Heart of Devotion

Kept Thy Testimonies (Psalm 119:22)

Ken

“Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept Thy testimonies” (Psalm 119:22 KJV). “Reproach and contempt” (119:22) are a legacy of the Righteous. Jeremiah understood that. “For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily” (Jeremiah 20:8). We do not need to seek out reproach or contempt for seeking and keeping God’s Word, for it will come. Vanity Fair seeks to avoid reproach at the cost of the Truth. “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” (1Peter 4:3-4). Since “a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1), we would pray with the Psalmist, “Remove from me reproach and contempt” (Psalm 119:22). Better to take our case before the Courts of Heaven than to argue our merits before man. C.H. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David cites for Psalm 119:22: “God will keep those who keep his testimonies. A good conscience is the best security for a good name; reproach will not abide with those who abide with Christ, neither will contempt remain upon those who remain faithful to the ways of the Lord.” 

Father, may we be willing to bear reproach for Your Name’s sake, but we ask You to clear our name, if we stand “blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation” (Philippians 2:15). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

Err From Thy Commandments (Psalm 119:21)

Ken

“Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from Thy commandments” (Psalm 119:21 KJV). God rebukes the proud with a curse. Sinful pride is being more concerned about our glory than His. An evil misfortune wished upon someone is only incidental, unless it comes from the Almighty. “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). Erring from God’s commandments is not an attempt to obey that falls short, but a lack of heart to do what God requires. We shift the blame from ourselves to God, if we say we are doing the best we can, but only a sinful nature or inopportune circumstances prevented us from fully obeying and complying with His commands. God is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12) and knows if we really are sincere and trying to be obedient. On the other hand, it is easier for us to blame a sinful nature or poor circumstances. 

Theologians have given us the opportunity of laying the blame upon a sinful nature. In Adam’s fall, we sinned all. Popularly put, I can’t help it, I was born this way. Blaming a sinful nature for our sinning is like blaming God for why I am the way I am. It is true, we may be more prone to steal to survive, if we were born poor; but, possessing riches is no guarantee we will not become thieves. Consider this in support of not being born with a sinful nature: “For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments. And His commandments do not weigh us down” (1John 5:3 NET). In short, God’s commandments are not impossible to obey. If we could plead His commands too weighty, then we are absolved from loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor equal to ourself. God is no man’s fool. Perfect Love must be possible or else God’s Kingdom has no foundation. Father, may we rest in Your Spirit inspiring us to keep Your commandments. And, may we teach and act, as if the laws of Your Kingdom are a joy to be obeyed. Preserve us from misunderstanding Your precepts. May You receive the praise for our obedience, for it is You, who works in us “to will and to do” (Philippians 2:13). Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Longing for Thy Judgments (Psalm 119:20)

Ken

“My soul [Hebrew, nephesh, living being, whole person] breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments at all times” (Psalm 119:20 KJV). Sounds like the modern phrase, This breaks my heart, which means such an intense desire or conflict, it would do damage to our whole person, if the LORD does not intervene, like an addiction to God and His Word. “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments” (119:10). OT Israel may not have had the NT covenanted Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but the LORD placed no limit with their contact with His Word. It achieved the same goal — oneness with God manifested in obedience to our LORD. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Father, may we under Your New Covenant receive all the blessings of Your Indwelling Holy Spirit to inspire us to obey You and be drawn ever more closely to You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

Stranger in the Earth (Psalm 119:19)

Ken

“I am a stranger in the earth: hide not Thy commandments from me” (Psalm 119:19 KJV). Why would the Psalmist identify himself as a “stranger in the earth” (119:19)? If this world is God’s creation, isn’t this my Father’s world? Yes and no. The Almighty is the Creator and Master of All Possible Universes, but He did give our Original Parents authority over the entire world, as evidenced by His command, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). When the Serpent seduced Eve, and Adam acquiesced, all the world’s voting population of two effectively elected the Wicked One as the “god of this world” (2Corinthians 4:4). The godly suddenly became the stranger in the world, and this world was no longer truly home for the saint. “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10).

God’s “commandments” (Psalm 119:19) include His promises of things for now and things to come. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). If God does not reveal the meaning of His commandments — “hide not Thy commandments from me” (Psalm 119:19) — they are hidden to us. Let us not take for granted His illumination in teaching us. Thank Him for His teaching, apply it, teach it, and ask for more. “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (19:8). Just as you love to teach a receptive child, God loves to teach us, when our hearts are ready. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night” (1:2). As God’s children, we are to walk carefully because of the obstacles and traps set by the enemy for our soul. And, by God’s grace, we shall overcome. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1Peter 2:11). 

Father, we are strangers in this world and cannot make it through life without You. The enemy is too strong for us. Grant us an abiding faith in You, but most of all, grant us the generous influence, protection, and inspiration of Your Spirit to teach us Your Word, direct our praying, and cause us to walk in loving obedience. Lord Jesus, return quickly. Amen. 

