A Definition of Legalism

I post this at least three times a year

1. Using the Mosaic covenant as though it is the covenant between you and God.

2. Attempting to be justified by one's own works.

3. Attempting to be sanctified by one's own works

4. Suggesting that our worth or worthlessness, our self-esteem and self-satisfaction or lack thereof, rest on our own works.

5. Any attempt to please God judicially, or any supposition that our sin as believers has resulted in his judicial displeasure. [Any post-salvation attempt to maintain our judicial standing before God through good works, covenant faithfulness, merit etc..]

6. Teaching that we conform ourselves to our judicial standing in Christ (righteous and perfect) by our own works.

7. Attempting to attain godliness by a systematic change of behavior

8. Obedience that does not spring from a renewed heart

a. As of an unbeliever who has no renewed heart

b. As of a believer who has a renewed heart but whose righteous behavior does not spring therefrom.

9. Any supposition that externally righteous acts have any value on their own, even as conduct that prepares the way for either

a. A renewed heart (preparationism as regards justification),

b. The softening or further renewing of an already renewed heart (preparationism as regards sanctification. Note Romans 12:2-Transformation occurs through the renewing of the mind), or

c. Any other work of the Spirit.

10. Suggesting that faith is irrelevant in the accomplishment of some (or all) good works.

11. Trying to be justified by works that are created and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

12. Attempting to gain assurance of salvation solely or primarily on the basis of the sign of outward works.

- Bill Baldwin

How to deal with our sin.... #1

Before we were saved we were identified with the wicked. Here the Psalmist is talking about the what could happen when he is close to death.28 3" Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts."He describes these feelings when he is wounded in war. He was always susceptible to suffer death because of his occupation. In the Psalms he is always complaining about his wounds. So here he distinguishes himself from the wicked by saying they are gonna be dragged away to punishment at the time of death. You will see that there is always a personality that is consistent with how the wicked express themselves. The wicked have an evil heart, which they show by their speech. 5" Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD" and "harbor malice in their hearts" 

But the believer is gonna tell God what he is going through both physically and spiritually.6 1" O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.3 My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?"38 1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.2 For your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me.3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin.4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart."This humble expression of the Psalmist is from a covenant understanding that God is obligated to first be concerned for our well being. This is more than a theological confession of sin. In describing his pain and expressing how he feels , he is distinguishing God from man in that God loves us with the foresight that He must provide the ability before we experience the success. If the focus was just on the confession then the ability would be transferred in the confession. But this is not how God deals with His children. 

God has created us according to His perfect word. We could say that we are a display of Gods creative description of His own love for Himself. But because of sin we have been made subject to the frustration from experiencing our perfect individual description according to Gods perfect word. He expresses this in 28 9" All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you." The Holy Spirit has given us these genuine expression of dependence in the context that as they flow from our hearts we begin to be consumed in Gods love in the importance that God shows in receiving us as we express our most simple weakness. Like a child describing to his father the fear he experiences when he is in the dark.

God deals with us according to our weakness103 . 13" As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. " This is a metaphor that God gives the ability in order for us to be able. I do not believe that these expressions of dependence are always raw and emotional. But as we use them we may begin to take Gods love for granted. Because we experience Gods attitude that freedom promotes growth. But even if we were overly concerned for ourselves in the expression of dependence, Gods foresight is according to His eternal love and not our limited understanding of freedom. This is why it is so hard for us because we are always presuming what God is thinking according to our own limited understanding.

The blessed life

Ps. 103 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Psalmist draws a line according to Gods promises in which he enjoys the forgiveness and healing power of God that separate him unto a life of blessing. 35 26 May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant." When we are saved we get new desires. But these desires are not divided or separate from our human desires for safety and success. But rather our spiritual hope is defined by our experience in unifying our human desires for success with our spiritual desires. Any other belief would be a form of suicide. 

The Psalmist believes that deliverance is not just a one time event but its an ongoing reality in his life.  He describes deliverance like the experience of a woman in labor. In speaking the kings language of the covenants and decrees etc the Psalmist sets the standard as he seeks the goal in being delivered from one glory to another. Because all reality in the world is spoken by God , the Psalmist describes Gods holistic creation that unites all things as the voice of deliverance that is spoken to him personally.35 3 Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."This is the same petition  51 8" Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice" in need of physical healing. The same kind of petition is this need for saftey 87  17" Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me."These petitions are rooted in this comparison of our lives being like a road. God makes it level so that we will not fall into a pit.143  10" Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."Another metaphor is that the road is made to be an open field representing the success of God in providing us with many opportunities that give us the kings confidence that the success is as God is free. So we have these times where we hear the salvation of God and experience His kingdom unity as the future breaking into the present.

