Psalm 119:10-11 – Seek and Hide!

Take out your Bible and read Psalm 119:10-11. It became apparent to me recently through talking with a friend and others that so often the Word of God is just given to us in a devotional and that we really don't look at the Word of God but at the words of an author interpreting the Word. So therefore if you are reading this, I highly encourage you to get out your own copy of the scripture and to highlight, underline and journal your thoughts on these two verses before you read what I have to say about them. Are you ready?.....Okay, Go! J

Psalm 119:10-11 is obviously a follow up of the previous verse which encourages young men (and women) to guard their heart according to the Word in order to keep their lives pure. Verses 10 and 11 give a little bit of a "how to" on the matter. Read verse 10 again. Psalm 119:10 says "With my whole heart I seek you, let me not wander from your commandments."

Another way that we can keep our way pure is to wholeheartedly seek after the Lord. What does it mean to wholeheartedly seek after the Lord? It means that it is all we are devoted to. The good old dictionary defines wholeheartedly as being without reserve. We hold nothing back when we seek after something wholeheartedly. Matthew gives us several examples of seeking after something wholeheartedly. Look up Matthew 13:44, 45-46. In both these short parables we are given examples of someone looking for and finding something of great worth and selling all that they had for it. Luke 15:8-9 is also another example. A woman who loses a precious coin will diligently search her house until she has found what she is looking for.

Seek after the Lord with your whole heart and search for Him like you would hidden treasure. Pray and ask Him that He will keep you on the path of righteousness and that you won't wander away from the commandments. It is so easy to wander away and get distracted. Do something to keep your eyes and mind focused on the Lord, don't be like Peter who started sinking in the water when he took his eyes off the Lord.

Psalm 119:11 also has an awesome nugget of truth to it as well. Store up God's word in your heart that you might not sin against the Him. I don't know about you but I look at this verse in two different ways. Number one is that the more of God's word I have hidden in my heart, locked deep inside, memorized and written on my soul, the less that I want to sin. However it is our nature to sin, and to go against the Word of God. So my second way of looking at it is that the more we have the Word hidden in our hearts the more we are convicted of and realize when we sin. We are more and more aware of breaking the Lords commands. Take some time out some day (if not now) to read and meditate on what Paul has to say about sin in Romans 6, 7, and 8. Paul called himself the chief of sinners, not because the more he grew in Christ the more he sinned but because the more he grew in Christ the more he realized that he was sinning.

Abba Father, I want to seek you diligently with my whole heart and without reserve. May I search for you like lost treasure because you a great treasure, the pearl of great price. Keep me on the path of your commandments, guide me and direct me so that I am not prone to wander away and stumble in the thorns and thistle of sin. Grant me the ability to hide Your everlasting Word on the tablet of my heart so that I will keep from sinning and realize it when I do.. Forgive me for the wrong I have done and will do against you. You are my Father and I want nothing more than to please you, grow in You and be devoted to the Word that You have spoken.

Love you precious child, longing to know Your Word and follow you.

Psalm 119:9 – Biblical Principles!

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."

Psalm 119:9

Many a young Christian, young person, etc may ask "How can I keep my way (life) pure?" They want to know what to do to live a godly life. And the answer is rather simple "Live it (or guard it) according to the word of the Lord." Live your life by Biblical principles. What are Biblical principles you may ask? Well they are a set of principles solely based on scripture. They can be standard or completely individualized but the key is that they are based on the Word of God. They aren't based on our own opinions, the church's opinions or even the opinions of our friends or the media. They are complete based on what the Lord says in His word to us.

You can develop your own set of Biblical principles for anything, from the music you listen to, to the TV you watch, to your friendships, relationships, finances and your devotional time with the Lord. Anything can be made to be a set of Biblical principles. For example let's look at some standards principles for dating relationships.

From my own personal principles here is my number one, the man I date/marry MUST be a Christian. It isn't just my opinion or desire it's from the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness. Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" Simply put, your closest relationships should not be with unbelievers. This isn't to say you can't have unsaved friends. You should have unsaved friends so you can witness to them, but your close circle of friends and especially your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse should without a doubt be a believer and have a close relationship with the Lord. Another one of my principle is that my boyfriend/spouse needs to be a spiritual leader to me and my family. 1 Timothy 3:4 "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect." Do you get the idea? Use verses to support your ideas, but be careful not to twist verses into saying what you want them to say. For instance the 2 Corinthians passage can be twisted into saying that you shouldn't have any contact with unbelievers which isn't the case, otherwise how would we share the gospel?

