All thy commandments are faithful:
They persecute me wrongfully; help thou me (Psa 119.86).
Heroism often appears in a crisis moment, but this is but its momentary manifestation. Its underpinnings are good character quietly growing largely unnoticed in spite of a thousand deterrents which effectively suppress the potential greatness of others. That daily, sustained, disciplined virtue which prepares one to shine in the convergence of opportunity and challenge deserves more admiration than it commonly receives.
It is said, “Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny,”1 but the destiny gets all the attention.
Many illustrations come to mind, but one of the most famous and soul-stirring for Protestants is Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, when all the hellish power of the medieval Roman Catholic Church was calling him to recant of his “errors,” including the gospel of justification by faith alone. Luther said,
“Unless I am refuted and convicted by testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear arguments (since I believe neither the Pope nor the Councils alone; it being evident that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am conquered by the Holy Scriptures quoted by me, and my conscience is bound in the Word of God: I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against the conscience. . . . Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen.”2
For years Luther’s soul had been nourished by God’s truth and strengthened by God’s grace, and this was but a glorious revelation of the victorious faith and courage already burning in his soul.
How do such faithful saints come to the point where they triumph spiritually over all their enemies? Our psalm text contains very important parts of the biblical answer.
WE STAND ON GOD’S WORD
A life of true faith begins when one strikes out upon a different course than is customary in this world; indeed, genuine faith requires us to walk in the direct opposition to our former friends. That is because a believer is drawing near to God, while others are running away. This nonconformist lifestyle is bound to provoke their ire and draw their criticism, at least, if not their violent opposition. Their verbal assaults are potentially perilous for us, because in those moments we are faced with a difficult decision. Will we relent from our singular life of righteousness for the sake of a truce with them, or will we continue in the highway of holiness, even quickening our pace? The outcome largely depends on the view we take of God’s Word.
Popular censure provokes introspection in sensitive souls. You begin to examine yourself and wonder, “Maybe I have done something seriously wrong. Why else would these people oppose me so strenuously?” Upon reflection, we discover we have inconsistencies with the faith we profess. That is why a measure of this self-distrust is healthy and may even yield much-needed course corrections in our lives, but the standard must always be Holy Scripture, not fallible human opinion. Ironically, God has even used his enemies to purify the church of her sins and errors.
Often, however, they hate us more for our biblical virtues than our inconsistencies. As we gaze into the mirror of God’s Word, we see a substantial measure of spiritual integrity. We have believed what is true and done what is right, and that can be the very point where our faith is most severely tested. The devil still whispers in our ears, “Yea, hath God said?,” as he did to our first parents while they were still walking in obedience to God (Gen 3.1). We can be tempted to wonder whether Scriptural standards are too strict and demanding, making unrealistic expectations of mere mortals, and whether the work of God might get along better if we would compromise a little bit here and there. Besides, must we be so different after all? Could we not wield more influence if we did not so readily alienate the very people we are trying to win? Satanic corruptions of faith and practice along these very lines characterize many churches and ministries today. This loosened grip on truth, or more accurately, this capitulation of it, is perhaps the fundamental problem with both church growth pragmatism and the “emergent churches.”
The psalmist, however, kept building upon the foundation of God’s unshakeable Word. “All thy commandments are faithful.” This is a comprehensive confession (“all”) of faith in heaven’s verbal revelation (“thy commandments”). The ESV renders the last word as “sure.” The original is rich and suggestive with the senses of “firmness, fidelity, and steadiness,”3 as well as “trustworthiness, honesty and truthfulness, security and safety, that which conforms to reality.”4 The psalmist was able to answer the devil, “Yes, God hath said! And I intend to trust and obey my sovereign Lord!” If we would stand strong amidst a crooked and perverse generation, we must appreciate the absolute truth and abiding justice, relevance, and safety of God’s Word in Scripture. We can never be wiser or more compassionate than God, nor can we improve on his truth and righteousness.
WE SIT IN JUDGMENT UPON OUR ENEMIES
Another part of the biblical basis for spiritual triumph over enemies is a realistic and unsparing condemnation of ungodliness, as the psalmist practiced. “They persecute me wrongfully.”
Pseudo-spirituality abounds in our culture, and one great symptom of it is a sickly sentimentalism without a moral spine. Nobody is bad, no idea is false, and no behavior is immoral. Judging others in any way is the new unpardonable sin. It doesn’t matter that these misguided notions are completely unworkable in the real world, and that they are inherently self-contradictory. I have noticed that no one is more judgmental than those who are always screaming about absolute tolerance!
The fact is that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3.12), and when that opposition comes, a reasonable person realizes that both parties cannot be simultaneously right about the same thing. Either I deserve the ill treatment I am receiving or I don’t, and if I don’t, then it is evil. If it actually is evil, it is not wrong to think it is evil, and even to say that it is evil.
When we suffer for our faith, it strengthens us to realize that it really is persecution, and to pass judgment on our enemies; otherwise our resolve to continue in conformity to God’s truth will be seriously weakened.
From the beginning, all the heroes of our faith have been candid about the errors and sins of their enemies, from the OT prophets to Jesus to the NT apostles and early Christians. Bold Isaiah called a spade a spade. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa 8.20). The blessed Lord Jesus said of his enemies, “They have hated both me and my Father” (John 15.24). Referring to the Judaizers, the apostle Paul wrote, “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh” (Phil 3.2). The last phrase is a disparaging allusion to their insistence on legalistic circumcision. If we will not censure our enemies, then we must censure ourselves, and nothing enfeebles us in the gospel cause like that.
WE LIE DOWN IN DEPENDENCE UPON GOD’S HELP
The psalmist knew he was in the right but he still acutely felt his need of strength from God to stand firm. We may gather this from his petition to the Lord, “Help thou me.”
It may seem counterintuitive to believe that when we are weak, then we are strong (2 Cor 12.10), but this is profound wisdom. Those who trust in themselves are bound to fall, while others who appreciate the objective reality of their weakness and depend on the mighty Lord will experience his power in their lives of service to him. Spiritual triumph is God’s gift to the humble, while he resists the proud and denies them the glory that belongs to him alone (Jas 4.6).
The familiar axiom, “God helps those who help themselves,” while containing some truth, namely, the legitimacy of human responsibility, must be rejected for its main sense. God helps those who know they are helpless except for his help. Only when we exchange self-confidence for faith in him do we begin to pray earnestly, and only then can we expect his favor with its blessed effects.
Luther’s first day before the Diet of Worms was April 17, 1521, and one account says that he was apparently overawed by the august assembly, nervously excited, unprepared for a summary condemnation without an examination, and spoke in a low, almost inaudible tone. Many thought that he was about to collapse.
When urged to recant, Luther pleaded for further time to consider the matter, and they granted a reprieve of one day. He apparently made good spiritual use of the overnight interim.
On Thursday, the 18th of April, Luther appeared a second and last time before the Diet. It was the greatest day in his life. He never appeared more heroic and sublime. He appeared more cheerful and confident than the day before. He had fortified himself by prayer and meditation, and was ready to risk life itself to his honest conviction of divine truth.
Luther triumphed because he stood on God’s Word, sat in judgment upon his enemies, and reposed upon God’s strength. May we develop these postures and become spiritual heroes, too. Amen.
Notes:
1. English novelist and playwright Charles Reade.
2. All Luther citations from Schaff, History of the Christian Church.
3. TWOT #116e.
4. DBLSD #575.
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