A life of repentance

Ps 103 1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--

The spirit of christian repentance is rooted in Gods benefits. When we meditate on grace we reorder our view of ourselves and our God. Our salvation is rooted in Gods covenant promises that are the foundation of our faith in which our knowledge of these benefits has a direct effect on our confidence in God.  This is a man who has a daily remembrance of this grace which is the reason that he proclaims that it has been driven deep into his "inmost being". These desires are expressed in how the psalmist feels about himself when he says to "praise His holy name." 

God has order the salvation of sinners by uniting our experience with His deliverance. You will see in this Psalm that God communicates salvation in a holistic deliverance. This is his whole argument that leads to his conclusion. "19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul." This verse is the same description of the throne of God in Revelation in light of His work in redemption to bring all things under His control. This reasoning of our being complete in Christ when we are delivered is a description of the covenant unity that we enjoy by a growing confidence that the future is visiting our present experience. This covenant unity is how we are now related to the law. This is why when the Psalmist praises His holy name , he is declaring that God is meeting his every need both physical and metaphysical through the law, covenants, decrees, and promises in giving him a complete experience by his understanding of one word in which he experience the mysterious effect of the holistic  healing of all the words.

When we are delivered we receive everything we have by grace.  When we were in our cursed state the law was an instrument that prevented us from being successful. Deu. 27 15 "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol--a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman's hands--and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"...Deu. 27 16-26This interaction of the leader with the people of Israel is a repetition of the law and the consequences that the wicked are under. The condemning power of the law is absolute...as if the future judgement of Christ is visiting the present state of man under sin. There is no reality that is suspended in between the effects of the curse and the state of deliverance. At all times there are only two realities in which men live. In setting aside our preconceived ideas that we have come to accept in this pragmatic age, we are forced in approaching God to acknowledge that there are no other ways to describe all the experiences of men in this world in real reality unless we are able to understand the clear line between destruction and blessing. Unless we accept this clear line that cannot crossed in how we describe the events of this world then we will trust in things that are imaginative.  

Passive- agressive

I find it amusing that people will argue over a piece of bread and not about really important truths. I do not believe that anyone who tries to do something that does not naturally fit their disposition or their way of thinking will ever perform a task in a genuine way. This is why i do not believe in a system of discipleship where everyone is doing the same program. I mean all of these psychological problems are enforced by pointing a person down a road that does not fit their gifts and teaching them that all is necessary to live the christian life is to act according to a set of principles.  Out of all of the people that are obnoxious this is the most self righteous. Trying to be someone that appears to have things together for all the wrong reasons. 

How do passive aggressive people act? They are people who do not have clear convictions. So they usually feel secure when they have a guru. You will find that passive aggressive people will always find it easy to end relationships by recruiting people who agree with them because they do not see that God requires the same judgement on those who stand by and watch as he does for those who oppose his ways. There is no consistent power of life and death that motivates them. They never feel the obligation that danger in life is a curse. So they are always basing value on moral excellence rather than true loyalty to a cause.

Breaking the covenant

Ps 55 20 My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.21 His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

This Psalm describes how the elect are related to one another. We all confess our salvation in the terms of Gods covenant. We can say that salvation is a covenant that God makes with us in which the terms of the covenant are always met from Gods side but are never met perfectly from our side. The great truth about our being faithful to the covenant is the teaching that God has killed the curse in the death of Christ. We are no longer obligated to suffer from guilt, shame, sorrow and fear. But in this Psalm he is describing how we can violate our covenant agreement. 

The christian is under the power of the covenant confession like a soldier who protects his partner in war. The reason this is a war covenant is that we all share in the death of our old self. Our confession of dying to our old self is more important than matching our behavior with the covenant requirements.I mean if we have died then we share in new life but if we are dead spiritually then we are subject to death.  15" Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them.16 But I call to God, and the LORD saves me." You cant have your feet on both sides.... And this is the nature by which we are opposed by evil. We are always opposed through threats and violence. 

This is why people get confused. Because we are taught to love those who oppose us. But if there is a miss understanding then in our appearance of being weak we show that we cannot be depended upon. This is why there is so much time spent in the Psalms where the Psalmist petitions God for the purpose of protecting Gods covenant people. He even petitions God to bring their destruction to an end for those who attack the sheep. You will find a leader who acts to protect the sheep will create a peace for the people who are in his care. I have spoken this Psalm for 30 years and I would never counsel anyone unless I understood these obligations that I had as a leader. The initial response is  that im a mean guy but in order for my family to be secure they need to know that I mean business. Im watching over them through these prayers. This is the cause for christians sharing in true freedom.  

