I thought on my ways,
And turned my feet unto thy testimonies (Psa 119.59).
Two great traps keep multitudes from heaven: arrogantly thinking they are good people living a good life, and admitting they are sinners while they continue to do nothing about it. The self-righteous will be shocked to hear their doom on [...]
I intreated thy favour with my whole heart:
Be merciful unto me according to thy word (Psa 119.58).
We should not pray only for ourselves, but we must not neglect praying for ourselves, whether through some false view of piety, presumption on God’s grace, or any other spiritual pitfall. God has implanted in the [...]
Thou art my portion, O LORD:
I have said that I would keep thy words (Psa 119.57).
Living the Christian life should never be thought of as merely keeping a set of righteous rules. Rather, it is a loving communion with God through Jesus Christ expressed in loyalty to Him and His revealed will. [...]
This I had,
Because I kept thy precepts (Psa 119.56).
When God’s law in Scripture is the standard, obedience is intimately bound together with blessing and blessedness. This may be one of the most important spiritual lessons we can ever learn. To believe this is the kind of faith that leads to ultimate salvation; [...]
I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night,
And have kept thy law (Psa 119.55).
The only real Christians are radical Christians—that is, those whose faith has been and still is truly internalized, and whose good works are then but the expression of their renewed hearts. Job seems to have affirmed his [...]
Thy statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage (Psa 119.54).
This psalm-writing saint, as one devoted to the true and living God, has written this verse as a testimony in prayer, addressed to Him. It is personal without being private, for the Psalms were given for all believers to sing, [...]
Rage takes hold of me
Because of the wicked, those who reject your law (Psa 119.53).1
I would speak in defense of “righteous rage,” realizing that, ironically, most people will hate and condemn me for it, opposing “righteous rage” with fury. They are obviously self-condemned.
You ought to be deeply angered, to the very [...]
I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord;
And have comforted myself (Psa 119.52).
The misery of suffering persecution is, of all spiritual trials, especially dangerous to the soul. It can tempt us to wonder whether God really loves us, or whether He even exists. It can eventually beat down our resolve to love [...]
The proud have had me greatly in derision:
Yet have I not declined from thy law (Psa 119.51).
One of the most difficult temptations you will ever face as a Christian is ridicule for your faith, but by God’s grace, you can overcome even this.
THE FIRE
“The proud have had me greatly in [...]
This is my comfort in my affliction:
For thy word hath quickened me (Psa 119.50).
Everyone suffers, including, and we might say, especially Christians. The reason is that Christians must suffer all the common and ordinary trials which are our lot simply because we are human beings in a fallen world. Conversion does not [...]