How about Biblical principles on speech, these days speech is a big thing, even Christians are prone to using the phrase "OMG" and the G doesn't stand for "gosh" and other forms of the Lord's name in vain as well as other swear words. What we say and how we speak says a lot about who we are, if you have a quote-unquote "potty mouth", people aren't going to think highly of you if you turn around and say you are a Christian. I am truly appalled by the number of Christians who swear. And the Bible says sooo much about our speech, one of the 10 commandments is that we not take the name of the Lord in vain. Ephesians 4:29 says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Are you getting it? Every person can keep their way pure by developing Biblical principles and living their lives according to the Word of God instead of just the opinions of the church and friends and family. It is important that what the Lord says becomes the most important. If we base our principles for living on the Word of God and as we will see in verse 11, hide the Word in our hearts. We can live pure, godly lives that are set apart for Christ Jesus.

Abba Father, Thank You for giving us Your inspired holy scriptures that we can read and learn about You and Your ways. Thank You for giving me the instructions I need to live a pure and pleasing life and I pray that You give me the wisdom to develop Biblical principles that I can live my life by and that will help to direct my ways. Thank You again and may my life be an example of how to live a life that is driven by Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen!

Psalm 119:7-8

"I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me."

Psalm 119:7-8 (ESV)

These two verses are honestly challenging verses to review and think of ways that I can study them. But as I've sat reading the verses over and over again I think I have a better understanding the psalmist motivation behind his words.

"I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn you righteous rules."  I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever praised or thanked anyone for the rules they gave me.When we have rules for something we may not always like them or want to follow them. Face it, we humans, just don’t like rules. But as I dug deeper and really thought about what it could mean to want to praise the Lord for his rules, I came to a better understanding of what the psalmist was saying. You’ll just have to hang in with me, because I probably thought about it too much but hey, when you study the Bible and apply it to your life, it’s never too much.

First things first, we know that we are sinners. That is an undisputed fact, Adam sinned when he disobeyed a rule that God had set in place and he brought sin into the world. And eventually we come to the place where Moses is given the law; he’s given the 10 Commandments, in order that we should keep them and be good right? But in actuality Paul says in Romans 7:7 “…yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” The commandments and the law were not set in place so that we can show how good we are by following them, like the Pharisees tried to do. Rather, the law actually shows us that we are sinners. If we break the law we sin, and James 2:10 says “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for it all.” You’re probably thinking, how can I have an attitude of praise when you are telling me I’m a sinner? Just wait, there’s more.

And here it is, if we don’t sin, then we have no need for a savior and no need to be saved. This is where our praise comes in. We can praise the Lord for the commands He has given because we know that by them we are sinners, and because of that He sent His Son to be our Savior. Christ was our sacrifice our penalty was paid by Him. And not only that but we can have eternal life! “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. We should praise the Lord for the commands He has given because by them we know we are sinners, we’ve been given a savior and through Him we can have eternal life. You see, our sin, our failing to follow the law of the Lord works to glorify the Lord and bring him honor because of His gracious sacrifice of His Son on the cross. So we need to praise Him for all He is and all He has done, by just giving us His commands.

And finally verse 8, “I will keep your statutes, do not utterly forsake me.” The Lord will never leave us nor will He forsake us. Even in our sin we will not be forsaken, because we have been forgiven. We should still strive to keep the statutes He has set in place but we can be comforted knowing that we will not be forsaken by the Lord no matter how small or great the sin.

Abba Father, I will praise you for your righteous laws because by them I know that I’m a sinner, but I also know that you graciously sent your precious Son as a sacrifice for my sin, and through Him I will live forever with You. I can praise you also because I know that You will never leave me, nor forsake me even when I sin and run from you. In your precious name, Amen!

Psalm 119:4-6

"You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways would be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments."

Psalm 119:4-6 (ESV)

When I look at this passage a two words jump out at me right away: diligently an steadfast. Lets start with the first part of this verse. 

"You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently." The Lord has commanded us to keep His commandments. We are to inscribe them on our hearts and live them out in our lives. And very simply they are the ten commandments the Lord gave Moses. But I want to look at the word diligently, when I think of that word I think of perseverance and determination. According to the dictionary to be diligent about something means that we "quietly and steadily persevere, especially in detail or exactness." The Lord wants us to be exact, and persevere in how we follow the commands of the Lord. However, let us be careful in this as well, the Pharisees were diligent in following the law of the Lord looking for eternal life, yet they refused to accept the Savior and did their best to earn salvation by their works. (Take a look at John 5:38-40.)

Secondly we see the word steadfast. The Psalmist asks "Oh that my ways would be steadfast." But what does it mean to be steadfast. Since I've become fond of using the dictionary in these cases lets look and see what it says. Steadfast - marked by firm determination and resolution. 

