Perseverance in the Precepts

Psalm 119:81-88 (Kaph) - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+119%3A81-88

             The great reminder of this passage for me is how steadfastly the psalmist holds onto God’s Word. “Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your decrees. … They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts.” God’s precepts are a hugely important part of His Word to us: revelations of His character and attributes, through the laws He puts in place. And unlike everything else we know in the Universe, the only knowledge & wisdom that endures forever is God’s Word: everything else is a mirage of value in light of eternity.

God’s Word

              Some verses ahead in Psalm 119:105, the psalmist writes “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path”. Every step taken, every breath inspired, every choice made, is guided by the Word of the LORD. Despite the deceitful serpent whispering lies (silently creeping temptation), and the fierce lion roaring though defanged (furiously fiery temptation), the constant thing that the psalmist resolves never to part with, is God’s Word, which reveals to him God Himself.

Despite affliction

              The psalmist does pray earnestly for his afflictions to end; he longs for deliverance until his soul is faint (v. 81); in sorrow he pleads, “How long must Your servant wait?” And yet, despite all the adversity and God’s seeming silence in his life, the psalmist never lets go of his conviction that God’s commands must be held fast. Despite all trouble, despite God’s seeming delay to help him, the psalmist never even considers ceasing to obey God’s commands or relegating God’s commands to a lower priority in life. In fact, not only does he continue to obey, but he continues to praise those decrees (v. 86), “All Your commands are trustworthy”. This shows Who sits on the throne of his heart – not himself, but God. Who calls the shots in his heart? God; that even when afflictions shake his heart, God’s Word remains firmly the source of light and counsel, and nothing else.

Even when you can’t see

The psalmist did pray, “My eyes fail, looking for Your promise”: He tries to look for God’s promises of hope, but he can’t seem to find them. And yet, although he can’t seem to see through the fog of his troubles into God’s promises, this never shakes his holding fast to God’s Word. Even when we can’t seem to see God and the current workings of His promises, that is never an excuse to stop obeying. Obedience is a given. It is an independent given of the Christian life. It is never a restriction, and neither is it a means to earn a right standing with God (Eph. 2:8-9). Instead, it is the narrow gate that opens up unto enduring joy, and only by God’s unmerited grace can we receive the strength to walk that narrow path and enter that narrow gate.

What now?

              What fuels this devotion to God’s decrees? Isn’t it difficult to live like this? To hold fast to God’s Word even when every fibre of your human flesh tells you to turn to material things that seem more worthy of your trust?  That is why, we are perpetually in need of the grace of God, inspiring a joyful fear of the LORD, steadfast faith in Christ the hope of glory, and knowledge that nothing lasts in this world except the Word. Time to get on our knees and pray for His grace unending.
Photo caption: This was taken in Portmeirion, Wales. God's Word shines brighter than anything else in the world. It is truth (Ps. 119:160) - the only absolute, amidst the relativism of our age giving rise to all sorts of atrocities and ambiguities. Sometimes we try to follow dummy counsels (like the useless lamp post in the photo...), when God's Word itself is ready to shine upon our path - the Sun.

THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS SHAKE – Amy Carmichael

“When stormy winds against us break
Stablish and reinforce our will;
O hear us for Thine own Name’s sake,
Hold us in strength and hold us still.

Still as the faithful mountains stand
Through the long silent years of stress,
So would we wait at Thy Right Hand,
In quietness and steadfastness.

But not of us this strength, O Lord,
And not of us this constancy;
Our trust is Thine eternal word,
Thy presence our security.”

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