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Psalms 101:1-4 ESV
Sing of His Love and Justice
I love to sing, nonetheless my voice has been going in and out for some time now, so I often sing just in my mind and heart and not with my mouth. But whether singing out loud or just listening to songs and singing along with them in my mind and heart, I am still singing praise to my Lord.
Over the past 10 years, the Lord Jesus has given me numerous spiritual songs to write, and they do cover both the subjects of God’s love and of his justice, for the Scriptures teach both. And the songs come either directly from Scripture or they are Scripturally based.
The Lord also speaks to me throughout the day with songs in my mind which teach the Scriptures. This is one of the ways in which he counsels and directs me, and in which he encourages my heart. And he most always includes a song of his choosing in every devotional he has me write, too.
Music is an integral part of our worship of God. But we can worship God without music, and we can sing songs without worshiping God, too. For, first and foremost our lives must be surrendered to the Lord as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, which is our spiritual worship of him.
Walk with Integrity
“Integrity” seems a rare thing these days. It means “honesty, reliability, honor, decency, and uprightness.” And it means, “firm adherence to a code of moral values” and behaving oneself wisely, with the wisdom of God.
So, how do we do this? In our sinful flesh, we cannot. The only way we can be people of integrity is via surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ, dying with Christ to sin and self, and being raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We can only be people of integrity in the power and working of our Lord in our lives in changing us to be more like him. For, we can’t be righteous on our own merit. We can only be righteous because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and by faith in him, which results in us dying with him to sin.
In the power of God’s Spirit, we can then walk (in conduct, in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God and no longer according to our sinful flesh. And we can walk in integrity, in morality, decency, uprightness and honesty, etc., because God’s Spirit lives within us.
What I Set Before my Eyes
There are things we should set before our eyes, and things we should not set before our eyes. Sad to say that it seems the majority of today’s Christians are more apt to set before their eyes what is indecent, immoral, and dishonest, than what is upright, morally pure, and wise.
But it isn’t just what is immoral, dishonest, and indecent that we should not look at, but this includes what is just worthless. Many Christians spend hours watching pure junk, which includes many news shows, game shows, social media posts, what is meant just to entertain, and movies/videos.
So, it isn’t necessarily that they may be watching what is immoral, but that they are just wasting time watching what is worthless in light of their relationships with Jesus Christ, in light of eternity, and in light of the fact that many people need to hear the gospel.
Also, if we love God, and we want to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, we should love what he loves, and we should hate what he hates. And he hates the works of iniquity. He hates lies! He hates spiritual laziness and rebellion, too. But he loves for us to fear him and to follow him in obedience.
A Perverse Heart
A perverse heart is a wicked, obstinate, deviant, perverted, disobedient and rebellious heart that is contradictory to the Lord and to his will and purposes for our lives. It is a heart that deliberately and premeditatedly and habitually sins against God without conscience or repentance.
As followers of Jesus Christ, who have died with Christ to sin and self, we should have pure hearts transformed of the Spirit of God, with a desire for holiness and righteousness, and with resistance to all that is evil, wicked, immoral, dishonest, and indecent.
We shouldn’t have perverse hearts which think on evil and which plot evil on their beds, and which carry out evil as a matter of life course. We should know nothing of evil, i.e., we are not to be partakers in what is evil, but in what is righteous, holy, pure, and of God.
But, if that is not the case, and if you are living an immoral life while claiming faith in Jesus Christ, then please know that the Scriptures teach that if we walk (in practice) according to the flesh (in sin), we are going to die in our sins, no matter what we profess with our lips.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:7]
The Great Redeemer
Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915
Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915
How I love the great Redeemer
Who is doing so much for me;
With what joy I tell the story
Of the love that makes men free.
Till my earthly life is ended,
I will send songs above,
Then beside the crystal sea
More and more my soul shall be
Praising Jesus and His love.
He has purchased my redemption,
Rolled my burden of sin away,
And is walking on beside me,
Growing dearer day by day.
That is why I sing His praises,
That is why joy is mine,
That is why forevermore
On the everlasting shore
I shall sing of love divine.
Glory be to Him forever!
Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!
He has filled my life with sunshine,
He has made me what I am.
Oh, that everyone would know Him,
Oh, that all would adore!
Oh, that all would trust the love
Of the mighty Friend above
And be His forevermore.
He is everything to me, to me,
He is everything to me,
And everything shall always be;
I will never cease to raise
A song of gladness in His praise;
Here, and in the world above,
My soul shall sing of saving love;
Life and light and joy is He,
The precious Friend who died for me.
