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A Believer Obsessed with the Word of Christ

by | Oct 15, 2020 | Quotation | 0 comments

41 May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O LORD, Your salvation according to Your word; 42 So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word. 43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances. 44 So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. 46 I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings And shall not be ashamed. 47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love. 48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. (NASB, Psalm 119:41-48)

“All the connections of one thing with another in verses 41–48 of Psalm 119 merit our thought, but the most striking thing about the waw section is that in essence it only makes one supreme connection. The opening verse (41) is a concise description of a converted person: one who has been confronted by the unfailing, committed love of God, and has benefited from the divine activity of salvation—all as described by the word of God. The ‘and’ [ed., in the Hebrew text] with which the verse begins tells us that this is the additional ingredient at every moment and in every circumstance of our lives. But what are (as Hebrews 6:9 would call them) ‘the things which accompany salvation’? In effect, just one: ‘the word’ (42), the ‘word of truth’ (43), ‘your teaching’ (44), ‘precepts’ (45), ‘testimonies’ (46), ‘commandments’ (47, 48), ‘statutes’ (48). The converted life is life obsessed with revealed truth—an understanding of it which enables us to reply to critics (42)—a personal, confident commitment (43b) which makes us a safe deposit for the word (43a). It enables obedience (44), diligence (45), unafraid testimony (46), elation, love as we open our Bibles (47), and a life with God: with the word of God as its central and controlling factor (48). Picture the great George Muller on his knees before his open Bible, so that he could worship God in the light of his truth, and turn what he was reading into prayer and praise. It is all a far cry from perfunctory daily Bible reading, is it not? But why should it be? And why should you and I not be different? Well, mainly because we love our beds too much to start the day with God or to end it with real time in his presence. This amazing waw section of Psalm 119 would prove revolutionary if only we would listen to it.” (Motyer, Alec. Psalms by the Day, A New Devotional Translation, 340.)

Frank Jones

Pastor, Exhorter, Cyclist

Frank Jones is presently pastor at Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Virginia.

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