INTRODUCTION
For me, Psalm 119 is one of the best Psalms on which to meditate. Each time I ponder what the Psalmist says in Psalm 119, I better appreciate just how important God’s Word is to me, and how important it ought to be to every believer. This morning I briefly write about my thoughts on Psalm 119:101-102.
PSALM 119:101-102
Psalm 119:101-102 read:
(ESV) 101 I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.
(NLT) 101 I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word.
(ESV) 102 I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.
(NLT) 102 I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well.
These two verses teach the importance of striving to live a holy life. In verse 101, the Psalmist says, he wants to “keep your word” or “remain obedient to your word.” One sure fire way to be obedient to God is to “hold back my feet from every evil way” or refuse “to walk on any evil path.”
In verse 102, the Psalmist says that “I do not turn aside from your rules” or “I haven’t turned away from your regulations.” The reason he has stayed between the white lines is God has taught him well.
There is no more effective teacher than God and that is why one ought to begin Bible engagement with prayer asking God to give discernment and understanding and comprehension.
In David’s great sin with Bathsheba, it began with disobedience by him being in the wrong place, taking a look, and going from there. There is a saying about sin that goes:
Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
Referring to verse 102, as one commentator writes:
Sin avoided that obedience may be perfected is the essence of this verse; or it may be that the psalmist would teach us that there is no real reverence for the book where there is not carefulness to avoid every transgression of its precepts.
The questions that arise from these verses are:
· Are you obedient to what God’s Word teaches you?
· Possibly, there are safeguards you can put in place to keep from sinning? For example, you have a problem with gambling, then possibly you ought not to put the Draft Kings app on your phone. It is always best to stay away from where you can get in trouble. As the firearms trainer at a local law enforcement agency said:
“Nothing good happens in Nashville after 10 PM.”
Although the extent of a person’s Bible engagement (reading, studying, listening, mediating) may not be completely determinative of their spiritual condition; in my opinion, it is a strong indicator of salvation. If you are reading this post and your Bible engagement is very weak or essentially non-existent, possibly you ought to examine yourself consistent with what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV):
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
If you are reading this post and are not a Christian, unless God intervenes, your eternal destination is hell. But, your destiny can change. Today can be the day of your salvation.
Please see my blog (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/04/20/for-god-so-loves-you-2/) for a description of how you can be saved and a more concise description at my (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/10/20/there-is-hope-even-when-there-seems-to-be-no-hope-2/ ).
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