Shin—Psalm 119:161-176
Today, we’ll begin drawing near to the peak of the biblical “Mount Everest” as we approach the last few sections at the end of the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Looking back over this monumental work, a quick review highlights where we’ve been. First, we focused on the exclusivity of God’s Word among a sea of religious writings and the ponderings of men. We learned that the Bible is the One Book that stands alone in its majesty and authority, and we’ve been mining nuggets of personal application as we’ve ascended. We learned that the Bible has a guaranteed avoidance plan for all of our self-inflicted wounds, i.e., avoiding sinful situations. The amazing Bible exposes every person’s need for a Savior. It contains a single moral standard for all cultures and generations and offers to us everything that money can’t buy.
We found some pinnacle truths about hiding God’s Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him (v. 11), and we learned that all of His words are truth. His righteous judgments are not affected by time or culture, and His judgments endure forever (v. 160). We gleaned insights from the Word, realized its impact, and recognized its integrity. It isn’t a “container” of truth but is truth itself. We read of the benefits and blessings of knowing the Word of God and hiding it in our hearts, meditating on it day and night. We saw that because they never change, His Words still hold true for us today. According to Revelation 3:7-10, those who keep God’s Word will be kept from the hour of trial that’s going to come upon the entire world.
Our title for this last series relates to some of the implied negatives in these verses and also to the wonderful and positive truths of Scripture. We’re told to hide the Word in our hearts that we might not sin against the Lord. If we don’t take that to heart, we will end up sinning against Him.
As we begin this final series in Psalm 119, we’re going to look at a choice we must all make and the corresponding life experiences that will result from that choice. What is the choice? It’s what we do with God’s Word on a personal and daily level. For example, Paul said to Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). There’s a blessing to be had in being diligent when it comes to studying the things of God in that we’re less likely to end up being ashamed. Each day we have a choice to make between focusing on God’s law, His precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, words, and promises—or not. Either way, our lives will reflect our choices.
I don’t know about you, but I want more of the Word to be manifested in and through me, not less. I want to know the Lord more, not less. I want Him to be more involved in my life, not less. Yes, I realize that He’s already in me and in all believers by means of the Holy Spirit, so how is it possible to have “more” of Him in our lives? It’s really the result of the choices we make between having more of God’s blessings, insights, impact, and the integrity of the Word of God acting in our lives—or having less.
Let’s make the decision to choose “more” as we finish our climb to the summit of this Mount Everest-like chapter.
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