Post by James Blankenship on Apr 18, 2012 8:13:12 GMT -5
I am about to undertake a major project starting today! We are going to be taking a look at the longest chapter in the Bible- Psalm 119!
I don't know how far the Lord wants me to take this, so I'm really trusting His leadership on this!
Psalm 119 focuses on one thing & one thing only: GOD'S WORD!
We will start with verses 1-8 today:
"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes, and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways. You have laid down precepts, that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast, in obeying Your decrees. Then I would not be put to shame, when I consider all Your commands. I will praise You with an upright heart, as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. "
Although, as Believers, we are no longer bound by the restrictions of the law, (Romans 7:6-"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit, & not in the old way of the written code. ''), it is absolutely vital, that we still hold on to God's word, because it is our pattern for living in the righteous
manner that God wants us to! That truth is found in II Timothy 3: 16-"ALL Scripture is God-breathed, & is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting & training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. "
BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE WAY ARE BLAMELESS, WHO WALK ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF THE LORD
Blameless.
Can we be blameless before the Lord by our own power-no.
Romans 3:23 states-"for all have sinned, and fallen short of the
glory of God." Only if we are walking without sin in our lives, can we be blameless before God! And how do we do that-by making sure that there is no UN-confessed sins in our lives, especially, when we want to study God's word!
"BLESSED ARE THEY WHO KEEP HIS STATUTES, & SEEK HIM WITH ALL THEIR HEART,"
Statutes are a record of God's stated will, (THE BIBLE), & give guidance & instruction. Doesn't the second half of this verse remind you of Mathew
6:33?-"Seek first, the kingdom of God, & His righteousness, & all these things will be added unto You."
THEY DO NOTHING WRONG, THEY WALK IN HIS WAYS
When we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, the truth of
Romans 8: 28 becomes even more real to us-And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His Purpose. "
YOU HAVE LAID DOWN PRECEPTS THAT ARE TO BE FULLY OBEYED
Precepts are regulations of a covenant established by God. Hebrews 12:23-24 states-" You have come to God, the judge of all men to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant. ..... "
We, as Believers, are now under the covenant of grace & forgiveness.
But also notice, that this is very much as command to us, as well!
OH, THAT MY WAYS WERE STEADFAST IN OBEYING YOUR DECREES
To be steadfast means to be unmoving, to live our lives based on the rock that is our firm foundation-Jesus Christ! I Corinthians 10:4 states-" and drank from the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was CHRIST, "
Listen to the psalmist-he is admitting that he too has not always walked in the ways of the Lord, even as WE have not always walked in the ways of our Lord, even though we long to!
THEN I WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME, WHEN I CONSIDER ALL YOUR COMMANDS
I see Romans 9:33, saying: See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes man to stumble, & a rock that makes them fall, & the one who trusts in Him, will never be put to shame,
Who is this rock-Jesus Christ!
I WILL PRAISE YOU WITH AN UPRIGHT HEART AS I LEARN YOUR RIGHTEOUS LAWS,
An upright heart, is gained though the study of God's word, because it makes us aware of the only one that has given us the ability to walk uprightly
before the Father-Jesus Christ!
I WILL OBEY YOUR DECREES; DO NOT UTTERLY FORSAKE ME
Because of the fact that we DO know the Lord, the Holy Spirit gives us the desire to obey everything that God has told us to do-the only thing that can stop that desire, is our own WILL! And what happens if we do, we DO feel many times that the Lord has forsaken us, although we have His promise in
Hebrews 13:5-" because God has said, "1 will never leave you, OR FORSAKE YOU. ,,,, Not to mention the promises of God that He will never leave us or FORSAKE us found in Matthew 28:20, & Romans 8:38-39!
Let us pray.
"Lord Jesus, we come before You & You alone in utter amazement at the truth of Your WORD! We give You & You alone all our praise that we live in a country, where Your word is so accessible to us! Lord Jesus, we thank-you with everything that is in us for that which Your Word has to teach us, about how YOU want us to live! We glorify Your Holy Name, Lord Jesus, that You
ARE the Word of God, that existed before time began, that You are the Word, that saved us by the blood that You & You alone shed for us on Calvary! We praise You & You alone for Your written Word, that it is available to us, so that we may be able to discern what Your will is for each one of us! We praise You, Lord Jesus! We praise You, for who You are, Lord Jesus! We praise
You, for there is no one more worthy than You & You alone, Lord Jesus! We praise You in Your Name, & Your Name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen!"
