“I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:7 KJV). Praise pours from an upright heart, when learning of God’s judgments. Even without the benefit of the NT Indwelling Holy Spirit, the Old Covenant Psalmist would praise God for His commands and judgments, instead of protesting God’s laws as chains and shackles. It has always been an issue of the heart, more than of our head or understanding. When we take pride in our intellect to the exclusion of our devotion to God, then we fall into the same trap as Lucifer, and need to seek God’s help for deliverance. “13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:13-15). Father, grant us Your help to avoid Lucifer’s mistake. Guard our heart. Cause Your Spirit’s influence to be felt not just within ourselves but in those around us, for good. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Devotion
Obedience Is Intimacy With Yahweh (Psalm 119:6)
“Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments” (Psalm 119:6 KJV). The Psalmist previously requested that his “ways [Hebrew, derek, manner, habit] were directed to keep Thy statutes” (119:5). This is the very anticipation of the NT ministry of the Holy Spirit, i.e., “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). How shameful under the New Covenant we should not always say with the Psalmist, “Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments” (Psalm 119:6). Obedience is not simply compliance to an arbitrary set of rules, but our most intimate interaction with our Divine Spouse. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). May God’s Divine Spirit elevate our thinking about obeying His Words. In worship, we ascribe with our hearts and mouths recognition of who God is, and in obedience, we are given the opportunity to put into practice, what would only be in our heart. Just as angels lean in to see what happens in our earthly circumstances, we can do what they have not been appointed. We have been called to bring up a “godly seed” (Malachi 2:15). Father, may we have the grace to inherit the earth with a godly offspring that will praise Your name. May You be delighted in Your children. May You receive the reward of all Your works. Preserve us to Your glory and to the shame of the enemy. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we ask it.
Directed to Keep His Statutes (Psalm 119:5)
“O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes” (Psalm 119:5 KJV). The “grievous wolves” (Acts 20:29 KJV) Paul warned the Ephesians elders about, entered into the flock of the Ephesian Church, though they patiently struggled to maintain fidelity to apostolic doctrine, they lost their devotion to Jesus, who is the True Reason for obedience. Sadly, Jesus had to condemn the Apostolic Church of Ephesus, “Thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). Even so, the Psalmist yearned for a devotion to the LORD, which would cause him to keep the LORD’s statutes. “O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes” (Psalm 119:5). The form of obedience without the heart of devotion to the LORD is reprobate. But, now we have the NT gift of the Holy Spirit, who is our primary aid in keeping our focus upon Jesus. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). LORD, cause us to be ready for Your appearing. Give us a heart of devotion and love to You that we may walk in True Obedience. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Diligently Keeping Precepts (Psalm 119:4)
“Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently” (Psalm 119:4 KJV). How are we to keep Your precepts? Diligently. We are to treat the keeping of God’s precepts carefully, as if we were handling our own soul. “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently” (Deuteronomy 4:9). God uses careful language, when He wants our attention about how we should handle our relationship with Him. He invites us to receive deeply from Himself, but we must be aware. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). The LORD is willing to show more of Himself to us, but it comes with greater responsibility. Prepare ourselves for exercise. LORD, You know best what we need. We ask for a greater revelation of Yourself and Your glory. And, we ask for the grace, faith, and diligence to receive it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Ways of His Words (Psalm 119:3)
“They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways” (Psalm 119:3 KJV). Negatively, we do no evil. How can we be so sure? Because, positively, we are walking in His ways. This is positive holiness, for we are separated to “walking in His ways.” In our Unity of Moral action, we cannot be both holy and sinful at the same time. If we are truly doing no iniquity, then we are walking in His ways. Our purpose, intention, or emphasis must be Him. Loss of that intention, all is lost. We must persevere “to the end” (Matthew 10:22) with wholehearted devotion to Him. LORD, make it so. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Treasuring His Word (Psalm 119:2)
“Blessed are they that keep [Hebrew, nâtsar, guard, watch, observe] His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2 KJV). Why are they blessed? For two reasons. They (1) “keep His testimonies,” i.e., because they are important, so they obey them, and (2) “seek Him with the whole heart,” i.e., emphasis is upon the LORD, and absolute giving of the heart to Him. None other than “whole heart” seeking is possible, since “no man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). LORD, deliver us from half hearted seeking, believing we can be blessed by such deceptiveness. Show us Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Happiness From His Word (Psalm 119:1)
“ALEPH. Blessed [Hebrew, esher, happiness or blessedness] are the undefiled [Hebrew, tâmîym, whole, sound, healthful] in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1 KJV). Yes, we are blessed or happy, but why? We are as Noah was a “just [Hebrew, tâmîym, perfect]” (Genesis 6:9 KJV), or undefiled by the physical and spiritual curse of the Nephilim, but why? We are undefiled, because we walk in the law of the LORD. True, we walk not in the “counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1), but we “delight” and “meditate” in the “law of the LORD” (1:2). If we stop there, we miss the point. It is the LORD’s law. Without Him, we have no source or focus. He alone is able to give meaning to the law. We learn of Him and His character by our association with that law. Unless we view our time around His Word as something more than a word study, then we escape the grand point of our existence — to “know Him” (Phillippians 3:10).
The Great Commandment
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:36-37 KJV). Devotion to God is the first and great requirement of God. Love of God is commanded before any love of man or ourself. If it is so basic and essential, why isn’t everyone doing it? Our confusion on this most basic doctrine indicates our tendency to elevate even doctrinal soundness above our devotion to God. If God has our heart, He can fix our head. If He has only our head, He will find it necessary to rebuke us, as He had to rebuke the Apostolic Church within a single generation of His return to Heaven. “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4). May we heed the warning to Ephesus and pursue with utter abandon our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, help us to seek you with all our heart that we may not be found of You as “reprobate silver” (Jeremiah 6:30). Draw us to Yourself. Pull away the blind spots in our understanding hindering from honoring You more. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Gift of Physical Life
The ability to sense our surroundings gives us self-awareness, and acknowledging God’s presence is essential to appreciating God’s gift of physical life. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28 KJV). Laying down our physical life for a selfless cause is both loving and heroic. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). But, the hopeless taking of our own life is both suicide and unpardonable. What then is the best thing to do with our gift of physical life? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). LORD, You are the giver of all good gifts. May we not consider ourselves as our own, but to be used for whatever gives You the greatest benefit, for then we will have our greatest happiness. Return quickly, and accomplish all your will on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.
We Need A Miracle 