many,” however they may vary, are the product of man’s imagination (hence their many differences) and they all come under the same assessment given in v. 4 of the same chapter, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.”
The true God is discovered through His self disclosure to us in nature (“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handywork.” - Ps. 19:1); innately (“…that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” - Rom. 1:19-20); and supremely in His word; first the written word, the Bible, and ultimately in the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” - John 5:39.
It was by revelation that David discovered and came to know God and reached the persuasion manifested in vss. 8-10 of our text for today. He is persuaded of the preeminence of God: “Among the gods there none like unto Thee, O Lord;” and the power of God: “Neither are there any works like unto Thy works;” and the sovereignty of God: “All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee…;” and the absolute supremacy of God: “Thou art God alone.”
That is the faith foundation upon which v. 11 rests, and this is the key verse for our meditation for today. It is his knowledge of God, His greatness and His glory, that stimulates in David’s heart a passion to know God’s way. The Proverb says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death [Prov. 16:25].” The soul who knows the true God understands this, and yearns to walk in His way. We are taught that way through His word and by His Holy Spirit.
Secondly, his knowledge of God elicits from David a pledge that will be the heart attitude of every believer: “I will walk in Thy truth.” When that attitude prevails, it brings with it a desire to know the written Word of God, whose “word is truth,” and through it to come into personal fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ Who said, “I am…the Truth.” The beloved disciple said, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment of the Father [II John 4].” But I note, as we have pointed out on other occasions, that this involves an act of the will on the part of the believer. The passive Christian never gets to really know God and Christ in a vital way, and so cannot walk in His truth.
The third element in our text is David’s plea: “Unite my heart to fear Thy Name.” The apostle James said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways [Jas. 1:8].” As we get to know God, we also come to know ourselves, and become aware of the duplicity of the human heart. Our prayers may be uttered in sincerity and our promises made in good faith, but we do not have in ourselves the power to follow through. Paul said, “To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not [Rom. 7:18].” As another discerning preacher put it, “It takes God to be godly.”
Those who know God will nurture a passion to know His way, and purpose to walk in His truth. But they will walk with a constant awareness of the danger of double-mindedness, and a continual prayer, “Unite my heart to fear Thy name.” After all, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [Ps. 111:10a].”
For a worthy walk,
"Pastor" Frasier
There are, after all, only two approaches to knowing God: revelation or imagination. The scripture says, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him [I Cor. 8:5-6].” The “gods many and lords many,” however they may vary, are the product of man’s imagination (hence their many differences) and they all come under the same assessment given in v. 4 of the same chapter, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.”
The true God is discovered through His self disclosure to us in nature (“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handywork.” - Ps. 19:1); innately (“…that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” - Rom. 1:19-20); and supremely in His word; first the written word, the Bible, and ultimately in the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” - John 5:39.
It was by revelation that David discovered and came to know God and reached the persuasion manifested in vss. 8-10 of our text for today. He is persuaded of the preeminence of God: “Among the gods there none like unto Thee, O Lord;” and the power of God: “Neither are there any works like unto Thy works;” and the sovereignty of God: “All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee…;” and the absolute supremacy of God: “Thou art God alone.”
That is the faith foundation upon which v. 11 rests, and this is the key verse for our meditation for today. It is his knowledge of God, His greatness and His glory, that stimulates in David’s heart a passion to know God’s way. The Proverb says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death [Prov. 16:25].” The soul who knows the true God understands this, and yearns to walk in His way. We are taught that way through His word and by His Holy Spirit.
Secondly, his knowledge of God elicits from David a pledge that will be the heart attitude of every believer: “I will walk in Thy truth.” When that attitude prevails, it brings with it a desire to know the written Word of God, whose “word is truth,” and through it to come into personal fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ Who said, “I am…the Truth.” The beloved disciple said, “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment of the Father [II John 4].” But I note, as we have pointed out on other occasions, that this involves an act of the will on the part of the believer. The passive Christian never gets to really know God and Christ in a vital way, and so cannot walk in His truth.
The third element in our text is David’s plea: “Unite my heart to fear Thy Name.” The apostle James said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways [Jas. 1:8].” As we get to know God, we also come to know ourselves, and become aware of the duplicity of the human heart. Our prayers may be uttered in sincerity and our promises made in good faith, but we do not have in ourselves the power to follow through. Paul said, “To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not [Rom. 7:18].” As another discerning preacher put it, “It takes God to be godly.”
Those who know God will nurture a passion to know His way, and purpose to walk in His truth. But they will walk with a constant awareness of the danger of double-mindedness, and a continual prayer, “Unite my heart to fear Thy name.” After all, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [Ps. 111:10a].”
For a worthy walk,
"Pastor" Frasier
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