Read Psalm 119:113-120
“Double-minded”
As we start the year with a season of prayer + fasting it is
in the desire to be single-minded in our approach to the Lord. The psalmist
demonstrates his own single-mindedness throughout the whole of this psalm. He
hopes only in what the Lord has
spoken, he trusts only in the loving-kindness/ steadfast love of the Lord for
his deliverance. He faces what appears to be significant opposition and even
persecution and looks to the Lord for justice.
The verses that caught my eye today were the first two
verses of this stanza, verses 113-114,
“I
hate the double-minded,
but I love your
law.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.”
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.”
While the use of “hate” might seem like a strong word to us,
it is used in relational contrast to his “love” for God’s law. (Students of my
Psalms classes know that the technical term for this type of Hebrew poetry is antithetical parallelism.) However,
without diminishing the force of hate, most of us would have to admit that we
too hate the double-minded. We hate politicians that flip-flop their positions,
we hate hypocrites who claim to believe one thing in public but live their
lives quite differently in private. We even hate drivers who can’t stay in their
own lane on the road or who take up two parking spots in the lot.
The Hebrew word translated “double-minded” could be
transliterated “ce`eph” or “say-afe” and is pronounced similarly to a two-syllable
form of the English word “safe”. So in a way, the double-minded person wants to
play if “safe” and not put all their hope and trust in the Lord. In the New Testament, there are two passages where we find double-minded translating the
Greek word δίψυχος (dipsukos) that add to our understanding of
double-mindedness.
2) James 4:7-8 in a passage dealing with the source of fighting and quarrels again addresses double-mindedness as something to repent of.
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your
hearts, you double-minded.
Jesus warned his followers that they couldn't serve two masters (Matthew 6:24) for we will always love one and hate the other...yet still we try. So what will we do the next time we are in a difficult spot,
will we trust God has the answer for us or will we seek deliverance and wisdom
elsewhere? Our following our own ideas of what is best usually leads us far
from authentic faith in the Lord, but in his love he comes looking for us to
bring us back and to change our hearts.
“I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they
will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and
for their children after them.” (Jeremiah 32:39 NIV)
The psalmist pledges that the Lord is "my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word!"
O Lord, you know how hard it is for us to stay on target in
this life, yet you did it. You know how hard it is to stay relationally
intimate with our Heavenly Father on a daily basis, yet you made it a priority
of your day to begin with private prayer. You know how to face the hardest of
situations with courage and resolve—even as you would not be turned away from
going to the cross for us. Pour into our hearts a single-minded love for your
law which in turn commands us,
“And this is his commandment,
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and love one another,
just
as he has commanded us.”
(1 John 3:23)
Amen!
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