July 6, 2003 / Volume 7, Issue 27
Psalm 119:33-40
HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes; and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments; for I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness.
What a wonderful thought, that we can ask the LORD to be our teacher, to reveal to us the glorious things which He has in store for those who will be faithful to Him, that we can call upon Him to give us understanding of His ways, in order that we may keep it diligently. Writing to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul revealed, “...you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus...” (4:21). Friend, Jesus Christ, the LORD desires to be our teacher. Hear His own words, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30). If we will seek to know the will of God, the Lord will surely grant us understanding. But realize friend, it is not enough to seek to know the will of God, but rather, once we have grasped any portion thereof, we must be diligent to accurately apply it to our daily life, and thus be as the Psalmist, one who “...shall keep it unto the end” and again, one who “...shall observe it with my whole heart.”
Perhaps the Psalm which I have preached on more than any other, and certainly which I have read more than any other is Psalm 1. Among the many treasures which are there for us to study are these words: “...his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” This is written of the “Blessed” man, the one who walks uprightly before the Lord. In our current text, the Psalmist testifies of his delight in the law of the Lord, and thus, on that account, he requests that the Lord direct his path. Notice the submission of will in his words, Lord, “make me walk in the path of Your commandments...” Now understand, God will not force us to walk in His path. If we are to walk along that way, it is through the exercise of our free will. But in so doing, may we manifest the attitude herein displayed – Lord, I love Your way so much, and I want to give myself entirely to You and Your will. Direct my life, it is Your’s to do with as You please. If we will arm ourselves with such a disposition, then good cannot help but come, as we have made ourselves servants of God, ready at His beckoning call.
It is not easy to walk according to the commandment of God. If it were, everyone would be doing it. Rather, when Jesus spoke of His way, He used the word “strict” or “narrow” to describe it. It is a “hard” path. And so the Psalmist bids the Lord’s aid to leave the things of this world behind, that he might press on to the things of God. Solomon instructed his son, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Pr 4:23) Again, a proverb warns, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” (28:26). Why is that so? The prophet Jeremiah revealed, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (17:9) If we choose to lead ourselves, we will reap ruin and destruction. We will turn to the base things of this world, the things which the writer identifies as being “worthless things”. However, if we come before the Lord and strive ever to remain in His presence, under His care, in the fold of His flock, He will guide and guard our hearts.
The phrase translated in the NKJV (and also the NIV) as “worthless things” is otherwise translated as follows:
- — “beholding vanity” (KJV, ASV)
- — “seeing vanity” (YLT)
- — “what is false” (BBE)
The latter word (Heb. shav’) comes from the same root as show’, which is translated in the Scriptures as desolation, destruction, wasteness, etc. (see Ps 35:8; Pr 1:27; Zep 1:15). Strong’s, in defining the former words uses words such as “...emptiness, nothingness... worthlessness...” In the book of Ecclesiates, Solomon chronicles a search for what is of value and what is vain in life. Friend, he has so done so that we need not waste our time in such an endeavour. He tells the young, “Remember now your Creator...” (12:1, 6). The treasures of this world are those who are but temporal, for they will corrode, be dissolve, and be displaced. May we willingly and gladly lay aside anything that might impede our progress as the children of God (Heb 12:1-2).
Now notice, twice in our text, the writer seeks revival from the Lord, first in “Your ways” (v 37), and then in “Your righteousness” (v 40). When we speak of our soul, there is no place we can find revival other than with the Lord. John, the beloved, writes of Jesus, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (1:4), and again, “...as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself...” (5:26). The Lord is the source of life.
Verse 38 contains a opportune reminder for us – knowing how great the Lord’s power is, that He can give life to those who have made themselves death – we need to stand before Him in fear. In fact, the writer states, “...(I am) devoted to fear You.” Consider some of the things which are elsewhere associated with the fear of the LORD:
- – It is “...clean, enduring forever...” (Ps 19:9)
- – It is “...the beginning of wisdom...” (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10)
- – It is “...the beginning of knowledge...” (Pr 1:7)
- – It is “...to hate evil...” (Pr 8:13)
- – It “...prolongs days...” (Pr 10:27)
- – With it there is “...strong confidence...” (Pr 14:26)
- – It is “...a fountain of life...” (Pr 14:27)
And on, and on the Scriptures trumpet the virtues of fearing the Lord. We must stand in awe of the great God who has redeemed us, who has given life to us through Jesus Christ.
Finally, the writer requests, “Turn away my reproach which I dread.” The Psalmist pleads to the Lord as a righteous judge. He does not seek justice, for justice would condemn him on account of his reproach. However, he seeks the mercy of God. Please Lord, turn it away, or literally, “...remove my reproach...” In an earlier Psalm, we read, “...Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish.” (39:8). By God’s wondrous grace, He washes us clean of our sin, and takes away the shame which it brought upon us. He washes so thoroughly clean, that our sin is as far as east is from west (Ps 103:12). Infinity has been placed between our sins and our souls. Praise the Lord!!
What a great God we serve, a compassionate Creator, the Teacher of all who will come to Him, the guide of the mind of His saints, the source of life eternal, the righteous and good judge of the world. Revive us in Your way and Your righteousness Lord!!
Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
When did Noah enter the ark? Genesis 7:7-10 says it was seven days before the flood, while Genesis 7:11-13 says it was on the day that the flood began. Is there a contradiction?
