CARVE YOUR NAME UPON THE ROCK

         

Nero Caesar was a cruel, inhuman monster. He is regarded by historians as one of the most vile and contemptible rulers ever to sit upon a throne. He commanded that the body of his own mother be ripped apart that he might see the womb that had borne him. He once saw a handsome young man in his court and he ordered him castrated and used him as a woman the rest of his life. 

Nero was Caesar, his name was known all over the empire. The whole of the Roman world bowed to his will. The life of that mighty empire revolved around this man.  One day there stood before him this obscure little Jew, Paul the Apostle. He had scarcely been heard of except in a few isolated places where he had caused certain trouble. Paul was a small bodied prisoner in chains, standing before the mighty emperor.

The amazing thing is that today the name Paul is known all over the world. The story of his life and the books that he wrote are read in every church in the world. Nero the most famous man in his days, after his death he was forgotten. His life and fame are only known by the historians.

Psalm 1 reveals that we have only two ways of life: the godly and the ungodly. The person who follows the way of righteousness is beautiful, fruitful and precious to God. The person who follows the way of wickedness withers and is valueless to God.  The writer concludes the Psalm with the words, “the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Ps. 1:6).

The word “knows” pictures God watching over his own in unbroken continuity. David describes this very clearly in Psalm 139.  He says “you have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me” (vv.1-5).

The Lord knows that path of the righteous; he is watching, guiding, guarding and keeping him. Being righteous places you on the path which God watches over and being on that path qualifies you for His blessings and protection. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous (Ps. 34:15). He has engraved them on the palms of his hands; their walls are continually before him (Isa. 49:16).  He takes them by the hand and keeps them (Isa 42:6).

The righteous are described as an “apple of God’s eye”; anyone who “touches them touches the apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:8).  The apple of the eye is the tenderest and the most carefully guarded part of the body. The phrase “apple of God’s eye” sets forth the inexpressible tenderness of God’s love for his children. David prayed “Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings (Ps. 17:7-8).

David introduces another figure of speech “under the shadow of your wings”. This figure of speech is also used in three other psalms (Psalms 36:7, 57:1 and 63:7). The mother bird completely shields her chicks from evil and at the same time cherishes them with the warmth of her own heart, by covering them with her wings. God has a parent’s love in perfection.”

Taken together, these two phrases used by David, are powerful pictures of God’s love and care for the righteous.  He knows those who take refuge in Him (Nahum 1:7). Job suffered incredible afflictions (Job 23). Nevertheless he persevered because he understood the truth in Psalm 1:6. He affirmed that even though he could not see God, he knew God could see Him. Job declared “he knows the way I take” (Job 23:10).

Godly living has benefits that money cannot buy. It causes you to live in fulfillment, joy and tranquillity. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy (Rom. 14: 17).  Godliness with contentment is a great gain (1Tim. 6:6). Peace, joy and contentment are three things that everybody longs for in life.

David says I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken (Ps. 37:25). Mark the perfect man and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Ps. 37:37). The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care and their inheritance will endure forever (Ps. 37:18). For if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Rom. 14: 8).

The way of the ungodly appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways (Prov. 14:12,14). But the wicked will perish: Though the  Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed; they will go up in smoke. (Ps. 37:20). The apparent reward of the wicked is temporary and fleeting. All this is more reason to avoid envy of the wicked in their seeming prosperity.

Asaph caught himself sliding into despair over the perceived prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73). But when he saw things from an eternal perspective, he understood their end. He realized that the ease and security of the wicked was really only an illusion; they were actually set on a slippery place. Suddenly they will be destroyed and completely swept away by terrors. When the Lord arises he will despise them as fantasies (vv.16-20).

One cannot always see God’s active hand of judgment against the wicked. But one day he will arise and judge them. After gaining this eternal perspective, Asaph would never trade places with them. He said “when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant …Yet I am always with you, you hold me by my right hand, you guide me with your counsel and afterwards you will take me into glory you ( vv. 21-24).

In Psalm 37 David says “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away(vv.1-3). I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found . there will be no future for the wicked (vv. 35-38).

In Ezekiel 18:20-32 we are told that the righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins and does what is right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them.

But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the sins they have committed, they will die.  The way of the Lord is just. He will judge each person according to their own ways. Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.  The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of anyone.

The reason why the wicked will not be found in the assembly of the righteous is because the great Judge, fully knows the way of everyone. God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” (2 Tim. 2:19). The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth (Ps.34:16).

The righteous carves his name upon the rock, but the wicked writes his remembrance in the sand. The righteous man sows seeds here which shall never be fully reaped till he enters the enjoyments of eternity; but the wicked ploughs the sea and though there may seem to be a shining trail behind his keel, yet the waves shall pass over it erasing every trace of him.

The ungodly are on a broad path that may seem comfortable now and the path gives them lots of company. Though outwardly their lives may be very impressive, inwardly it may be nothing but a hollow shell, empty and worthless. The world is looking for peace and money can't buy it. The wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest. There is no peace for the wicked (Isa. 57:20-21).

 Are you living a godly life or are you chasing the wind that rises from a collapsing world system? May the Lord grant you the strength and resolve to say “No” to every form of evil and say “Yes” to God and to his Word. Live in such a way that in the Day of Judgment, having built on the unshakeable foundation of his Word, you will not be blown away, but stand for eternity.

In David says “Wait for the Lord and keep his way and he will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Ps. 37:34). The coming doom of the wicked is as certain as the coming blessing and security of the righteous. Woe to the wicked! They will be paid back for what their hands have done (Isa. 3:11). They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord (1 Thess. 1:9).

We have only two choices: we can either choose to please ourselves or to please God. We can choose to glorify the Lord, or we can choose to seek glory for ourselves.  Do your daily decisions reflect godly living? Your choices matter each day because they add up to the direction you are headed. This world has many choices but eternity has only two.