Psalm 119:127

Psalm 119:127

Therefore I love your commandments

above gold, above fine gold.

Men delight in things which break God's law. Our hearts are far too foolish and for too evil to follow God completely; it is only after total transformation that any can obey Christ. The world is full of sin (1 John 2:15-17). Men wander and are careless of God and others, and on this God must act (v. 126).

At God's righteous work, the righteous rejoice. All who know Him love Him, and all that He does and says is good. Man refuses to obey God because he views God's commandments as contemptible. But God's commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). They are good. And those who follow God have greater joy by them than the world does by anything else.

Because we were made to know God, there is no greater joy than loving Him and being loved by Him. If we love Him, we will obey Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2), and because He loves us (Rom. 8:38-39) He will allow us to do so (2 Tim. 3:17; Eph. 2:10). This brings us great joy. God's commandments then surpass all possessions and prizes. His ways are desirable.

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.