Help LORD…”
What power in these two words! They depict: humility, honesty,
brokenness, dependence, even desperation. This is not a mere
cry for aid, but an admission of absolute helplessness ... a
prayerful 911. This pictures urgency on the shore of
humanity’s vile sea of sin, as the hand of the godly goes down for
the third time. David sees a desperate situation and calls for
the LIFEGUARD.
May I inject right here that
“vain is the help of man.” … a
lesson taught all throughout Scripture. How sad it is though, that
we will seek help from every source, save GOD, until we are broken.
"My help cometh from the LORD, which made
heaven and earth." David didn't waste a moment on the vanity of man, but went right to
the Source of real help: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, ... and find
grace to help in time of need."
Notice what the cry of David is not for.
He does not cry: "Help LORD,"
for the religious man ceaseth, for the Christian man ceaseth, for
the Jewish man ceaseth, for the intellectual man ceaseth, for the
athletic man ceaseth, for the fundamental man ceaseth. He does
not cry: "Help LORD," for the
finances ceaseth, for my friends ceaseth, or even: the church
ceaseth. Rather, his cry is “Help
LORD, for the godly man ceaseth” And it is not just
that “the godly man ceaseth”,
but that any and all evidence that he ever existed is quickly
passing off the scene. The anxiety of the Psalmist is because
he senses a class extinction taking place before his very eyes.
An old Chinese proverb states that: “one generation plants the trees
and another enjoys the shade.” … thus David pleads with GOD as
he views the godly man being clear-cut and kindled into so much
firewood. For those who dispute the depravity of man, I
pose this moral riddle: Why is it that godliness has to be planted &
cultivated, yet dissipates so quickly … while sin and wickedness
grow wild like the thistle, and seeds with the slightest breeze?
"And herein do I exercise myself, to have
always a conscience void of offence toward GOD, and toward men."
It has been said that reputation is what men think you are,
character is what GOD knows you are, and that when reputation and
character are both blameless, you have integrity.
What is it then which makes up the integrity
of a
“godly man”? He is:
-
Cut out of the herd {“godly
man” used only here in all the Bible}
-
Consecrated by GOD
(Psalm 4:3)
-
Committed to prayer
(Psalm 32:6)
-
Clear in conscience
(2 Corinthians 1:12)
-
Convicted when in sin
(2 Corinthians 7:9-11)
-
Cared for by shepherds
(2 Corinthians 11:2)
-
Cautious over doctrine
(1 Timothy 1:4)
-
Caustic toward worldlings
(2 Timothy 3:12)
-
Concerned for GOD’S glory
(Titus 2:11-13)
-
Concentrated in service
(Hebrews 12:28)
… I call these the ten Bible steps to ‘C’
your way to godliness.