An Olive Tree in the House of the Lord

 

Psalm 52:8 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” (NIV)

In life and in death there are only two kinds of men and women: those who seek and serve the Lord, and those who resist and refuse to seek and serve him. Human philosophy spends an incredible amount of its time, effort, and energy in trying to blur these lines of truth and accountability. The world says life is more complicated than that and good people don’t necessarily seek and serve the Lord, what about them? The truth of the matter is that the Word of God teaches that there will be two types of people and two eternal destinations for them: (1) saved with God eternally in Heaven, and (2) unsaved separated from God and without hope eternally in what the Bible describes as a hell (Luke 16:19-31).

Much of modernity rejects this conclusion and will refuse to entertain it. Psalm 52 is simply another benchmark of this truth in God’s word about those who seek God and those who do not. David describes in Psalm 52 the time when King Saul had Ahimelech and all God’s priests at Nob, some 85 in number, murdered in a jealous rage. David calls Saul to accountability when he describes him as one who loves evil rather than good, and because of this he will be brought down by God and come to everlasting ruin (Psalm 52:5).

I don’t want to be that kind of person, and I don’t want those results in my life, do you? David contrasts the character and dreadful state of King Saul with himself, and notice what he says about the attitude and life style of one who seeks God to serve him:

1. David is like and olive tree flourishing in the house of God. – David was connected to God he drew his strength and nourishment from the inexhaustible waters of God while planted in the presence of God (Psalm 1).
2. David trusted in God’s unfailing love always. – David had a personal, life changing, and intimate relationship with God who filled all the voids of his life. Compare this to a person like Saul who was so corrupt, weak, and lost that he was willing to destroy others out of a selfish rage. God will always speak to us and break us from excess and disaster in this life IF we will walk with him.
3. David was a man of praise and the result of God’s goodness and deliverance in life is always to praise God to his saints. There is no greater measure of a man or woman of God than that they point all around them to God with their praise as they honor him with the fruit of their lips.

My friends, if you do not seek God you will never find him, and if you never find him you will be like a shriveled tumble weed in the wind blown about in a chaotic uncontrolled manner because you chose self and not God. Look at Saul’s miserable end and see that a stubborn and resentful heart never works with God, and in the end means eternal separation, judgment, and hopelessness (1 Samuel 28).

TODAY I CHOOSE TO SEEK AND SERVE MY LORD AND TO BE PLANTED IN HIS PRESENCE AS AN OLIVE TREE, THAT I MIGHT FLOURISH BEFORE MEN AND PRAISE GOD FOR HIS LOVE AND GOODNESS.

An Olive Tree in the House of the Lord with Mike White @ Summit church of Christ