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“I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.”
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.”
Sing of His Love and Justice
I love to sing, nonetheless my voice has been going in and out for some time now, so I often sing just in my mind and heart and not with my mouth. But whether singing out loud or just listening to songs and singing along with them in my mind and heart, I am still singing praise to my Lord.
Over the past 10 years, the Lord Jesus has given me numerous spiritual songs to write, and they do cover both the subjects of God’s love and of his justice, for the Scriptures teach both. And the songs come either directly from Scripture or they are Scripturally based.
The Lord also speaks to me throughout the day with songs in my mind which teach the Scriptures. This is one of the ways in which he counsels and directs me, and in which he encourages my heart. And he most always includes a song of his choosing in every devotional he has me write, too.
Music is an integral part of our worship of God. But we can worship God without music, and we can sing songs without worshiping God, too. For, first and foremost our lives must be surrendered to the Lord as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, which is our spiritual worship of him.
Walk with Integrity
“Integrity” seems a rare thing these days. It means “honesty, reliability, honor, decency, and uprightness.” And it means, “firm adherence to a code of moral values” and behaving oneself wisely, with the wisdom of God.
So, how do we do this? In our sinful flesh, we cannot. The only way we can be people of integrity is via surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ, dying with Christ to sin and self, and being raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We can only be people of integrity in the power and working of our Lord in our lives in changing us to be more like him. For, we can’t be righteous on our own merit. We can only be righteous because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and by faith in him, which results in us dying with him to sin.
In the power of God’s Spirit, we can then walk (in conduct, in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God and no longer according to our sinful flesh. And we can walk in integrity, in morality, decency, uprightness and honesty, etc., because God’s Spirit lives within us.
What I Set Before my Eyes
There are things we should set before our eyes, and things we should not set before our eyes. Sad to say that it seems the majority of today’s Christians are more apt to set before their eyes what is indecent, immoral, and dishonest, than what is upright, morally pure, and wise.
But it isn’t just what is immoral, dishonest, and indecent that we should not look at, but this includes what is just worthless. Many Christians spend hours watching pure junk, which includes many news shows, game shows, social media posts, what is meant just to entertain, and movies/videos.
So, it isn’t necessarily that they may be watching what is immoral, but that they are just wasting time watching what is worthless in light of their relationships with Jesus Christ, in light of eternity, and in light of the fact that many people need to hear the gospel.
Also, if we love God, and we want to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, we should love what he loves, and we should hate what he hates. And he hates the works of iniquity. He hates lies! He hates spiritual laziness and rebellion, too. But he loves for us to fear him and to follow him in obedience.
A Perverse Heart
A perverse heart is a wicked, obstinate, deviant, perverted, disobedient and rebellious heart that is contradictory to the Lord and to his will and purposes for our lives. It is a heart that deliberately and premeditatedly and habitually sins against God without conscience or repentance.
As followers of Jesus Christ, who have died with Christ to sin and self, we should have pure hearts transformed of the Spirit of God, with a desire for holiness and righteousness, and with resistance to all that is evil, wicked, immoral, dishonest, and indecent.
We shouldn’t have perverse hearts which think on evil and which plot evil on their beds, and which carry out evil as a matter of life course. We should know nothing of evil, i.e., we are not to be partakers in what is evil, but in what is righteous, holy, pure, and of God.
But, if that is not the case, and if you are living an immoral life while claiming faith in Jesus Christ, then please know that the Scriptures teach that if we walk (in practice) according to the flesh (in sin), we are going to die in our sins, no matter what we profess with our lips.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:7]
The Great Redeemer
Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915
Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915
How I love the great Redeemer
Who is doing so much for me;
With what joy I tell the story
Of the love that makes men free.
Till my earthly life is ended,
I will send songs above,
Then beside the crystal sea
More and more my soul shall be
Praising Jesus and His love.
He has purchased my redemption,
Rolled my burden of sin away,
And is walking on beside me,
Growing dearer day by day.
That is why I sing His praises,
That is why joy is mine,
That is why forevermore
On the everlasting shore
I shall sing of love divine.
Glory be to Him forever!
Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!
He has filled my life with sunshine,
He has made me what I am.
Oh, that everyone would know Him,
Oh, that all would adore!
Oh, that all would trust the love
Of the mighty Friend above
And be His forevermore.
He is everything to me, to me,
He is everything to me,
And everything shall always be;
I will never cease to raise
A song of gladness in His praise;
Here, and in the world above,
My soul shall sing of saving love;
Life and light and joy is He,
The precious Friend who died for me.
