Respect The Lord And Do Good Instead of Evil

Commentary

The task of Israel was to attract the nations to their God. Because of their faithfulness to Him, God had promised to bless them abundantly, and when the nations saw this blessing they would see that the living God was with them (vv. 8-9). In the midst of a world of gods who were not good at all, there was one living God, and He was altogether good (Psa. 100.5) David does not tell us how the Lord took care of his needs but he assures us that the Lord provides (v. 9). God will not allow His faithful servants to starve, nor to lack in any of the necessities of life (v. 10).

Suddenly David shifts from praising the Lord to teaching others (v. 11). What man is there that doesn’t want to live in this life to a ripe old age (v. 12)? Then don’t say cruel things and tell lies (v. 13). David urges the people to take heed of what he has to say. First, they need to keep their tongue from evil. To depart from evil means to avoid it as if it is a plague. Only after a person has departed from evil can he do good.

Perhaps David was thinking of the foolish things he had said while he was in Garth and how he had disgraced himself and the Lord. He had lied to the priest and pretended to be crazy. It was his tongue and his lips that had brought forth this evil. Now he is begging the people to guard their tongue and their lips (v. 13). Furthermore, he was sorry that he had ever went to Garth. He was wishing that he had never been near the place. He had failed to take heed to his walk (v. 14). There are some places in life where a believer should never go.

Application

If I feel I don’t have the things I need, all I have to do is ask: (1) Is this really a need? (2) Is this really good for me?  (3) Is this the best time for me to have what I really desire?  Even if my answer may be yes to all three questions, God may allow me to go without to grow more dependent on Him. He may want to teach me that I need Him more than I need to achieve our immediate desires.