Self denial

Rom 5 10" For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

This is not commonly used to describe self denial. But the apostle has been dealing with the reasons that we enjoy a new self when we are saved.  5" And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Because God has poured out His Holy Spirit in us the apostle is saying that our old relationship with God was much worse when we were enemies , than this new relationship that is focused on being saved through substitution. In fact if you compare the old self with the new self ("how much more") its as if you cant remember what it was like to be the old self.  This is what the theologians describe our new self that we are enjoying all that we need already but not yet receiving it in its fullness. But the apostle is comparing this spiritual "death" to having no relationship to the old self in the way that we are secure in a salvation that had a beginning and will have an end. There is no relationship to our old self at the time of our salvation. We died. 

There is a clear effort by the apostle to distance us from our old self. Not just to talk about having something that was added in our salvation. You will find this imbalance in the amount of time that God describes the terrible circumstances in His relationship to the wicked as compared to the much more beauty that we experience when we are given new life. Why would God talk so much about how He deals with His enemies if it is impossible for His enemies to understand and learn from the instruction? I think its because He is trying to show the greater work of Christ on our behalf by describing the depth of the destruction that He saved us from. And in this sense He is saying that He has all the wicked on a leash so that we enjoy complete freedom as the consequence to giving God the absolute control to contain evil and corruption until we receive our full salvation. In this sense there is not law that can contain this new freedom because our subjection to the law died when we were saved. The beauty of self denial is that in not being able to save ourselves we are saved by trusting in grace alone. Because Christ reconciled us by a complete substitution we fall back on grace as the only way that we can be saved. We can now push death away because Christ has given us much greater power to overcome.

Conversion

Ps 57 1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me.3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; "Selah" God sends his love and his faithfulness.4 I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts-- men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.6 They spread a net for my feet-- I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path-- but they have fallen into it themselves. "Selah"7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth."

This Psalm expresses our deep need. It confronts our frustration as we seek to be successful in this world.  1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. Here the Psalmist repeats himself with a plea for mercy. The Psalmist believes that God has established His kingdom through the perfect application of His law, covenants, etc. In the Psalmist mind, he has been established to fall back on Gods security which actively works for his protection. You will find that he describes those who oppose him as men who speak words that are opposed to the words of God. The Psalmist always puts this in a universal application and not actually describing the men who are opposing him when he writes the Psalm 9" I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples".The Psalmist is saying that he is caught in this universal struggle between God and Satan or evil. The Psalmist is expressing the natural desire of his heart. 2" I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me". The christian is one who has been saved into a kingdom in which his heart or desires are united with Gods word. The Psalmist is expressing his frustration according to his opposition ...in his inward experience of feeling threaten and helpless that can be consoled and made successful by the amount of physical exertion he puts into exalting God.

He is confronting his frustration with his vision of God overcoming all opposition by establishing His throne over the nations through winning the battles. The kingdom of God is spoken through words that are healing, peaceful, kind, and gentle. The greater the opposition represents the success of the culture of threatening words. He is using the description of the enemies that he confronts in the battles as metaphors for the kingdom of words that oppose Gods kingdom that are part of the culture that he must confront as he hears them and is threaten in interrupting his way of thinking. This is an expression of a righteous person who is growing through this self talk as he more and more recognizes the opposition to the kingdom of God that dwells in him. The expression "let your glory be over all the earth" is uniting the reality of this kingdom in his heart with the wish that God would rule in an absolute sense. In confessing this Psalm ,he is experiencing a conversion. It would follow that if God were exalted in reality then the Psalmist would follow Him in ruling the nations. It is absolutely necessary in being converted that we enforce this vision as we grow closer and closer to ruling with Him.



 

God has created the beginning from end

Ps 19 1" The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

God has created all things for the purpose of communicating His will.  The perfect view of creation is the complete communication of all that we need. God has created all things as He is. All of the characteristics of His creation are perfectly ordered according to His will. If we had the ability to receive this absolute perfect communication in Gods as this perfect vehicle we would be swallowed up. The Psalms are always teaching that God is infinite and we are finite. This means that God creates all things with limits on their function. In this since what we cannot comprehend and our limitations in our own view is for our good. Since God is the only one who can completely view all things in their perfect communication then He has lowered Himself in the fullest sense as the answer to all that we do not understand. 

We are in a world in which all reality is an active communication. The communication of thoughts, the character of the creation of the reality in things, people and the creation of personalities in our interaction. We are always viewing the world through a limited understanding of all that is necessary for us to experience unity and wholeness. This is what the Theologians meant when they described the difference between us and God is that we are complicated but God is very simple. The more limited the view is the more frustrations and questions are necessary. This is what the Psalmist is answering by proclaiming that God has gifted us with the words that answer our lack of understanding. In this sense , unity, balance, and wholeness are realities that come through a vehicle and not in the created thing itself.     

The vehicle is through word and Spirit. 7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous".The Psalmist is describing the perfect activity of God in this perfect communication of reality as we view His work in the created things. God speaks life, His will is never opposite to His covenant, His eternal view is the creation of our reality, His commands order all things for our good and His power to oppose is sure and steadfast. 

