ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes; oh, do not forsake me utterly!

For those who have chosen to walk in the way of the Lord, there is promised great happiness. His law is of perfect design, a course which will lead us through this life safely to the next. He has blueprinted His will to affect us with longevity of days (generally), optimum health (generally), and a hope of eternal life (absolutely). But notice, these blessings are not for those who think about walking in the right path, but fail to do so. It is not to the one who considers the way of God, but esteems his own plan better. The blessing of God is reserved for those who are “...undefiled in the way...”, who “...walk in the law of the LORD...” and “...keep His testimonies...” Friends, as James commands, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (Jms 1:22).

How will we walk in these wonderful commandments of God? The writer speaks of those “...who seek Him with the whole heart!” Half-hearted worship and service before the Lord is as acceptable as none at all! Recall the Lord’s words to the Laodicean church, “...because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth...” (Rev 3:16). Either we must determine to be wholly for God or we will be wholly against Him, for there is no middle ground. Notice the result in the life of the one who seeks the Lord with the whole heart – “...they also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.”

A wonderful promise is given to the Christian in the writing of Paul to the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor 10:13). God has not promises to remove temptations, for to do so, He would have to take away our freedom of will. For us to walk in His ways, and to “...do not iniquity...”, we do not need temptation to be eradicated; rather, we need to keep the Lord’s testimonies, escaping from temptations through the fashion which God has furnished. So the Lord has commanded us to do, and that with diligence, to preserve ourselves from the wickedness which surrounds us.

Does that mean all who are God’s children never ever sin, and they are always subject to His will? It would be pleasant if it were so, but even the Psalmist as he writes of this blessed path and the sinlessness of those who continually maintain the precepts of God acknowledges his own failure to always tread this high road. He writes, “Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.”

Understand friends, that is not a loophole which allows us to walk in our own ways when we desire to do so. It is not an admission by the Psalmist that man must at times transgress the commandments of God. The writer acknowledges a fact about himself, one which I am confident we have all experienced – failure to diligently keep the will of God. It is not pleasant, it is not desirable. It is embarrassing, it brings upon us shame before God and men. It happens, even to the best of the servants of the Lord. David, described by God as “...a man after his own heart...” (Ac 13:22) allowed the lure of sin to grab hold of his life, and brought shame upon himself, his fellow countrymen, and the Lord.

Friend, we need to be so careful to firmly base our every action and word upon God’s word. When we do not, when we seek to go it our own way, we will inevitably falter. The prophet Jeremiah declared “...it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jer. 10:23). When we do set out on our own path, there is reason for shame, since we by doing so, have told the Lord that we know better than He. For surety, our Creator is better to direct the path of our life than we ever could be.

Obedience to the gospel of Christ is the beginning of a wonderful life, but it is also the beginning of an assault on our soul by the wicked one. Things which we once conducted ourselves in are to be abstained from, and yet the pleasure of sin calls. So important is the need to continually be studying God’s word, so that we can fill our minds with the glorious will of our Father. Get into God’s word, that it might get into you!

The follower of Christ, having learned the ways of the Lord, the height and depth of love which caused God to supply us with such a wonderful Saviour and eternal hope, cannot help but bring praise before God. “I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.” Our praise to God will not be that of compulsion, nor will it be a matter of occasional gratitude, but an ongoing exalting of His name for His graciousness toward us in Christ Jesus. Hypocrisy will find no home in the child of God who knows well the righteousness of God, but rather a contrite heart, full of sorrow for sin and sincere thanksgiving for the forgiveness which God has brought to us through His Son.

This segment of the Psalm ends with the words, “I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!” If God were to deal with us simply upon the basis of justice, He would then have to forsake the whole lot of us, as “...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Ro 3:23). However, thanks be to God, He deals with us not merely with justice, but with mercy and forgiveness. Were it not for the enduring presence of God with the Christian, the temptations and toils of this life would be so wearisome, but with the Lord with us, we shall persevere, overcome and be victorious.

Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
How many sons did God have? Some texts clearly tell us that He only had one son (John 3:18; 1 John 4:9), while other texts clearly tell us that God had many sons (Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1). Is there a contradiction?