JOD. Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in Your word. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live, for Your law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; but I will meditate on Your precepts. Let those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies. Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.

God is the creator of all things. He has made each and every one of us. Adam, He moulded from the dust of the earth, but that was only the beginning of His hand in the creation of men. He has made and fashioned each and every one of us. To the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you...” (Jeremiah 1:5). The miracle of birth is not with man’s ability but lies with the Lord.

If He is capable to make us, then the writer knows surely that He is able to give us understanding. Again, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23). In the next verse, he requests, “O LORD, correct me...” Both these inspired writers realized that God alone can show us the path we should walk. That without the Lord, we walk about in darkness.

The joy of being with and encouraging those who are of like precious faith is so wonderful. Of the people of God, the Psalmist says, they “...will be glad when they see me...” We ought to look forward to each opportunity to be with fellow saints, whether it be the assemblies of the local church, or simply visiting with one another. The kinship which we share in Christ Jesus should draw us closer together than any other relationship which is known to man. The writer asks the Lord, “Let those who fear You turn to me...” We ought to have a magnetic attraction to one another. When one is suffering, each one is to share in that suffering. When one is rejoicing, all are to rejoice also (1 Corinthians 12:26).

The common reaction to affliction is, “Please take it away”. The apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12 supplicated the Lord three times that his “thorn in the flesh” should be taken from him. The Lord left it with him. The Psalmist here has a refreshing and enlightened view of afflictions. He acknowledges that his burden has come from the Lord, but notice, “...in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” That is, the ailment, whatever it be, is for his benefit. Though we may not always understand why certain trials are upon us, we can trust that the Lord is still in control. Considering Paul again, the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Rather than pray that the affliction be taken from him, the writer wisely prays, let “..Your merciful kindness be for my comfort...” We would do well and grow as God’s people much more, if, instead of griping and complaining in troublesome times, we would simply request the Lord’s comfort in the difficulty. He is “...the God of all comfort...” (2 Corinthians 1:3). If the Lord showers us with His great mercy, we will surely live through and be victorious over whatever besets us.

Those who exalt themselves before God ought to be ashamed. The one who mistreats God’s elect should contemplate their works and relent. The man who deals falsely with the children of God should learn to blush on account of his sin. Friend, we cannot change the actions of other people. Those who despise us will continue to despise us, unless they are convicted in heart through the power of God. We are responsible for ourselves. Regardless what comes upon us, regardless who misuses and abuses us, our obligation to God and to our own soul is to continue in meditation of the will of God, and in application of it in our lives. If we do so, it will be well with our soul.

The desire of every person should be to walk in purity before the Lord. God has supplied a will which we can keep. So many tell us that we cannot walk in the paths of God, that we will always sin, that it is simply part of our nature. Rubbish!! It is a matter of will. Now, I acknowledge that all have sinned. The Scriptures bear forth this truth, but we need not continue in sin. Why did we sin in the first place? Was it because of some “sin nature” which plagues the human race? Yes, but not in the manner which most use the words “sin nature”. It is not that we were born with a tendency toward sinfulness. We were born pure (see Romans 7:9). We learn sin through our society (Ephesians 2:1-4). The word “nature” in the context is the same word that is used in 1 Corinthians 11:14 regarding the length of a man’s hair. Does the natural order of the whole universe teach us that it is wrong for a man to have long hair? No, that’s not what Paul said in that text, otherwise, God commanded men to violate the natural order of the universe (Numbers 6:1-8). Paul no doubt was referring to the society of which the Corinthians were a part of, that therein it was considered shameful for a man to wear his hair long. The use of the word “nature” is the same in Ephesians 2:3. We were “by nature children of wrath”, because we learned sin in our society, and thus also fulfilled the lusts of the mind and the flesh. It is not because God has created us impure and unholy.

Back to the words of the Psalmist, “Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.” Friend, those are not empty poetic words intended to tickle the ears of God and stroke the ego of the ignorant. The writer is not stating the impossible, but declaring his intent to do that which he knows to be possible. We’ve not done so in the past, and for that we need to be ashamed, but let us declare from this moment onward, that we will be found blameless regarding the Lord’s statutes. Indeed, the Lord declares that we can so walk before Him, and He expects us to do so.

Recall, Jesus spoke to the woman who had been brought to Him, being found in the very act of adultery, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). Some would have us think the Lord said, “Go and sin less.” The apostle Paul bluntly states that we can conquer temptation and thus avoid sin: “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 Corinthians 10:13). If we succumb to sin, we are to be blamed. It has nothing to do with an innate propensity toward sin. It has to do with us walking according to our flesh rather than the Spirit. It has to do with us choosing to serve ourselves rather than the Lord.

Indeed, “Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.”

Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
When were the stars made? Genesis 1:16-19 say it was on the fourth day of creation. However, Job 38:4-7 says it was before the earth was made. Is there a contradiction?