Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence;
Here is the Holman rendering:
Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
For the record, the Psalm writer observed the wicked and noted that they were prospering despite their ungodly lifestyles. Not a foreign observation in our world. It seems that the “bad guys” both morally and socially are prospering and leaving the good guys behind. This is a repeat of the theme in Psalm 37.
These two Psalms mirror the book of Job. A question of the value of faith predominates the early verses (or chapters), but then God “turns on the light” and all is suddenly clear. When he came into the house of the Lord (the Light) he exclaimed: (73:17, 18)
Then I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.
No more need be said. It was worth “shaving.” An older song comes to mind: “The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows.” Check out the lyrics: (Citation below)
Since I started for the Kingdom, Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows.
The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.
Ev'ry need He is supplying, Plenteous grace He bestows;
Ev'ry day my way gets brighter, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows.
The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.
This is particularly poignant when it is sung by an older Christian. They know. I am reminded of my Dad. This will be a late Father’s Day tribute. When he died, several of the attendants from his nursing home came to the funeral. That in itself was a wonder to me, but most if not all of them commented to “us kids” that Dad always had a smile on his face.
I am confident that there is not a single person in SW Nebraska who would be able to say that, “Howard cheated me or was unfair to me.” I saw him go out of his way to give the other person in a transaction the best deal possible. His reward was not down here, so he was not enamored or ??? with accumulating earthly wealth.
The reputation and legacy he left for his children to follow is the greatest heritage that we could have imagined. Interestingly, many of his brothers’ children would say the same about their Dads. And it came from Grandad. As an illustration, he was with my cousins in a California amusement park when another family, having observed his for a while, approached him and asked him if they could “hire” him to be a Grandad for their kids. They were serious.
The godly heritage passed down from him challenges me, and the rest of my family, to live up to the standard laid down. I can confidently proclaim that, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” And in the words of the Psalmist, it was worth shaving my legs for this.
If you would like a visual and audio reminder, follow the link below.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Bill+Gaither+Trio+the+Longer+I+Serve+Him&&view=detail&mid=E51619D7C91878B9D5AFE51619D7C91878B9D5AF&&FORM=VRDGAR
http://www.songlyrics.com/bill-gaither/the-longer-i-serve-him-lyrics/
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