Psalm 119: Focus On God's Word Pt. 15 A Transformed Heart Actively Praises God
Psalm 119:1-6 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2) Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3) They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. :4) Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5) O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6) Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
This wonderful Psalm is showing us the heart of God toward mankind. He shows us how to make right choices so that we may live this life with true, lasting happiness as the Father blesses His obedient children.
We learned that we must take God at His Word. If He gave us some imperatives to implement, then obeying them is the path to blessing.
God makes His will very clear regarding how He communicates to us through His Word and governs us with it.
He is our Creator and the Sustainer of all life. We would not exist if God had not formed us in our mother's womb, and infused life into us (Psalm 139:13-16).
God has the right to rule us just as He governs all of creation. His word teaches us that submitting to His authority is where we will find joy and blessing.
Praising God with a renewed mind and an upright heart.
Psalm 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
In Psalm 119:7, we saw the importance of knowing what God's righteous judgments mean for us. We discovered that we must apply ourselves to learning them, to the degree that we obey Him from our heart.
God will change our heart into an upright one through the new birth and as old things pass away, He will open up a whole new life for each believer.
Today, we come to the last point concerning verse seven: that of praising our glorious God.
Praising God with upright hearts brings great blessing.
Psalm 67:5-7 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 6) Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. 7) God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
As the born again children of God learn about His righteous judgments, and diligently pursue them so that we learn to obey Him from our hearts, we will be changed.
The likeness of Christ will become more deeply imprinted upon our hearts, and we will be transformed. God will give us an upright heart that is able to praise Him in Spirit and in truth.
The idea of the earth yielding her fruit is that of believers praising God for the temporal blessings that He gives to us.
We learn to praise God because He knows what our physical needs are and He supplies them. He gives us food, clothing, shelter, the ability to provide for our family's needs.
Through praising God, the Father will bring blessing to us and we will find lasting happiness. We will also learn more and more of the reverential fear of the Lord, that leads to wisdom.
Praising God for all spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Moreover, we learn to praise God with greater passion for receiving and enjoying His many spiritual blessings.
Job seekers want to know more than how much their wages will be. They want to specifically know details about the benefit package of health and life insurance, pensions, 401k plans, stock options, and so on.
Believers in Christ also need to learn about the life changing benefits that we receive through repentant faith in Jesus Christ. The Father has granted each believer the same benefits: all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
These blessings are vast and amply sufficient to sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage and to prepare us for our eternal home.
Spiritual blessings fall into two categories: practical and positional.
The practical blessings are those that are worked out in us and through us as long as we live on earth.
We already fully possess God's positional blessings, but we will not fully realize them, until He calls us home to heaven.
Let us consider just one of those blessings that has both a practical aspect and yet is positional.
Practical sanctification does not refer to our position in Christ, but to our state, which is imperfect. We still have our "old man" and our sin nature. These will not be eradicated until we reach heaven's glory.
Therefore, though we stumble and fall, or we succumb to temptation, we do not lose our salvation, because it is based on our position in Christ.
However, a practical consequence of a believer sinning is that we temporarily lose our joy,
peace, and adversely impact our testimony for Christ. Frequently, we lose sight of the blessed assurance that belongs
to the believer.
Sanctification in the practical sense, is the process of each believer learning to live for the glory of God each day. It involves the Spirit of God at work in our hearts, seeking to change the way that we think by renewing our minds.
When we do sin, practical sanctification is doing what God says to do when we sin. We confess and forsake our sins in order to be cleansed from sin and restored with God (See 1 John 1:7 to 2:2).
Our positional sanctification is our holiness through and by Jesus Christ which establishes our position.Psalm 33:1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
This is where verse seven is leading us. We begin by understanding what the righteous judgments of God mean and we commit ourselves to learning them by obeying them from the heart.
The Word of God goes into our heart where God changes us. He builds the character of Christ into us. He sends His Spirit to indwell us. He gives us a new, regenerated heart and a new spirit.
Without God's saving work in our soul, we are not equipped to praise Him. This is why the singular object of Psalm 119:7 leads us to know His righteous judgments, to learn them by letting them sink into our heart from our head, and allows God to create an upright heart in us.
A man or woman in Christ, who diligently pursues the truths we have written about, is ready to praise God, and praising Him is our great privilege.
Our walk, worship & witness is connected to the Word.
Colossians 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17) And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Notice once more, how the Christian life is inseparably connected to the scriptures. Nothing happens in a man's wicked heart without hearing truth from the Word of God. No one is ever born again without the Word of God.
One who learns the righteous judgments of God's Word, and who lives by its truth, is a man or woman in whom the Word dwells with a fullness and that brings the richest of blessings.
The Word of God taking root in our heart impacts our walk with the Lord, our love for the Lord and our worship of the Lord.
Notice that Paul connects scripture that takes root in our hearts with both our worship and our walk.
First, our worship which is expressed with singing praises, psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and singing with grace in our hearts.
Second, walk is our manner of living, our choices and behavior. It is driven by a strong desire to do all things (thoughts, words or deeds) in Christ's name with thanksgiving.
Thoughts to Ponder...
Psalm 119:7 is a powerful verse that leads us to understand the righteous judgments of God, and their application for our lives. It causes us to sincerely desire to understand them and learn them, so that they sink deep into our hearts to take root.
This verse shows us that God wants to transform us by creating an upright heart in each believer, so that we might praise Him aright.
Psalm 47:6-7 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7) For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Five times in these two verses we are commanded to sing praises to God because He is our King, the King of all creation.
Scripture tells us we must sing with understanding which is connected with "learning" His righteous judgments.
Psalm 103:19-22 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. 20) Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21) Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 22) Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Four times in this text we are commanded to "bless the LORD." Jehovah is worthy of all our praise and adoration. He is worthy of receiving our very best service and the highest love that we can give.
God wants to renew our minds so that we might praise Him. He will send His Spirit to live in each believer and He will regenerate our hearts and give us a new spirit so that we might do what He created us to do: Worship God in Spirit and in truth.
God has blessed all believers with all spiritual blessings in Christ and we are privileged to return our blessing upon His holy name. We can find great joy in blessing God for all of His wonderful works.
May the Spirit of God work in us so that we might learn and understand these precious truths. May He help us worship God aright. May we be those people who count it our greatest privilege and honor to sing praises and offer blessings to God.
May we honor God with our response to His truth. May we cast aside all distractions and all things that hinder our spiritual progress. May we put all things behind our love for God.
Bob
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