God’s Word for You
Psalm 61:5-8 The three kinds of good works
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, December 21, 2022
5 For you have heard my vows, O God.
You have given me the heritage
of those who fear your name.
6 Add days to the life of the king,
his years like many generations.
7 Let him be seated in God’s presence forever.
Appoint your mercy and truth to protect him.
8 Then I will make music to your name forever
and fulfill my vows day after day.
The cry of the Psalm concludes with a prayer for the king. This could perhaps have been a prayer for Saul during the days of David’s service to him. But in view of verse 8, where David says “Then I will make music” after praying for the king’s life, it seems more likely to have come from the time when David reigned; so that the impersonal prayer for the king is a prayer of David about himself, a prayer easily spoken by the people worshiping at the tabernacle, or the group David was running with when he left Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion. Another possibility that fits the text would have been the two years when David was opposed by Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth; David was then ruling from Hebron in the south and Ish-Bosheth ruled from Gibeon.
The years when David first ruled in Jerusalem (1002-992) were years of military victories, and also years of David’s gracious acts toward Jonathan’s remaining son (Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 9:1-13), toward the king of Hamath (2 Samuel 8:9-1), and an overture of peace with the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10:1-2). Perhaps these are some of the things he means when he says, “You have heard my vows, O God. You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name” (v. 5). The attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-19) also comes to mind here. David lived in a violent time, a time of murder and intrigue; a time of easy anger, spilled blood, and revenge. It was not an easy time to serve the Lord, but David’s heart belonged to God.
Israel’s great king showed with his actions that the life of the believer is a life of service and of choices blessed by the Lord. Such things are good works, and good works are sometimes internal, seen by God alone. These things are our good thoughts, affections of the heart, love, fear of God, patience, humility, and other things. “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Psalm 51:6).
Other good works are external. Some of these are directed toward God, and others toward man or other parts of God’s creation. This division is seen most clearly in the two parts of the Ten Commandments, where actions obeying the first table (faith in the true God, using God’s name, and worshiping God) are primarily matters with God himself as the object. The second part of the law concerns our fellow man, and in certain cases (especially the tenth commandment) animals as well, for “a righteous man cares for the needs of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10).
There are different ways to describe good works. Jesus our Lord summarizes good works in three classes when he rebukes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in the Sermon on the Mount:
1) Almsgiving (Matthew 6:1-4), love for one’s neighbor in all its forms.
2) Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15), worship of God in all its forms.
3) Fasting (Matthew 6:16-18), discipline of the body.
Paul likewise presents our good works in the same three categories.
1) Righteous actions (Titus 2:12b), or almsgiving.
2) Piety and godly living (Titus 2:12c), or prayer and worship.
3) Self control (Titus 2:12a), or fasting.
I have grouped them in the same order as the one Jesus uses (fellow man, God, self). This is not an order of priority, but generally speaking of practicality in our lives since all are done out of faith, and what we do for our fellow man we are doing out of love for Christ.
When David says “You have heard my vows,” he is surely describing his own worship life. When he also confesses that the Lord has “given me the heritage of those who fear your name” (v. 5) he is not only showing delight in sharing in the faith of the Patriarchs, but also confessing his responsibility for the spiritual lives of the people he serves as king. Finally, he also describes his inner life of self-control by saying, “I will make music to your name forever and fulfill my vows,” for to David, self-control and worship walk hand in hand. One good work does not supersede another, but all things the believer does are done to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
The unbeliever can do nothing to please God. An act that might be done from faith in a believer is only a sin in the actions of an unbeliever, because it is not done in faith, and “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). This is why it is not our goal to make the world only seem more godly, for nothing that ungodly people do is acceptable to God. People will always sin, but we reach out with the gospel so that sinners would know Christ, join together in the heritage of those who fear God’s name, and be forgiven by Christ. This is the only path that leads to everlasting life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.