He is saying that all of our frustrations are a result of not being able to receive the communication in which we experience perfect symmetry and connection. 12" Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults."We are always attempting to be secure in our minds through a very limited vocabulary. In this book, we are looking at reality through the Perfect man. He has communicated the perfect language of human frustration in spiritual conversions that are mysterious that are limited so that we are not destroyed with the communication that only God can handle.  With this understanding we are fully secure in God, needing nothing else for our security.   

Our identity

Ps 9 1" I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.4 For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.7 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.13 O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,14 that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.16 The LORD is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. "Higgaion." "Selah"17 The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.18 But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence20 Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. "Selah" 

The Psalms teach that we are most secure when we experience a complete connection to our environment because God created us to be secure when everything is unified. All of our insecurities come from feeling inferior. We are taught that if we know God then we will know ourselves. But our identity is not rooted in God as if we do not exist. Rather since we are identified with Christ we share in the unity that He shares in the Trinity. This is how the Psalmist is reasoning in this Psalm.   4" For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously." together with 7" The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment." He is saying that when we are saved our identity depends upon our desires being united with Christ when we received these desires by grace. 

A person who is inferior is always trying to prove that he is something that he doesnt really feel that he is. But the christian must think thoughts after God who has pronounced who we are, so that we are able to experience completeness without feeling inferior. This struggle to draw all of our security from our acceptance in Christ is the basis of our feeling secure because He knows the beginning from the end.  The beginning in us is that He has united us with Himself and the end is that we will rule with Him having overcome all opposition. 3" My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you."We can always be filled with hope because we are successful as Christ is successful.  "your wonders, rejoice in you, sat on your throne,,You have rebuked,and he has established his throne".The Psalmist simply pronounces Christ success in doing according to His law and covenants as the foundation of the Psalmist identity. 

The Psalmist draws his confidence by pronouncing Christ success. This is a king standing before his people and as he pronounces that Christ will fight their battles, attend to the poor and the helpless, answer all the needs of His people and over throw all opposition that he will continually speak this way to God in order to avoid the threatening words that are spoken from the identity of disconnection. 

At the same time we are required to pronounce the curse  19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.20 Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. "Selah". The Psalms teach that God prevents wicked men from destroying the world. But because of sin, men still practice destruction. When we are saved we are delivered from all threats. We have been delivered from the destructive activity of the law. God no longer encourages guilt , fear, shame and sorrow. We go from experiencing the destructive weight of the law which is the ruling power of the curse, to avoiding any kind of threatening words or actions by using the law as a tool to destroy those who are under the law through enforcing spiritual death in the legitimate use of the righteous curse. The wicked my make inferior threats but we have weapon that is directed at the destruction of the person.23" But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you".(not a person who sheds blood but practices using threats) Our success is never through personal anger or threats but only through the impersonal judgement of Christ. In order for us to avoid the sting of the curse we must curse the destruction for the sake of wiping the threats from the kingdom so that we can establish peace.120 7 I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war".

God smiles in our troubles

Ps 94 12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

The Psalmist is complaining about suffering because of national apostasy.1" O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. 2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve." The Psalms teach that God created us as social beings. He created us with as a free moral agent. This means that we are gifted with our own interior government. Each one of us has an ability to rule our own world by fulfilling our desires.

God created all things according to His laws, covenants, decrees and statutes. Not only did God create all things but He upholds and orders all things. In Gods kingdom there is nothing that is out of order. We were placed in this creation as a ruler that was able to fulfill our part in His creation without any opposition. We were able to be at our highest ability and able to rule His creation having no opposition to our desires. The Psalms teach that if we examine the whole history of the world and list all of the activities of the Gods creation, that we would see that God spoke them into existence and order them by the word of His mouth. From Gods view there is nothing that is out of order. But from our finite view we are unable to see the reasons for the events as they transpire. This is why the Psalmist expresses his frustration in questions, curses, petitions and cries. Our problem that we do not know how to experience mystery. We seem to get stuck in believing that because God is sovereign and we are not able to understand, that we must accept what has transpired. We are always left in our frustration and thinking that this is what develops patience in us.