In Jesus Name!
James
I don't know how far the Lord wants me to take this, so I'm really trusting His leadership on this!
Psalm 119 focuses on one thing & one thing only: GOD'S WORD!
We will start with verses 1-8 today:
"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes, and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways. You have laid down precepts, that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast, in obeying Your decrees. Then I would not be put to shame, when I consider all Your commands. I will praise You with an upright heart, as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. "
Although, as Believers, we are no longer bound by the restrictions of the law, (Romans 7:6-"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit, & not in the old way of the written code. ''), it is absolutely vital, that we still hold on to God's word, because it is our pattern for living in the righteous
manner that God wants us to! That truth is found in II Timothy 3: 16-"ALL Scripture is God-breathed, & is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting & training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. "
BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE WAY ARE BLAMELESS, WHO WALK ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF THE LORD
Blameless.
Can we be blameless before the Lord by our own power-no.
Romans 3:23 states-"for all have sinned, and fallen short of the
glory of God." Only if we are walking without sin in our lives, can we be blameless before God! And how do we do that-by making sure that there is no UN-confessed sins in our lives, especially, when we want to study God's word!
"BLESSED ARE THEY WHO KEEP HIS STATUTES, & SEEK HIM WITH ALL THEIR HEART,"
Statutes are a record of God's stated will, (THE BIBLE), & give guidance & instruction. Doesn't the second half of this verse remind you of Mathew
6:33?-"Seek first, the kingdom of God, & His righteousness, & all these things will be added unto You."
THEY DO NOTHING WRONG, THEY WALK IN HIS WAYS
When we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, the truth of
Romans 8: 28 becomes even more real to us-And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His Purpose. "
YOU HAVE LAID DOWN PRECEPTS THAT ARE TO BE FULLY OBEYED
Precepts are regulations of a covenant established by God. Hebrews 12:23-24 states-" You have come to God, the judge of all men to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant. ..... "
We, as Believers, are now under the covenant of grace & forgiveness.
But also notice, that this is very much as command to us, as well!
OH, THAT MY WAYS WERE STEADFAST IN OBEYING YOUR DECREES
To be steadfast means to be unmoving, to live our lives based on the rock that is our firm foundation-Jesus Christ! I Corinthians 10:4 states-" and drank from the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was CHRIST, "
Listen to the psalmist-he is admitting that he too has not always walked in the ways of the Lord, even as WE have not always walked in the ways of our Lord, even though we long to!
THEN I WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME, WHEN I CONSIDER ALL YOUR COMMANDS
I see Romans 9:33, saying: See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes man to stumble, & a rock that makes them fall, & the one who trusts in Him, will never be put to shame,
Who is this rock-Jesus Christ!
I WILL PRAISE YOU WITH AN UPRIGHT HEART AS I LEARN YOUR RIGHTEOUS LAWS,
An upright heart, is gained though the study of God's word, because it makes us aware of the only one that has given us the ability to walk uprightly
before the Father-Jesus Christ!
I WILL OBEY YOUR DECREES; DO NOT UTTERLY FORSAKE ME
Because of the fact that we DO know the Lord, the Holy Spirit gives us the desire to obey everything that God has told us to do-the only thing that can stop that desire, is our own WILL! And what happens if we do, we DO feel many times that the Lord has forsaken us, although we have His promise in
Hebrews 13:5-" because God has said, "1 will never leave you, OR FORSAKE YOU. ,,,, Not to mention the promises of God that He will never leave us or FORSAKE us found in Matthew 28:20, & Romans 8:38-39!
Let us pray.
"Lord Jesus, we come before You & You alone in utter amazement at the truth of Your WORD! We give You & You alone all our praise that we live in a country, where Your word is so accessible to us! Lord Jesus, we thank-you with everything that is in us for that which Your Word has to teach us, about how YOU want us to live! We glorify Your Holy Name, Lord Jesus, that You
ARE the Word of God, that existed before time began, that You are the Word, that saved us by the blood that You & You alone shed for us on Calvary! We praise You & You alone for Your written Word, that it is available to us, so that we may be able to discern what Your will is for each one of us! We praise You, Lord Jesus! We praise You, for who You are, Lord Jesus! We praise
You, for there is no one more worthy than You & You alone, Lord Jesus! We praise You in Your Name, & Your Name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen!"
In Jesus Name!
James