Delight Myself in Thy Statutes (Psalm 119:16)

Ken

“I will delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy word” (Psalm 119:16 KJV). Strange words. Delight in God’s statutes. The Hebrew for “delight” can be rendered “soothing touch,” as in, “When worries threaten to overwhelm me, Your soothing touch makes me happy” (94:19 NET). No experience can surpass God’s “soothing touch”! His law is not the straitjacket of the Pharisees, but the sweet guidance of our Heavenly Spouse. Notice the experience of delight in God’s Word motivates us to choose or will, not to “forget Thy word” (119:16). In other words, Yahweh seeks to delight us in His Word, so we will choose not to forget Him. May we purposely enter into our Quiet Time with Him, seeking to experience such delight that we would not forget Him or His Word. Father, You are the joy and rejoicing of our heart. May we seek You more than our necessary food. May we crave You and Your Word more than any experience sought after or known to man. Lord Jesus, return quickly, for we are eager to see You face to face. In Jesus’ name, we humbly pray. Amen and amen.

Be Still My Soul

Ken

The LORD is on the throne of my heart. There is none like Him! He speaks and therefore I understand. Before I ask, He already has answered. He surrounds me with His love. 

“1 O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.

 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 

4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether. 

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. 

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 

7 Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? 

8 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. 

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 

10 Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. 

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee. 

13 For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 

14 I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 

15 My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 

17 How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee. 

19 Surely Thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 

20 For they speak against Thee wickedly, and Thine enemies take Thy name in vain. 

21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate Thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? 

22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” 

Psalm 139:1-24 KJV 

Cleanse and Maintain a Pure Life by the Word of God (Psalm 119:9)

Ken

“BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man [Hebrew, na’ar, noun masculine] cleanse [Hebrew, zâkâh, to make clean, keep clean] his way? by taking heed [Hebrew, shâmar, keep, guard] thereto according to Thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV). Not just a young man, but any young person can cleanse and maintain a pure life by guarding that life according to the infallible instructions of an Infallible God. Where can such infallible guidance be found? Only from God’s revealed truth, which Israel has guarded for mankind until the Church has accepted the mantle. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Timothy 3:16). NT writers, such as Peter, understood their NT writings were understood and to be received as Scripture, consistent with the OT Hebrew canon. “As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2Peter 3:16). 

Returning to Psalm 119:9, cleansing and maintaining a pure and holy life can only be accomplished by guarding the heart according to God’s Word. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Cleansing from even “secret faults” (Psalm 19:12), the innumerable wrongs we have committed that we have inescapably forgotten — but would admit and abandon once remembered — we ask for God’s cleansing. “Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). Then, maintaining a holy life must now be possible by paying attention to and guarding God’s Word in our heart. Under the Old Covenant, Israel had the fear of God to keep them from sinning. “Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning” (Exodus 20:20 NIV). 

Additionally, under the New Covenant, we have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to keep us from sinning. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). However, our improper understanding of so-called constitutional sin has so hobbled the Church, we cannot advance without constantly confessing and regressing over past events — to the delight of the enemy. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1John 3:4). If we can understand this — sin is only active rebellion and transgression of God’s law in our heart — then we would not pine away God’s time, and our opportunity to serve Him, with endless, quixotic attempts at humility and re-confessing all sins real or imagined. 

Father, teach us by Your blessed Holy Spirit how to cleanse and maintain a pure walk with You according to Your Word. Help us to elevate not only our thinking but our expectation from You to make possible a pure walk before You. Take away all pre-conceived notions of perfectionism and replace it with practical holiness. May walking with You be more natural than our daily exchanges with humanity. Continue to move the human experience until “Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). Lord Jesus, raise our expectation of You and return quickly. Amen and amen.

God’s Presence Secures Our Obedience (Psalm 119:8)

Ken

“I will keep Thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly” (Psalm 119:8 KJV). Spoken like someone who not only understood how important obedience was but how obedience worked, i.e., God’s presence secures our obedience. Even in the beginning, Adam and Eve walked with Yahweh, but did not possess the key gift only a Resurrected Jesus could give — the gift of an indwelling Holy Spirit. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). We NT disciples have misunderstood, neglected, and taken for granted a gift greater than Christ’s purchase of our salvation on the Cross, none other than Christ’s endowment of the indwelling presence of God’s Obedience Securing Spirit. Under the Old Covenant, God’s inward presence was not part of the revealed relationship of “obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people” (Jeremiah 7:23). Under the terms of our New Covenant, “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). Paul understood a “more excellent way” (1Corinthians 12:31) than “spiritual gifts” (12:1), which was the way of loving obedience (1Corinthians 13). Peter again added his voice, “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32). Spirit inspired obedience from those whom the Spirit inspires to obedience. Father, You have given us the gift of Your Son to save us. Your Son has given His Spirit to sanctify us in loving obedience. May we understand, respond, and continue until Jesus soon returns for us. Amen and amen.

Praise From an Upright Heart for God’s Judgments (Psalm 119:7)

Ken

“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.

Obedience Is Intimacy With Yahweh (Psalm 119:6)

Ken

“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.