But the Psalmist knows that because God is absolutely sovereign then He is the only being in the universe that can create stability and happiness by speaking one word. God can completely change the world in a mili second. The Psalmist believes that our frustration is resolved by seeing the simplicity that is in God. 6" The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." "Simplehearted" is believing that God can rework everything by a miracle. You see this reasoning here in this Psalm. 13" you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance." This covenant promise that" the Lord will not reject His people" is paraphrased by the Psalmist and is synonymous with " you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked." The Psalmist is saying that Gods eternal love is evidenced in His covenant promise that He will never forsake us by preparing destruction for the wicked when we suffer as a result of the apostasy. In other words our personal suffering that is caused by the evils of the wicked that is described in the Psalms as a trap that causes us to fall into a pit ...is really set for them. The Psalmist is not only saying that God will reward us doubly but He will respond to our suffering through the curse, 

We have a hard time with suffering because we do not put a value on it. We have been taught that pain is something that works in us to make us holy. We have reduced everything we face that is bad to some kind of mystical force that works in us for good. lol But in this Psalm we are taught that God values us by valuing our suffering by causing the proud to fall under the weight of Gods judgement. The word the Psalmist uses to speak of this weight is the curse. 1" O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. 2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve." The Psalm opens up with a curse and then the Psalmist begins to reason how the power of God can destroy the opposition because of Gods covenant promise and then he applies this teaching to his soul. 16" Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? 17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

The Psalmist is teaching that when we suffer we need to get a proper perspective. We need to step back and see the world from Gods view. He is saying that our problems are a part of a much bigger problem. When we attempt to reason from Gods view , we are taught that there are lines that cannot be crossed. God has spoken about Himself in absolute terms and has revealed this to us. Our help in suffering is rooted in God as the original creator. Because God has ordered all things by the word of His mouth , He gets pleasure in forming all things by speaking into existence and describing them as He is good. But He has not left us just to examine His beauty as the agent for receiving His pleasure but He has given us a very small way of reasoning that is the outline of the total reality of the kingdom that dwells in us. The natural flow of our lives is rooted in this language that unites us to God in enjoying His fellowship. This language is the natural cry of our hearts that is expressed in laws, decrees, curses, statutes, covenants and promises. When we communicate to God in His language we reflect the value of His work and experience the honor that He deserves as the basis of our receiving support and consolation. 18" When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

Narcissism

Narcissism is having a view of man as being so important that you react to them in fear, sorrow, guilt, or under the constraints of a process. The narcissistic person speaks to God in man centered words. I do not believe that any man is able to completely experience freedom from the society of man until he has memorized and prayed the Psalms. The Psalms are the only prayers that are focused on God as God is. Narcissism is lowering God through the expression of petition, praise, guilt, fear, and sorrow in false words that use Him as if He were a man. The ultimate measure of true desire that is absent of narcissism is that if someone over heard your private prayers they would react with anger and frustration. Because a person who is united to Christ has no desires for mans acceptance. He prays as if he is the only one on the earth than needs the kind of grace that is transferred by being completely free as the only way that other men can catch it. A person who is narcissistic prays as if he is a necessary vessel that God needs in order to spread the grace.  

A person who is narcissistic is one who does not challenge his own thoughts by word and Spirit. He allows himself to wander in his mind. In this sense it he seldom gets to the place of mystery. He seldom experiences the eternal verities of the faith. The mind is like a cup. The amount of liquid represents the presence of word and Spirit. A narcissistic person is one whos cup is half full. The air represents how much he values man and his own life. But a person whos identity is centered in Christ has exhausted the use of the word as He orders his prayers until his cup is filled up. He is so used to finding mystery after meditating and praying Gods word that it becomes the line by which he determines the disposition of a person who is holding onto idols. A person who holds idols seldom experiences conversion. A narcissistic person is used to a secular view of the world so that the things of the world and the value of those things are the motives that move him. I will write more descriptions.

Thinking thoughts after God

Ps 10 7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

The natural state of mans mind under sin is to think on his own. This is one of the hardest behaviors to change when we are saved. The Psalms describe the process of the natural man actions going from his corrupted mind to his lips and then in his behavior. The bible describes the character of two different men as being completely dependent upon the condition of the heart. The condition of the heart is the reality by which a man views the circumstances and the people in his world. There are natural constraints that we experience when we are saved. In our old life we controlled our world by being under the constraint of men. The natural desire in man is to verify the validity of his relationships through accountability. And you see this procession in this description of the wicked man. From his godless heart he destroys other people as a way of thinking by ambush. Here this is describing the character of a criminal who hides in the dark and catches his victims in order to steal or murder. But if you examine this Psalm its in the over all context of a man advancing to obtain power and prestige over others in light of mans law. A metaphor for a criminal. This character is not just limited to the description of a criminal but in the Psalms it is describing the natural desires of men using the miss fortunes of others to advance in their occupation. There is a very big difference when the Psalms describe the life of the new man. 

 Ps. 139 1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?"Here in we see a totally different focus in ones view of the world. This is describing the believers single focus. We believe that God has ordered all things by the word of His mouth. There is nothing that is outside of our control that is in need of our control. You see this description throughout the Psalms as the only way that we grow in this christian experience. Our language is transformed in thinking thoughts after God. Because in our old life we viewed everything by imagining that our finite view could control our success. But when we were saved we were implanted with the seed of the word of God. We now see everything as a creative act of God through word and Spirit. 

