I will run the way of thy commandments,
When thou shalt enlarge my heart (Psa 119.32).
Grace is God’s favor toward the undeserving through Christ. We need grace to be converted. Christians are those who have “believed through grace” (Acts 18.27).
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me (Psa 119.30).
Thinking and living as a follower of Jesus Christ involves very deliberate decision and intentional perseverance, while these spiritual activities of the soul are fruits of a God-given faith. Believers know about themselves that “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil 2.13). This truth does not cancel out the believer’s willing and doing, but rather establishes and enables it. God works in you to will (original: intend, desire) His good pleasure, and so you do indeed will it, when you had no desire whatsoever in this direction before His working in you to create it. God works in you to do (original: work, perform) His good pleasure, and so you do indeed do it, when you had no success whatsoever in these good works before His working in you to achieve them. John Newton remarked on the phrase “to will and to do”: “Not at the same time – first to will, then to do,”1 as our purpose precedes our act. God always takes the initiative, but we were always responsible to believe and obey Him, even before He worked in us, and afterward, we are the active agents believing and obeying while He is working in us. He does not believe instead of us—we believe. He does not obey instead of us—we obey. If we never believe and obey God, we are criminally blameworthy. If we receive faith and repentance and find ourselves believing and obeying, then God deserves the credit for it.
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Remove from me reproach and contempt; For I have kept thy testimonies (Psalm 119:22).
A new convert to the Christian faith may naively expect that he is on the verge of general congratulations, when observers see by the consistency of his life and lip that he is in dead earnest to live as a disciple of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. This is, after all, the most wonderful, praiseworthy change that can possibly come over a person. To be liberated from sin’s bondage, changed from a moral menace to a means of blessing, truly is a cause for celebration. Indeed, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents (Luke 15.10). If only earth had as much sense!
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Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes (Psa 119.12).
A life of genuine piety can be summarized as praising God and learning from God. These two things are mutually symbiotic—they thrive together and need each other. A famous example is Egyptian plover and crocodile. The bird loves to eat the crocodile’s little parasites and the crocodile appreciates this so much it will open its jaws and let the plover in to hunt. The croc-dwelling bird enjoys a safe place as few of its predators would dare approach this fierce perch. So the bird and crocodile live happily together, mutually advantaged and dependent.1
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