“Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.” -Psalm 119:111
The psalmist turns his thoughts to the promises of God. It is good medicine for our hearts to meditate here. Even as the psalmist’s enemies oppress him, he remembers his spiritual heritage. He is taking the long view- an eternal perspective to life’s afflictions. If these words are penned by David then his blessing as a direct line to Christ is a very great promise indeed to cling to (2 Samuel 7:8-17). Yet every believer can enjoy this same heritage the psalmist speaks of because it is our eternal family line, which outstrips the weight of whatever earthly family line we have. Now all people, Jew or Gentile, from every tribe and nation and language are grafted into the family of God. God’s covenant with His people (all believers) is an everlasting covenant, a heritage which lasts forever. The Christian’s heritage is rich indeed.
God’s commands become our blessings. When we follow the way of the Cross our obedience turns into heavenly comforts and joys we experience in part now, but fully one day with the Lord. Like the psalmist, we can also commit our own life legacy to trust and obey Jesus’ simple command, “Follow Me”.
“Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget Your law. The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from Your precepts.” -Psalm 119:109-110
The psalmist faced flesh and blood enemies who hunted him. He was a wanted man. If penned by David, then we know how Saul kept him on the run for years, seeking to kill him. Yet evil will not prevail, not ultimately, such as in David’s circumstances or ones which you might be facing. As believers, we get to know how the Story ends. Sometimes when I’m reading a particularly interesting book and not quite sure how it will end I flip to the last pages to find out. But in this case, we have the great privilege of knowing the cosmic drama ends with victory for King Jesus.
This is why the psalmist clings to God’s law and precepts. Hope is his companion. Faith his anchor. God keeps the souls of His children safe for eternity. Our enemies may plant traps to sabotage our reputation, take all our earthly blessings or even cause us physical harm. Even so, the haters of God who seek to wipe us out and shut us up cannot take away our unseen riches. Salvation, peace, joy and love for God are untouchable by human hands. Nothing can separate us from God. In Christ we are eternally His (Romans 8:31-39). Therefore, the psalmist chooses to persevere in the Lord, digging in deeper than before. Affliction has a way of drawing out honey from the sourwood tree, a tree known for its bitter tasting leaves. Sometimes the enemy’s intentions have the opposite effect as history has shown us. When God’s people are massively persecuted, the holy fires are stoked, spreading like wildfire in spiritual revival.
Christians will not be overcome by their enemies. The Bible says so. For the believer, adversity will tighten our grip onto truth as we go deeper in worshipping the Great and Good Shepherd.
Grace upon grace,
April
Growing deeper: Psalm 23; Matthew 10:24-28; Romans 12:17-21; 1 John 4:4
“Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me Your laws.” -Psalm 119:108
Our acts of worship in our own strength are feeble attempts before a Holy God. We are easily distracted, becoming spiritually lethargic, sometimes simply going through the motions. Our praises can become watered down. The Lord has to move mightily in our hearts before we can have a posture of praise before Him. How does He do this? First God extends mercy to the sin-sick soul by showing him his need for a Savior and then God acts by delivering the one who cries out for salvation. Our Father receives the lost sheep and gives each one His Holy Spirit as a Guide, Comforter, Counselor and Friend. Through the Spirit’s power, He enables His children to shower Him with acceptable worship. Even then, we are tied to the flesh, dying to our old nature each day. As the psalmist asked for help in proper praise, so should we. It is part of learning what the heavenly creatures already do day and night (Revelation 4:6-11). The believer is then justified, gaining access into the Throne room of God. We are being sanctified here on earth, learning how to properly come before the King with offerings of worship (Romans 12:1-2). Our Helper the Holy Spirit will guide us into sincere praise as God grows us in His grace.
Along with presenting a sacrifice of praise into the House of the Lord, the psalmist asks for more instruction. The earnest student never tires of probing a subject he loves. Likewise, the psalmist longs for God to teach him more, since the wisdom of God is boundless (Romans 11:33-36). The link between how we worship God with our lips and possessing a teachable heart is humility. Pride has no place among God’s people who seek Only His way. The soul which receives holy instruction will have no other response than to burst into songs of praise to our Great God! May God’s grace overwhelm us to recite this prayer-verse back to Him like the psalmist. May the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts honor Him today.
“I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to Your Word.” -Psalm 119:107
This verse seems out of place after declaring praise and allegiance to God’s Word in the previous two verses. But the psalmist is recalling his bittersweet past, perhaps not so distant past, and God’s faithfulness to him. He still prays for the Lord’s continued deliverance as he well knows afflictions and spiritual warfare roll in and out like the ocean tide. He is banking his trust on God’s promises, according to His Word. Although this verse is a plea for continued help, the psalmist is assured God will not fail him. We can also rest in this truth. God never breaks His promises, He is completely faithful, full of grace and mercy toward redeemed sinners. Each breath we take is under His loving care. The Christian’s soul is forever preserved because Jesus willingly and obediently suffered in our place. We will suffer in our various trials for a little while on earth. The Bible says we are to expect hardship. If we are to share in Jesus’ glory we will also share in His suffering, whether it comes through forms of persecution or the everyday irritants meant for our sanctification. But it is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory we will enjoy one day at Home. Praise God!
