Psalm 119:64

Psalm 119:64

The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;

teach me your statutes.

Even the vilest of sinners taste the greatest thing in all of life. Every day is an undeserved blessing for God to man, and all "are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20). The love of God is inescapable; He has connected it to the world. All that we see we see only because of the love of God. Our senses exist to touch and taste and see (Ps. 34:8) and hear and smell God's love. The world exists so that this love could be placed in it.

The very placement of God's love is an incomprehensible act: the eternal has been bound with the created, the infinite has come to the finite. After Adam and Eve's rebellion, faith was necessary. But love was there in the perfection of Eden. One day faith will no longer be needed, but love will always have a place (1 Cor. 13:2, 8-13).

That God's love would be even on one part of this world is incredible, and yet His love is so great that it is everywhere. We can claim with full assurance no matter where we are, "You are there!" as David did (Ps. 139:7-12). No matter where we are, God is there, and with Him is His steadfast love.

Psalm 119:37

Psalm 119:37

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

and give me life in your ways.

 

Only the life that pursues God's commandments is a life worth living. Saints are called to give up everything for the obedience of God. There is nothing in this world which has so great a value that it can be placed beside the gospel. All that is not according to the ways of God is worthless.

 

What are these worthless things? Evil things? Yes, but not only those. This world will pass away; everything worthless will burn up (2 Pet. 3:10). But treasures in Heaven will never pass away. What is done for the love of God and neighbor, for the care of orphan and widow, for the peace of enemy and friend, for the benefit of the Church - those will remain.

 

It is only walking in the ways of Yahweh that will allow us to do these things. Only by His grace can we remove our eyes from vain things and set them on Christ (Heb. 12:1-2). We are dead when left alone; God is the Giver of life. For more of Him, we must turn to Him. We must take time to turn off the TV and stop looking at our phones, and we must see Christ. And in seeing Christ, we will live.

Psalm 119:32

Psalm 119:32

I will run in the way of your commandments

when you enlarge my heart.

The aim of the life of a believer is to know God, and knowing God necessitates finding out who He is and what He wants. God's desire is that we obey Him; therefore, He gives us the resources to do so. Our obedience is dependent on His grace.

In order for us to obey God, the very core of our being must be expanded. Our knowledge and wisdom must grow. The source of our love and passion must overflow with yearning for the LORD.

A common mistake of modern Christianity is the mindset that thinking is noble and feeling is evil. What a tragic lie this is. The same God who created human thought established human emotions. He gave us taste so we would hunger for Him, joy so we would find our gladness in Him, and minds so we would think on Him.

With all that is in us, let us run after obedience to God (compare Heb. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 9:24). All energy, all passion, and all hope are to be set on Him. He enlarges these that we may seek Him more. Let us do so. Let us run.

Psalm 119:10

Psalm 119:10

With my whole heart I seek you;

let me not wander from your commandments.

Oftentimes a conservative response to emotionalism creates a tragic neglect of the passion in God's word. With what vigor are we to seek Christ? We are to seek Him with all that we are - our minds, our desires, our ears and eyes, our singing, our eating and drinking, our hopes, our plans, our wills, and our emotions. Consequently, the call to seek God is the call to stop seeking everything else. We must give up everything (Luke 14:33).

But who is this God we are called to so relentlessly follow? He is a Lawgiver and a righteous Judge. Even in following Him we fall short of His great glory (Rom. 3:23), so He justifies us on the merit of His Son (Rom. 3:24) who is the very radiance of God's glory (Heb. 1:3). We cannot seek Him unless He gives us a heart to seek Him, a total transformation, a change of the very core of our being.

God is desirable It is our sin that is deceptive. God alone is sovereign over who may seek Him. It is his work that changes our hearts and shepherds us to obey. While we are seeking, His grace is ever correcting.

Psalm 59:16

Psalm 59:16

But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of distress.

God is a refuge (Ps. 62:8), a stronghold for His own. No matter what the circumstances in a person's life, God's children can always run to their loving Father and find His faithfulness proven. No task is too difficult for God (Job 42:2; Dan. 4:35), and no earthly or heavenly power is so great as to dismantle His.

A great hope for God's people - indeed, the hope - is that God is strong. It is because of God's strength that He offers grace in redemption (1 Cor. 1:18) and in preservation (2 Cor. 12:9-10; Ps. 42:8). God's might is the very song we sing, our only prayer (Ps. 42:8). We are totally dependent on the power of God for all things (2 Pet. 1:3-11).

These precious promises are our full assurance. All we are and all we have hangs on the power of God, and God does not fail. Therefore we rejoice, we praise Him, we love Him, we seek. And we sing. From the dawn of each day, our hope is secure, so at every sunrise we have every reason among every creature to sing.

Psalm 118:1

Psalm 118:1

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

The cry of David's heart is the praise of the goodness of God. God's goodness demands our full thanksgiving; there is no other qualifier given. God is good; therefore we praise Him.

But why is God good? What is the determining factor that reveals His goodness? It is His steadfast love. God is supremely good because His kindness, love, and faithfulness are supremely enduring. Not even for a moment is His favor withheld from those who are kept in Christ. The love of the LORD is inexhaustible. No event, no power, no distance could remove or keep God's love from His children (Rom. 8:38-39).

This is ultimate peace. We are kept secure by the everlasting love of God (John 3:16-17; 10:27-28). And in light of this truth, we have nothing to fear (1 John 4:18); God is for us, and no one can stand against us (Rom. 8:31). Poverty cannot rob us of His love, nakedness cannot strip us of His care, fear cannot cause His kindness to flee, torture cannot twist us from His grasp, and burdens cannot fall us from His faithfulness. Unemployment, divorce, shattered families, lost friendships, cancer, and loss of loved ones are no match for God's love. Neither life nor death nor time itself can oppose it.

Amor vincit omnia.