2. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart.
3. They also do no unrighteousness; they walk in His ways.
4. You have ordained Your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.
5. Oh that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes!
6. Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all your commandments.
7. I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgements.
8. I shall keep your statutes; do not forsake me utterly!
9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
10. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.
12. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.
13. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth.
14. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15. I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.
16. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
Psalm 119:1-16 NASB
The 119th Psalm reveals the cry of the psalmist's heart for holiness. I have only quoted 16 verses out of 176 here for the sake of brevity, but these few verses make the point clear.
When one reads this Psalm he or she can see the passion that the author has for the law of God. And not for the law only, but for the Lord God Himself, the giver of that law which flows out of His righteous character.
Our true happiness can only be found when we are in a right relationship with the Holy God who has given us His law to obey. This relationship is based upon an obedient submission to our God who has called us to be holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Lest there be any misunderstanding, this holiness is a way of life: it is lived out in our day to day conduct. I'm not talking about a righteousness that comes from following a law, but righteousness that comes from an obedient, loving faith in God. Following His commandments flow out of true faith, if our faith is real (see James 2:14-26).
In our passage above we read that we keep ourselves pure by following God's word. Salvation is so much more than the forgiveness we receive for our sin against God. While this is essential to our restoration to the God we all have offended, we are responsible to walk in obedience to His commands. If we are disobedient, we allow sin to stain our hearts once again.
It's like a child taking a bath and then going outside to play. He knows he will get dirty if he plays in the mud. Does he disobey his mother and avoid what might make him dirty once again, or obey and stay clean?
As Christians we face a battle of right and wrong. We are often our own worst enemies, getting in the way of obedience. How often do we do the very thing we do not want to do, because we allow our flesh to dictate our choices (see Romans 7:14-25, Galatians 5:16-18). Just as the psalmist cried out to be steadfast in obedience, Paul the apostle cried out for deliverance from this body of "sin and death." Our victory comes from Christ, and by his grace we must walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do we treasure the word of God as much as we treasure our "riches"? Are we desperate to know what pleases the Lord, and then diligently do it? This is what we read in this passage. His word is to be treasured, studied, and meditated upon if we are to live in obedience to our Lord.
Again, we are not following the law as an end in itself, so that we may be blessed. Our true happiness will only come when our love for Christ excels our love for "things" and compels us to obey Him at all cost. Then we will not be ashamed when we look at His commandments.
There are numerous passages dealing with the topic of sanctification, or holiness of life and conduct. I would like to go through many of them in separate posts for the sake of keeping them simple. It is my hope that these posts will encourage all of us to press forward in the calling that God has placed upon us, to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
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