“I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Your righteous laws.” -Psalm 119:106
An oath is binding. This kind of promise carries serious weight. The psalmist is not carelessly boasting with a half hearted attempt to please God. His desire is sincere, with a whole hearted devotion by God’s grace, to live out a life of holiness as commanded in Scripture. The aim of every believer is to please God. Here the psalmist is commenting on the direction of his heart as God is changing him. His desires are conforming to God’s will. What peace and happiness for the child of God who turns over his own plans and accepts God’s ways instead.
Every Christian can declare an oath like this before the Throne of God from the moment He calls you to be eternally His. We lose our lives to find a better one in Christ. All in Christ have been anointed and therefore possess the power to follow the Lord, to obey His commands. We are sinful creatures tied to the flesh, but only for a short while. There are spiritual victories over sin when we trust in the Spirit’s power, Jesus’ prayers on our behalf and the Father’s promises to help us to the end (1 Corinthians 1:8-9). I don’t believe the Lord gives us commands He doesn’t expect us to live out. Human strength is futile, but God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses. His Holy Spirit will enable us to obey, binding our hearts to His with the everlasting covenant He made to all who love and know Him. Praise God!
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” -Psalm 119:105
God’s Word helps us see. The spiritual realm unseen with human eyes is illuminated to eyes of faith. We become aware of the very real spiritual war happening all around us (Ephesians 6:10-18). God reveals Who He is in this cosmic drama unfolding and that He wins in the End. He is The Great I Am, YHWH, Adonai. There are over 200 Hebrew names alone for God in Scripture, not to mention the names and titles for Jesus which bring the number to approximately 700. God has allowed Himself to be known through the Bible. We can know who Elohim is through His Living Word.
God gives us absolute Truth with the Bible to mercifully show us our sin and need of a Savior. Only Jesus Christ the Messiah can redeem the broken, healing our eternal disease of rebellion. In Jesus you can be forgiven completely and forever if you place your faith in His work on the cross to pay your sin debt. Nothing else will do, only the sufficient blood of Jesus (John 14:6).
The Lord also graciously shines truth in the dark corners of man’s heart which need refining. Like a lighthouse beaming over the stormy night sea, the Bible lights the way to steer our tongue, thoughts and actions. The world does not love Jesus and will attempt to throw Christ followers overboard, lost to the sea forever (John 15:18-21). But God will not allow one hair to be harmed on His beloved children without His consent. Can we trust the Lord who is perfectly good, perfectly wise and perfectly loving even in affliction?
His Word will be our anchor, security, hope and salvation. The longer we walk with the Lord, the more our eyes adjust to the brightness of Truth (John 3:19-21). We gain discernment by God’s grace. His precious Book is sure to guide us day by day when we completely trust and obey what it says.
“I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.” -Psalm 119:104
God is maturing the psalmist by giving him discernment between what is good and evil. The psalmist lives out of the understanding he has been given by making wise choices with his life, big and small. Even a minor compromise has consequences. In her book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, Hannah Whithall Smith writes, “No life can be complete that fails in its little things. However small a look, a word, even a tone of voice may seem to human judgment, they are often of vital importance in the eyes of God.” Even the little things are important to God because they reveal the attitude of our heart. This is why the psalmist is firm in declaring his hatred of anything that steers him away from the One his heart worships. What blessing to know that God alone is the source of man’s happiness and purpose. What grace to live a life of complete trust and obedience to God.
We all worship something. The thing which captivates us will transform our desires, thoughts and actions. We become like what we behold- good or bad. Like the psalmist, let God consume you today. Worship Him alone. He is not satisfied with compartmentalized religion. The Christian faith is a covenantal relationship- one in which we did not initiate but now are called to be faithful in. Just as a husband desires to have his wife for himself, and rightly so, we too are commanded to commit ourselves fully to the Lord. I believe God gives us grace each day to fight the everyday idols pulling for our affections. Turn from the lesser things which do not satisfy and pursue the Fount of Every Blessing.
“How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” -Psalm 119:103
The goodness of the Lord is illuminated in the sweetness of His precious Word. What grace to possess this divine gift of love. God wants us to know Him, revealing Himself to us in a way we can comprehend through Scripture (Isaiah 55:1-7). Although God can be known, He is not fully knowable. If He were, God would cease to be God, for no man can contain all the treasures of the Lord in a box. So like the psalmist, we the finite creatures praise the infinite Being, the Lover of our souls. The Bible says God loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Not only has He given us the gift of His own words, He has given us the gift of love in Himself.
