Psalm 18:25b  
More Hesed
    This verse of Psalm 18 just carries on giving. “To the blameless you show yourself blameless.”  The Christ-like qualities of “Hesed” never stop building in our hearts, they are an ever-running stream of beauty and glory, for the more we seek them, the more we become like them. Some Christians might struggle with the concept and retort, “So I’ve got to be more loving and more merciful and more faithful and then God will bless me. Sounds like it’s all down to me then.” This is the paradox, contrasted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 to 8. He found that the harder he worked to be godly, the more sin and the Law entrapped him. “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!” Romans 7:21-24. 
Self-effort and godliness are unhappy bedfellows, the secret is not to try harder but to try less and instead, submit to the inner work of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8 sets out carefully the difference between living according to the flesh and self-effort as opposed to living according to the Spirit. The latter path is the secret to godliness and the experience that David is alluding to here in our Psalm. This concept is highlighted in the story of Martha and Mary, Martha worked so hard to impress her Lord and to show her care for Him. But Mary just sat at His feet and rested in His presence. Yes, it seems unfair that Jesus commended Mary for choosing the better way.  But we are meant to learn that banging pots and wrestling with the worries and distractions of the Christian life and service are no substitute for intimacy at the feet of the Lord. It is here that we learn His qualities, His rest and His character. We have to take time to be Holy, for “Hesed” to work in us.

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