Psalms 78:6 “That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.”
Those “whose spirit” is “not stedfast with God” are those who, much like Old Testament Israel, are tempted and drawn away from faithful obedience to the Lord by every carnal temptation that appears in their path. In this context, our “spirit” refers to our internal motivation, our zeal to serve, and our strength to remain exclusively faithful to the Lord in all our activities and pursuits of life. Those “whose spirit” is “not stedfast with God” are undisciplined in their worshipful service to the Lord and are easily distracted by activities and things that appeal to our carnal nature. They are weak students of the Word of God, and they attend Church when it is convenient. Paul’s exhortations to “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58) and to “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1) are actually exhortations to discipline ourselves to be faithfully committed to The Lord, His Holy Word, and His Church. Our Lord put it this way, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). That is, “deny” ourselves all carnal attractions that are not according to the Word of God and that consume the time and energy and affections that are due to the Lord. To “take up” or “cross daily” is to, day by day, endure all the obstacles and tribulations and temptations that would hinder our faithful and worshipful service to our Lord. We all have weaknesses, and our great adversary knows about them, and that is exactly where he attacks us. A young soldier training for his duties must give close attention to instruction and daily practice the things he is taught, and he must not be easily distracted. It is much the same in our service to our God, we defeat the adversaries by prayerfully “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and disciplining our spiritual minds and regenerated hearts to faithfully serve the Lord. “Barnabas” “exhorted them” (The Church at Antioch) “all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23). Let us exclusively, “cleave unto the Lord”, for therein is great joy and peace in our souls!