You see this in application as the Psalmist petitions God. 25 19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me!36  12 See how the evildoers lie fallen-- thrown down, not able to rise! This language comes from being under the influence of Gods creative power. The Psalmist petitions God to search him and know him. And so this more than just someone looking from afar and acting according to another will but its Gods ability to order all things for the purpose of creating good from evil. The two liners are always describing this searching as a necessary conviction to cause us to repent. But this searching that the Psalmist describes is not a mystical inward action by God but rather it is ordering everything to bring total unity of body, mind and heart with His creative order. We believe that God has established His law in the creative order so that it has already established the basis for change. This is why the Palmist uses these pregnant statements "see how my enemies" etc and "see how they have fallen" to be statements of creation that unites our desires with Gods in order to see the success. The success is based upon Gods law that has been established in creation that works for our good. So we do not need to be busybodies trying to order our lives by the actions of others or to be overly concerned that we will be over come by other peoples view of us. We are to think biblically in about everything so that we will experience real freedom. 

The power of the righteous

Ps 10 7" His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue."
37  22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.
59 12 For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,

There are two kinds of curses. The first kind is the wicked cursing the righteous. In this verse the curses are lies and threats , that create trouble and evil. God has spoken in His word. All of His word are true. The natural man does not seek God because he does not know God.  10 4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." The natural mans thoughts are cursed by God. 94 11" The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile". Because the natural mans thoughts are cursed he schemes against his neighbor. 10 2" In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD".The state of a mans mind under the control of the curse is defined in the bible as an arrogant mind. Its a mind that desires to rebel against Gods kingdom by threats and violence and to become god.  5 His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." 

As you can see that the power of the curse is described as self talk. Its like being programed to oppose whatever God says. In this way man is completely blind and helpless to think according to Gods word. This is what the Psalms describe as cursing God and his people. 12" For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter," You see here that the idea of" catching" is in the context of setting a trap for the righteous by redefining Gods word. And so the Psalmist says let them be caught in the trap they set for the righteous.9 Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused." As you can see that culture is formed by people which begins in the heart and is spoken on the tongue and then is put into action. So when we are describing the effects of the curse it is in the context of a culture of words that creates a culture of death or the curse. In this way we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces, words that destroy...or an evil scheme that is designed and made fertile over the history of the world ,whose purpose is to bring us under the power of men ...or the curse.  88  17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me."

 The Psalms are written to oppose the intricate schemes. What is interesting is they are not written in an epistemology that one truth is the opposition to another truth. But they give us spiritual power to cast down the schemes through the righteous power of the curse. You could describe it as one evil word defining all the evil words ...like Satan in the garden...redefining "good" In this sense its a spiritual force that uses all the words that redefine Gods word in one word. So you have a very powerful evil curse that is described as a threat. The holistic evil threat is too much for us to oppose through the avenue of truth. We must war against the evil curse through speaking the righteous curse.10" Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you." There are legitimate statements that are used to oppose the threatening schemes of the evil one. The "let not" is a creative word that we pray as we represent the true curse in the all the words of God. In the Lords prayer it says " Let me not enter into temptation." There is the general statement that gives authority to all of these more detailed statements in the Psalms. Its the same reasoning as the when the Apostle makes a curse on all those who preach another gospel. He is expanding the effectiveness of these Psalm curse from the small middle eastern world to the entire glob.  I have describe a very consistent approach that is woven throughout the Psalms in the way we oppose evil. 

God's kingdom is our full communication

Ps 12 1 Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.2 Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue"

This is teaching that everyone establishes their own power by using Gods law according to their own described view in light of the kingdom of their own desires. There is only one hope for success and it is the death of those desires that oppose God. This is why the Psalms speak of the consequences of sin is that the desires of men are under the power of the curse. You could describe it like this. You could add up all the desires of men that are in conflict with Gods desires and describe them as the imaginations of mens hearts and minds. This is what it means when it says that the desires of the wicked will come to nothing. 

If in fact all mens desires are imaginations then Gods desires cannot be thwarted. This is what we mean by God already establishing His kingdom through His laws , decrees...etc. But how can this be a prayer of a man against the desires of other sinners if the saint is corrupted?  How can we claim a value of our corrupted desires in order to justify the need for God to give us what we desire in opposition to the desires of other sinners? Because when we are saved we have the kingdom of God dwelling in us. The eternal Gods desires are the expression of our own desires. 

Gods kingdom is established through His will. His desires are established through His laws, decrees, curses etc. God has reacted to this world in the Perfect man. This reaction is the expression of His will that dwells in us. Its His kingdom that has been established through our new identity. Our imperfect reaction is contained in His perfect reaction. We must understand that the expression of His reaction according to His attributes meets us face to face in the law, decrees, statutes, curses, promises decrees. When we have these on our lips we experience the Perfect man( the holistic balance in our souls.)

