by Pastor Mark Downey

Scripture Reading:  Psalms 119:169-176

Christians, like the Psalmist David, want to know more about God in Christ the Messiah, to know more about the teachings of the Word, and the duties of our faith.  When we understand that we are the true Israel, we also realize what our newfound responsibilities are.  David had a foreboding sense that he and his prayers were not worthy before such a benevolent God who bequeathed so much promise.  Likewise, we are heirs of the promise and yet every waking moment is not dedicated to the praise of God.  We should make the Word of God our rule in everyday conversation, rather than the exception.  We should look up to God as a lump of clay to be shaped in perfect form by the Potter; to help this honorable vessel glorify Him.  When we glory in the Lord, we are spreading His reputation.  It was by His design that His repute would be through His people; even the enemies of His people would stand in awe of such a fearsome and jealous God.  And it was all because we have His Word; an owner’s manual, if you will, for having communion with Him, not just for today, but for eternity. 

The earliest scribes, from 400BC to 200 AD, worked with Ezra and were regarded as the custodians of the Bible until the time of Christ.  At that point in time, they were under the employ of the Pharisees and received equal animus from Christ declaring unto them (always in the same order with the scribes first), “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Mt. 23:14.  They were woefully the enemies to the gospel of Christ.  They were very much the control freaks, micro-managing the trivial matters of the Law, but aloof and negligent towards the importance of justice.  It was more like ‘just us.’  They were likened to whited sepulchers.  Christ was making the point that He could see through the superficial exterior and discern the spirit of man by what we are inwardly.  Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here the Christian must begin with what is inside their heart and mind. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show.