Psalm 119: God's Word on Display. Pt. 11
Good Morning dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
As we begin another day of busyness, let us keep in the forefront of our minds why we are here. We are to be examples for Christ to the lost people around us.
Psalm 119:10-16 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
In Part 10 we looked at the question raised in verse 9 "how shall a young man cleanse his way?"and then we thought about the answer "take heed to God's word". The remaining verses of the "BETH" section of Psalm 119 are where we learn how to take heed according to the Word of God.
There are 4 "have I" statements in the remaining verses to go along with 3 "I will" statements from the Psalmist.
Seek with all our heart so that we do not stray
The words "sought thee" are from a word that means making a careful investigation or inquiring into something very thoroughly. We are putting sincere energy into seeking with our whole heart.
The heart is where our thoughts, mind, emotion, personality and our will originates. It is our inner man. The idea of the whole heart means that this is not some passive mental exercise we engage in. No, it is an active, sincere and persistent fully engaged mind that desperately wants to discover what God has for him or her.
This is the first of the "have I" statements for it is with his whole heart that the Psalmist says "have I sought thee." He presents a part of his motivation because he recognizes that without properly applying himself to seeking the Lord he may wander or stray from the right path.
Psalm 119:11-12 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Here comes some very practical application of God's truth. The psalmist tells us about hiding the word of God in his heart. This is a quaint way of saying that he reads it and studies it to better understand its truth. Then he "hides" it as he commits scripture to memory.
Thy word, he declares, "have I" hid in mine heart." He is submitting his own will to the will of God in these things. He wants to honor Jehovah and for God to be glorified in how he lives his life.
He brings forth a strong connection between hiding or memorizing the word of God in our heart and receiving power to resist sinning against our most Holy God. Remember, when Jesus Christ (Jehovah in the flesh) was tempted by the devil He always used scripture to answer the devil.
Part of the ministry of the Spirit of God with the Word of God in the heart of man is bringing truth that we have memorized back into our minds at the moment it is needed. Thus, he blesses Jehovah for His wonderful word and asks Jehovah to teach him the statutes of God. He does this because he wants his choices and actions to align with what God has said. This is the place of blessing for you and me.
Our witness and worship will be impacted when we apply these truths
Psalm 119:13-14 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
The Psalmist looks back now and declares the good things in his life that are a result of pursuing God's word with his whole heart. With my lips, he says, "have I" declared God's judgments. He was moved to be a witness for Jehovah and tell others about sin, condemnation, death and the holy righteousness of Jehovah. He also told them the good news of the gracious provision Jehovah made for salvation.
When we witness to others about the Lord we are fulfilling one of the reasons He left us here after saving us. There are many people walking in darkness and who are living for hell instead of seeking heaven's glory.
Joy wells up in our heart when we serve Jehovah. He is worthy of our very best efforts, He is worthy of receiving our time and resources. He is worthy of our praise, adoration and worship.
The Psalmist shares the unbounded joy in his soul because he has sought the word of God with his whole heart and he has memorized that word into his heart. He is sharing God's truth with the lost people around him and the Spirit of God is filling him with praises.
The Psalmist is rejoicing over the things of God that he has discovered through his studies of scripture. He found the very paths marked out by God as that holy way, that blessed way that Jehovah wants His sheep to travel on. His heart is overflowing with praise and worship and it is spilling out. It is better than all the riches that earth can boast about.
Think about it, respect it, delight in it and remember the Word of God
Psalm 119:15-16 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Meditation is that word meaning to turn things slowly over in our minds so that we can think through all the implications and application of God's truth to our lives. It means that we spend more time thinking about the Word of God than anything else because it is precious to us.
To have respect unto the ways of God means that we acknowledge the path or righteousness that He opened before us and we commit to obeying what God said.
Delight is what we experience after we make a consistent pattern of learning and following God's Word. Delight means that our eyes are blinded to all lesser things because we are singularly focused upon His truth.
We respect His word when we face a temptation and we remember what His word says and we act accordingly, rather than giving in to our fleshly impulses.
Last, the Psalmist commits to memorizing the Word of God. He knows how vital this is to his spiritual health. He pledges not to forget the Word of God.
Points to Ponder...
As we begin another day of busyness, let us keep in the forefront of our minds why we are here. We are to be examples for Christ to the lost people around us.
Psalm 119:10-16 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
In Part 10 we looked at the question raised in verse 9 "how shall a young man cleanse his way?"and then we thought about the answer "take heed to God's word". The remaining verses of the "BETH" section of Psalm 119 are where we learn how to take heed according to the Word of God.
There are 4 "have I" statements in the remaining verses to go along with 3 "I will" statements from the Psalmist.