We have the kingdom dwelling in us. We have Gods reaction of anger, love, peace, justice etc. These reactions to the events of our lives are beyond our understanding. But at the same time they are given to us through communication..ie laws etc. When we speak these words we experience mysterious reactions from our corrupted desires. The gospel is not our disengagement of our souls so that Christ can be manifested but its our total being united to Christ... our desires united to Gods desires. We believe the gospel is real reality not mystical. God does everything and we do everything. Our prayers according to His word go beyond our desires and yet come from our desires. 

God recreates all reality by His perfect word. This total recreation dwells in us. He has given us a very simple way of speaking that is the perfect way to recreate His kingdom. We speak in the language of a child but He speaks in an eternal recreation. This simple way translates into our being like Christ as standing beside Him fully engaged in the battle. Our reaction is dreadful in itself. But when it rises to Gods mysterious reaction through His word, it becomes unified and holistic to us. We are looking at spiritual things through a dark window. But we will overcome all opposition because we have Gods universal recreation dwelling in us.  

God gives us what we desire

Ps5 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

This Psalm is establishing how we can encounter the most personal fellowship with God. The Psalmist speaks about approaching God and crying out to Him. Because this Psalm is in the beginning of this book it is teaching us the proper way to have access with God. This fast rule is never crossed throughout the book. The Psalm teaches that the most simple thing to do swallows up the most complicated and difficult things in our lives. Our natural response in this life is to believe that its the kind of sorrow that we display that gets Gods attention. But the Psalms provide us with Gods decrees, promises, laws, and statutes that we have on our lips and we begin to develop habits that transform us and secure our spiritual success. We are always trying to figure out if God is responding to that one sin that we do over and over again, or the excessive burdens that we are prone to carry instead of focusing on these boundaries that God has established so that we drawn to believe that He will do more than we could ask or think. 

This is the point here where the Psalmist has developed the habit of telling God his desires and waiting in expectation. The better translation is "Morning by morning You hear my request." The Psalmist focuses on his desires because God has made us like Himself. So the Psalmist believes that he must know himself in order to know God. This is terribly important and has been redefined in this pragmatic age. The Psalms teach that when we are saved we receive new desires. Our old will is destroyed and God puts His new will in us.Now listen we may have desires that are in conflict with Gods new desires but they are never described as a direct rebellion but a cause for us to slip and be in danger. The truth is that since we have the fulness of God dwelling in us we have the ability to use these corrupted desires for our benefit and be freed from the power of the curse...that being to free ourselves from the unjust use of our desires. We free ourselves by pouring out our desires to God and experiencing the consuming of the experience of being stung by the curse. Our new desires should never be seen as being so burdensome that they lead to dread. 

So when we express our desires to God even tho they may be obnoxious, angry, neurotic, fearful, or excessively sorrowful, we have been given the freedom to be wrong and still be accepted by God. If there is nothing that we fear in expressing it to God then we begin to know ourselves as God knows us. Or as God begins to operate on us in order to heal us. He does this by being so good that we begin to be changed by His grace alone. In order for us to know ourselves fully we must know our desires and be so convinced of our purpose that we would spend years expressing them to God in order to receive what we desire. The person who is convinced that his desires are right will pray to God until he experiences the fullness of receiving what he desired. I call this experiencing the highest unity of our circumstances with our gifts. 

This is what the Psalmist does. You will see that he talks about praising, crying, petitioning,longing, and cursing as he approaches God night and day. So he is saying that he talks to God all the time. This is the way that we should experience God. We should be used to expending our energy by speaking to God with all of our hearts as He has described His work and our souls in His word. We speak to Him in His language of the laws, promise. etc. As we experience the highs and lows of His power in expending our strength in our petitions we know we are drawing near to these different times in our lives when He is approaching us through different situations. We will begin to march at His pace. When God moves it is for our good and not so that we can explain it according to our view. You will find that if you experience the highs of praise when God gives you so much that you need His power to accomplish it or the lows when God seems to be silent and you are spinning your wheels , that you will not be caught off guard or surprised.   This is the secret to being content and understanding that you are seeking God for God and not for yourselves. When you experience the highs you always want to experience them in light of the unity of God , not being satisfied by the circumstances but wanting to reach the highest power in the circumstance. And when you experience the lows, you want to be motivated to expend more energy in the petition to get back to the highs. All of this is experienced as we are convinced of our desires.

The price of Gods refuge

Ps 31 1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.

