another short psalm but a lot in it, although the part i want to pick up on is the last line:

‘You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.’ [vs.7-8]

this is quite a tricky one and i won’t go deeply into specifics, but i see this line as a warning for us who call ourselves Christ followers to be very mindful of the call to be set apart and holy [which means set apart, to be distinct] and to heed the command in romans 12 to ‘not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds’ because that way we will be able to discern what God’s will is and we always need to remember that it is God’s will that we are seeking, not the will of society or the context we find ourselves in, or what feels comfortable or even fair to us… we are part of a story that is all about God and we are merely walk on players with cameo roles and for some reason He has invited us to have roles of significance in this story about Him.

‘when what is vile is honored by the human race’ – just because society starts accepting something should not automatically mean that it is right in the eyes of God [and this covers a multitude of topics] – matthew 7 is a passage which strongly seems to indicate that the minority is more likely to be right than the majority and so if you look around and everyone looks pretty much like you, then maybe you have to get worried, or to action or something [unless you just happen to hang out with a crazy above action crowd]

however, having said all that i am deeply reminded that too often the church has been known for what and how much they are against and while that is important at times and to various degrees, it is and should always be more important what we are about and for. which ultimately is Love, in its various forms and guises. the tattoo of the church – we should be known/marked by the love we have for each other [John 13.35]

and then that phrase – the words of the LORD are flawless [vs.6a] which kinda speaks for itself…