Seek with all our heart so that we do not stray
The words "sought thee" are from a word that means making a careful investigation or inquiring into something very thoroughly. We are putting sincere energy into seeking with our whole heart.
The heart is where our thoughts, mind, emotion, personality and our will originates. It is our inner man. The idea of the whole heart means that this is not some passive mental exercise we engage in. No, it is an active, sincere and persistent fully engaged mind that desperately wants to discover what God has for him or her.
This is the first of the "have I" statements for it is with his whole heart that the Psalmist says "have I sought thee." He presents a part of his motivation because he recognizes that without properly applying himself to seeking the Lord he may wander or stray from the right path.
Psalm 119:11-12 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Here comes some very practical application of God's truth. The psalmist tells us about hiding the word of God in his heart. This is a quaint way of saying that he reads it and studies it to better understand its truth. Then he "hides" it as he commits scripture to memory.
Thy word, he declares, "have I" hid in mine heart." He is submitting his own will to the will of God in these things. He wants to honor Jehovah and for God to be glorified in how he lives his life.
He brings forth a strong connection between hiding or memorizing the word of God in our heart and receiving power to resist sinning against our most Holy God. Remember, when Jesus Christ (Jehovah in the flesh) was tempted by the devil He always used scripture to answer the devil.
Part of the ministry of the Spirit of God with the Word of God in the heart of man is bringing truth that we have memorized back into our minds at the moment it is needed. Thus, he blesses Jehovah for His wonderful word and asks Jehovah to teach him the statutes of God. He does this because he wants his choices and actions to align with what God has said. This is the place of blessing for you and me.
Our witness and worship will be impacted when we apply these truths
Psalm 119:13-14 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
The Psalmist looks back now and declares the good things in his life that are a result of pursuing God's word with his whole heart. With my lips, he says, "have I" declared God's judgments. He was moved to be a witness for Jehovah and tell others about sin, condemnation, death and the holy righteousness of Jehovah. He also told them the good news of the gracious provision Jehovah made for salvation.
When we witness to others about the Lord we are fulfilling one of the reasons He left us here after saving us. There are many people walking in darkness and who are living for hell instead of seeking heaven's glory.
Joy wells up in our heart when we serve Jehovah. He is worthy of our very best efforts, He is worthy of receiving our time and resources. He is worthy of our praise, adoration and worship.
The Psalmist shares the unbounded joy in his soul because he has sought the word of God with his whole heart and he has memorized that word into his heart. He is sharing God's truth with the lost people around him and the Spirit of God is filling him with praises.
The Psalmist is rejoicing over the things of God that he has discovered through his studies of scripture. He found the very paths marked out by God as that holy way, that blessed way that Jehovah wants His sheep to travel on. His heart is overflowing with praise and worship and it is spilling out. It is better than all the riches that earth can boast about.
Think about it, respect it, delight in it and remember the Word of God
Psalm 119:15-16 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Meditation is that word meaning to turn things slowly over in our minds so that we can think through all the implications and application of God's truth to our lives. It means that we spend more time thinking about the Word of God than anything else because it is precious to us.
To have respect unto the ways of God means that we acknowledge the path or righteousness that He opened before us and we commit to obeying what God said.
Delight is what we experience after we make a consistent pattern of learning and following God's Word. Delight means that our eyes are blinded to all lesser things because we are singularly focused upon His truth.
We respect His word when we face a temptation and we remember what His word says and we act accordingly, rather than giving in to our fleshly impulses.
Last, the Psalmist commits to memorizing the Word of God. He knows how vital this is to his spiritual health. He pledges not to forget the Word of God.
Points to Ponder...
- We must passionately seek the Lord with our whole heart. It will keep us from straying.
- We must read, study and memorize His Word because it will protect us from sin.
- We must commit to these things because it will bless our witness for the Lord and our walk with the Lord.
- We must focus our mind and think earnestly about these truths so that we can respect, delight and remember the scriptures.
We have finished the second 8 verse section of Psalm 119. We see the Word of God on display for the purpose of changing the way that we think, act and speak. Jehovah has given us what we need to live a happy, blessed life that honors Him. It is all found in His wonderful Word.
I pray that we all heartily commit to following our Lord in these things. We want to love and serve Him as the Word teaches us to and the better we read, study, memorize and live by scripture, the more we will love and serve Him.
We want to be a blessing to our families and to love and serve family and neighbors in this life. The world is so full of anger filled people who do not know the Lord. Sometimes professing Christians act and sound more like the world, clamoring for this or that. We need to be more like Jesus Christ. That is my prayer for all of us!
Bob
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