2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

 The two Kingdom teaching is a pragmatic view of the world. The words in the Psalms like salvation, refuge, Gods eternal throne, etc are all inter connected to Davids experiences as he rules Israel.If you take the words used to describe eternal salvation out of the context of earthly governments you make salvation a mystical teaching. Your saying that all of the sorrows and pains of this life are because God is acting apart from the circumstances in a mystical way to communicate something that is limited to an inward action that that has no basis in fact. You saying that all of the things that we hope for have no relation to the actual success we experience on this earth. Your saying that the sorrows of this life are redeem in the hope of sharing in the bliss and pleasure of Christ. It just like the higher life teaching that has no connection to the actual events of this earth. I mean to say that Gods refuge is simply a spiritual experience in which we give him our pain is the biggest denial that there will be a new earth where we will carry on some of the same occupations , in a perfect government that actually will exist that is tied to our experience with earthly governments in this life. Unless you have a stake in this fight you will never have a personal experience of the effects of salvation. Salvation will be reduced to a promise of a mystical relationship with Christ in which your inner suffering is simply a motivation for you to look to the mystical effects of Christ. The two kingdom people refer to this as Gods refuge... Its just dumb theology. 

But we know that God has created reality by creating everything and every relationship in this world as we describe Him as a holy God! You cant reduce God by dividing the world up into different occupations and authorities as one line of communication is God centered and the other line of communication is man centered. All communication is scrutinized by God and is only true in how it lines up with His holiness!

"In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness." The Psalmist is saying that Gods refuge is tied to his military victories.Gods righteousness ...that being His foreign righteousness is His judicial action taken against nations in war to punish and destroy them. David is saying that our salvation is when Christ eternal kingdom is successful in overcoming all opposition on this earth. David is not saying here that there is this perfect mystical righteousness that he holds onto as the basis for being in Gods refuge. Its the same thing as saying there is no price that shows value of what you are trusting in. It simply a promise that has no relationship to the causes and communication that you face on a daily basis. Its basically an empty promise. 

  

Gods covenant faithfulness

Ps 36 4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."

These two verses are contrasting freedom that God establishes and the ultimate problem of preventing freedom that comes from the heart of man. This is really the basis of the teaching about inability. Man is finite and is unable to promote freedom at the highest level. "Not rejecting what is wrong" is not being able to put oneself on Gods level of substitution for someone else. The Psalms focus on this as the central problem of the presents of corruption in this world. It is not that man does things that are morally wrong but that man is unable to promote the highest good of his neighbor because of his corruption. 

The Psalmist doesnt even introduce this contrast of " Your love O Lord" with a idea that ties these contrast together but he breaks into the contrast with praise as if he is saying that Gods kingdom is real reality as opposed to this world system which is an illusion. He is saying that if God were not sovereign there would be no freedom because there would be no presence of eternal faithfulness.  

What is the ultimate solution for man being reduced to the level of the philosophy of the survival of the fittest? The Psalms speak of this world that is full of corruption as man being reduced to surviving like the beast of the field. Because man is unable to establish freedom on this earth in an eternal sense then God must act according to His covenant to recreate it by blessing and cursing. God establishes the highest order in life and He reaches down to through the curse to uphold His elect when they are at their lowest. "6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast."

Gods sovereign judgement

Ps 35 1" Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.2 Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away;6 may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.7 Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me,8 may ruin overtake them by surprise-- may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation.10 My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them."11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.12 They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn.13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered,14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; attackers gathered against me when I was unaware. They slandered me without ceasing.16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me.17 O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.19 Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.20 They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land.21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it."22 O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord.23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me.25 Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!" or say, "We have swallowed him up."26 May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant. 28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long."

In order for us to have a proper trust in Gods sovereignty we must confess that the value of His work gets weighted as we unify our image with the image of Christ. We pay the price of that value as we acknowledge that God alone is right in being the absolute judge of every man. We open our hands and give to God as we rise up to confess on our lips that God divides mankind in into two groups in order that He might bless some and judge the others. We show a lack of respect for God when we give value to mans work as an acceptable gift to God. When we blur the lines between blessing and cursing we devalue God. 

 This Psalm is teaching that our struggle with the Devil and his children are compared to a hand to hand fight with the enemy in war. 1 "Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me." God has saved us into a kingdom with perfect order. He has promised to uphold, work and complete His perfect kingdom work by covenanting with us. But man seeks to devalue God by reinterpreting His word. When man reinterprets Gods word he opposes Gods kingdom rule by speaking violence. The natural man seeks to redefine the world according to his own standard so that he can rule as god. 

Does God oppose the natural man by the work of second causes? Do we lower the standard of Gods word by giving man the authority of judgement in ruling this world? Does God require us to pay the price of value of His judgement as a prerequisite to acknowledging his sovereignty? If God is sovereign then He must be the only one who can be acceptable to judge man. If we believe that God's sovereignty is valuable then we pay the price when we speak to Him according to His standard of anger and judgement. Gods standard of judgement is the laws response to law breakers in the curse. Any time we we put our trust in threats that are lower than the absolute curse of God we deny that He is sovereign. We are saying that there is some other power that is able to prevent the birth and growth of evil. We lower God.