Safety Net

Psalm 17:3-4 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.

Why are their guard rails on our roads? In other parts of the world, there are not nearly as many guard rails. You can climb the sharp and narrow paths of the Alps, even parts where many tourists climb, and there are no hand rails, no concrete steps, no wheelchair accessibility. If you want to fall off a cliff, they allow you to do just that.

I grew up in a time when lawyers were not allowed to advertise. They only thing they could do was put an ad in the Yellow Pages of the phone book. But then the law changed, and the Yellow Pages became very small. If you wanted a lawyer, the billboards and TV ads gave you plenty of choices.

I think one of the results of the explosion of lawsuits is the overabundance of caution. No one wants to get sued. As a result, playgrounds got rid of the equipment that was the most fun. Our culture became more risk-averse.

Do we take risks in our spiritual life? Or are we just seeking comfortable? How are we maintaining the life of holiness to which the LORD has called us?

Our text comes from a Psalm that opens up a window into the devotional life of the writer, giving insights into how he lives holiness. He starts by being open to the LORD’s examination. He is an open book, desirous of the LORD’s library card. He wants to be checked out.

But we also see what he records as the mechanism for his holiness. He writes that it is “through what your lips have commanded.” The things the LORD has written, not just the commands, but the whole package, give us insight into the nature and character of the LORD and of us.

The Word is as double-sided sword. It lets us see into His heart and into our own. As we read how our faith parents lived their lives, both the ups and the downs, we can learn from their triumphs and their deep disappointments. We don’t have to walk through the same sins they did.

The Psalmist tells us that the Word has kept him from sin. Are we getting enough Word in us to keep us from sin? Are we aware of it when we rise and when we go to bed, when we walk and when we sit, when we enter and when we leave?

Are we swimming in the Word of God? Or are we using a squirt gun?