The Psalmist was looking to be determined in his walk. I think this is something that I myself need to work on some days (most days) is a sheer determination to follow the Lord and walk upright in the ways of the Lord. It's a difficult way to walk, especially in this day and age. That is why we need to cry out to the Lord and ask for him to help us to this. 

And finally we can't forget about verse 6. If any of you have ever been exposed to the "scientific method" you should be familiar with an "If...then..." statement. "If I do such and such then I will have such and such an outcome." Do you see the "If...then..." statement here. It's evident in verse 6. "Then I will not be put to shame having my eyes fixed on all your commandments." The if part comes before that, if we are diligent to keep the commands of the Lord and steadfast in our ways then we won't be put to shame. Have you ever been put to shame by following the Lord. You may have been embarrassed or felt out of place but I certainly hope you weren't put to shame by living your life for the Lord. I think another key here is keeping our eyes fixed on the commands or on Christ. Remember Peter, when he kept his eyes fixed on Christ and not on his surroundings, he was able to walk on water. 

Lord, help me to be like the Pslamist who was diligent at keeping your commands. Not forgetting where my salvation comes from but living according to your Word and determining that my ways will be steadfast. I also ask that you help me keep not only my eyes, but my heart, my mind, and my soul fixed on your commands and on You instead of the waves crashing around me. Then I will not be put to shame. In Your Name, Amen.

Psalm 119:1-3

"Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong but walk in his ways." Psalm 119:1-3

I believe that these three verses are foundational to this whole chapter. they are key to what we as Christians need to do with our lives regarding the Word of God. The psalmist gives us three actions that we need to take to be blessed by the Lord.

The first is to WALK, we are to walk in the way of the Lord. In Deuteronomy 10:12 the Israelites were commanded to walk in the ways of the Lord. "And now Israel what does the Lord require of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul," Walking in the law of the Lord is one of the first actions that we need to take to draw closwer to the Lord. Though it isn't an easy task. It means following the Lords commands, reading the Word and living our lives according to it. We need to follow the footsteps of Christ.

The second is to KEEP, we are to "keep his testimonies". Keeping means to hold onto or possess. We need to hold onto the Word of the Lord, hold it close to our hearts. Memorizing scripture, carrying it with us. In verse 13 of Deuteronomy 10 it says "and to keep the statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?" It is a good thing to keep the statutes of the Lord. And did you notice that these two verses in Deuteronomy are phrased as a question. Moses says "What does the Lord require of you but that you...?" The Lord wants us to WALK IN and KEEP His commands, and not only that but love Him with all our heart and soul.
The third thing is that we SEEK HIM, we need to seek after him with all our heart. Seek after him like you would something that you treasure has been lost. He is the Lord and we need to seek Him with our WHOLE heart. Not just half heartedly. When you go after something with your whole heart, you put everything you have into it, all your energy and time. Going through nursing school was a prime example to me. It seemed like my life revolved around school and studying, It took concentration and effort to stay focused and seek after my dreams. But to be honest it was at the expense of my relationship with the Lord. It takes balance to seek after our dreams here on earth and to seek after the Lord as well. But something I've learned is that when we seek the Lord with all our heart, everything else will generally fall into place.

So remember as we study this Psalm to WALK, KEEP and SEEK! 

Introduction

I love the book of Psalms, and in particular my favorite Psalm is 119. It is an incredible Psalm that is focused on the Word of God and how awesome it is. The psalmist who penned the words is fully enamored with God's word. This Psalm is a heart felt prayer to draw closer to the Lord and to gain a better understanding of the precepts and promises of God.

The psalmist who penned the words of Psalm 119 was truly devoted to the Word of the Lord, he knew in depth the promises that God had made and the decrees in which he set forth in the law. And at the time all the psalmist had was the Pentateuch, yes, just the books of the law. Not the prophets, not the gospels, not the epistles of Paul, just the books of the law. The very books of the Bible that we find very hard to get through, this man was in love with, you can tell from the writing that he loved them, he studied them, he followed them, and he sought after the God from whose lips they came from.

There is much to be learned from this man, much to be attained from the longest chapter of the Bible. I believe that it is this way for a reason, and that reason is so that we pay attention to it. It isn’t merely just another chapter in another book of the Bible. From it we can gain a new perspective, from it we can learn to love the Word of the Lord and reignite our flame and passion for the love letter that God has written to us. And the best part is that unlike the psalmist who penned these words, we have the whole Bible, we know the whole story. The hope and longing that the psalmist had for his Savior we know and can believe and see that the Savior has come, and like him we can hope and long for his return.

My hope is that through this study you and I can also gain a better understanding of the Word of God and gain a new love and appreciation of it. I hope you enjoy this blog.