Monthly Archives January 2015

Vs. 31 — I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame!

Comments from John Stephen:

It is not a little remarkable, that while the Psalmist says (verse 25), “My soul cleaveth to the dust,” he should say here, “I have cleaved unto thy testimonies”; for it is the same original word in both verses. The thing is altogether compatible with the experience of the believer. Without there is the body of indwelling sin, and within there is the undying principle of divine grace. There is the contest between them—“the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh” (Gal. 5:17), and the believer is constrained to cry out, “O wretched man that I am” (Rom. 7:24). It is the case; and all believers find it so. While the soul is many times felt cleaving to the dust, the spirit strives to cleave unto God’s testimonies. So the believer prays, Cause that I be not put to shame. And keeping close to Christ, brethren, you shall not be put to shame, world without end. (Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). The treasury of David: Psalms 111-119 (Vol. 5, p. 204). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

Prayer:

“Father, I have looked away and stepped away from Thy perfect ways. My heart, as well as my actions and words, have been selfish. I have stepped backwards in my fellowship with You rather than forwards. I am a wretched man that stumbles and sometimes jumps from the path of righteousness. I confess my waywardness, do not let shame, guilt, and regret have their way in me. My soul desires Your ways, yet I also have rebellion wrestling within. But You, O’ God, have not forsaken me. The eternal sacrifice of my Savior–Jesus Christ, is my covering. He is my propitiation. He alone is my righteousness. In Him do I stand. Blessed be the name of my Lord! Knowing who You are, Father, and who Christ is and has done, I eagerly cling to Your testimonies. There is no other Savior but Thee! And You are good and kind and forgiving and full of mercy. Blessed be Your Name forever and ever. Amen!

Vs. 30 — I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.

Thomas Watson:

Religion is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Have we weighed things in the balance, and, upon mature deliberation, made an election,—“We will have God upon any terms?” Have we sat down and reckoned the cost,—or what religion must cost us,—the parting with our lusts; and what it may cost us,—the parting with our lives? Have we resolved, through the assistance of grace, to own Christ when the swords and staves are up? and to sail with him, not only in a pleasure-boat, but in a man-of-war? This choosing God speaks him to be ours: hypocrites profess God out of worldly design, not religious choice.

Prayer:

I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. You have made the way of truth clear to me and I declare that it is my way. By the guidance of Your word I will follow the way of Jesus, to walk as He walked. Your ways and judgments are mine.

Vs. 29 — Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously.

Comments from John Calvin:

Take away from me the way of falsehood. Knowing how prone the nature of man is to vanity and falsehood, he first asks the sanctification of his thoughts, lest, being entangled by the snares of Satan, he fall into error. Next, that he may be kept from falsehood, he prays to be fortified with the doctrine of the law. (Calvin, J., & Anderson, J. (2010). Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Vol. 4, p. 421). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

Prayer:

Father, remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously. Grant me to discern falsehood around me. Remove the lying and deceptions that are shot at me like arrows throughout the day. Both from without and those deceptions that are from within. I confess to You, Father, that I must be watchful over my heart lest I deceive others for selfish reasons. Lest I manipulate and/or withhold whole truths to get my way. Forgive me; such wretchedness.

Vs. 28 — My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word.

Comments from Matthew Henry:

Strengthen me to do the duties, resist the temptations, and bear up under the burdens of an afflicted state, that the spirit may not fail.

Prayer:

Father, there is much weight on my shoulders. Life has many cares. But I do not want the cares and worries of this life steal the word of truth from me. I do not want them suppress the view of the Gospel in my heart’s eyes. Though my soul melts from heaviness, sadness, and the weight upon my, I will trust in You. Strengthen me according to Your word.

Vs. 27 — Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.

Thomas Manton:

Verse 27.—“Make me to understand.” Natural blindness is an obstinate disease, and hardly cured: therefore again and again we had need to pray, “Open mine eyes;” “Teach me thy statutes;” “Make me to understand the way of thy precepts.” Our ignorance is great even when it is cured in part. The clouds of temptation and carnal affection cause it to return upon us, so that we know not what we know. Therefore he cries, “open my eyes; cause me to understand.” Yea, the more we know the more is our ignorance discovered to us.

Matthew Henry:

We can talk with a better grace of God’s “wondrous works,” the wonders of providence, and especially the wonders of redeeming love, when we understand the way of God’s precepts, and walk in that way.

Prayer:

Spirit of the Living God, unless You make me to understand the way of Your precepts, I will not understand. You are the enlightener, the giver of truth. I believe that You will open my eyes, so I will meditate on Your wonderful works. I will study and seek.