How sweet it is to be loved by God! He is not like the pagan deistic gods, indifferent to the ways of man. If that were so God would not have taken the trouble to tell us of His wonders, Israel’s redemptive history, His commands, promises, or of His covenantal steadfast love for the elect. Most importantly, God would not have willingly sacrificed His Beloved Son Jesus on our behalf. The God of the Bible is just and compassionate. He gives us a reflection of His character, who we are as sinners, and who we are as redeemed sinners, all bound up in His Great Book. These are the words of the Commander of the Universe. How delectable are His words of eternal truth to the believer’s diet. Thanks be to God!
“I have not departed from Your laws, for You Yourself have taught me.” -Psalm 119:102
The psalmist has kept his feet from evil, planting himself on the narrow way. He is not willing to leave the path even when the road is long, the terrain treacherous. He loves God and seeks to follow His ways no matter the cost. Through His laws, the Lord has taught the psalmist. This man values such blessing and will not easily discard his lessons.
This reminds me of the times in my own life I have been tempted to discard the lessons from my faith and walk away. When I am in the valley of despair, or allow Satan to run the show with my thoughts, I find myself here. What has encouraged me to persevere is Peter’s own response to Jesus in John 6. Jesus just finished preaching to the people on eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Talk about a way to thin the crowd! The day before Jesus performed the miracle of feeding five thousand men (plus women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fish. Instead of seeking Jesus for miracles, the Lord challenges the crowd to feed on Him instead (spiritual food), not just the material blessings He can provide them. The Bible says from that day on, many followers turned back and no longer followed Him.
Jesus then turns to His disciples and asks the all important question, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Peter’s response is priceless. He answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69).
When Satan tempts you to despair, to walk away from following Jesus and lose all hope, cling to the promises of God. What does the Bible have to say about who God is and what He has done for His people, sinners such as us? His past and present faithfulness will put wind in your sails for His future graces. His grace today is sufficient.
If you are a Christian your soul is preserved because those in Christ Jesus are no longer condemned. We are loved with an everlasting love, bought and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! The afflictions and discouragements meant for evil can be used to refine and burn away the dross in our hearts, measured by our response. Through the flames we learn more of who God is, and experience His power at work in us. He is faithful to deliver you over and over through His mercy, which is new each day. I’m reminded of the old hymn which says, “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose/ I will not, I will not desert to His foes;/ That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,/ I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”
Knowing God through His Word, His Law and the Gospel is a sweet mercy- a taste of heaven. His Spirit teaches us through the living and active Word. This is our joy and hope as we cling to the Father on our pilgrim journey.
“Blessed is that man, though attacked on all sides, that has maintained his ground with firmness. He has exhausted the devil’s quiver of all its arrows and yet exhibits no symptoms of surrendering […] They that expect to enjoy what God promises will be sure to perform what God commands;” -Thomas Lye
“I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your Word.” -Psalm 119:101
There was a song I learned growing up in church. We sang it often enough in Sunday School that I still remember it and have taught it to my son. The words speak about how obedience is tied to belief. It’s a catchy little tune, with a succinct truth acceptable for all ages. The song goes like this,
“Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe. Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it faithfully. Action is the key to obediency, a joy you will receive! Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe so spell it, O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E! Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe!”
Obedience demonstrates what we value and place our faith in. The psalmist desired holiness, knowing this pleased the Lord. He sought to live in a way which reflected his King’s character. Therefore, to be obedient and holy means to live out God’s commands. If you are ever curious about the the will of God for your life, you need look no further than His commandments. He tells us His will for our lives no matter the situation.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:37-40
God’s purpose in giving these commands is to chip away, and occasionally strip, our old sin nature off to conform His children with a heart that looks like His. The frustrating thing about living in a cursed world is contending with this sin nature. We too lament like Paul,
“When 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 the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” -Romans 7:21-25
Did you catch the word “war” in there? Every Christian is at war, a very real yet unseen spiritual war. When you and I are cognizant of this fact, it will equip us for the day in which we face assaults meant to batter our faith. We are given weapons of faith, spiritual armor, to combat the lies, persecution and even our own sin nature. What grace! Yet what motivates the believer to persevere is the hope we have. Paul asks the question, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Jesus is our Rescuer, Hope made flesh. Because Jesus took my place on the cross paying the sin debt I owe, I am no longer condemned (Romans 8:1) and neither are you if you know Him as your Lord and Savior. Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father’s will. He lived out the two greatest commandments by laying down His life for us.
When you grow discouraged in your lack of love, sin failures, or times of spiritual dryness, remember your Heavenly Father is still at work. The Bible says you are loved with an everlasting love. Elisabeth Elliot (twice widowed missionary, author and speaker) is known for saying the question isn’t how do I feel right now, but rather what does God want me to do? Then we follow in obedience. We know this isn’t the end of the Story. God promises to make all things new. He has started first with His children and will not stop until He sees His own reflection in us- perfectly. God is fitting the believer for Heaven to live with Him eternally.
I realized the children’s song I mentioned is from ‘Patch the Pirate’ which is also something I listened to as a child. I can recommend it as a great tool to teach the simple and essential tenets of the Christian faith. My memory recalls the song a little differently, but that doesn’t change its message 🙂
redeemed in grace 