Category Archives: Obedience

Swearing Obedience (Psa 119.106)

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I have sworn, and I will perform it,
That I will keep thy righteous judgments (Psa 119.106).

Real, saving faith involves commitment to God, which arises from faith in his promises, is expressed in worship and adoration of him, and leads to obedience to his commands.1 Without such faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11.6). Without such fruits of faith, it is impossible to enjoy full assurance that we have eternal life (Heb 6.11; 1 John 2.3-5).

The psalmist’s holy example exudes profound commitment to God and therefore the reality of his faith. These words show that it is a good and righteous thing to swear obedience to God’s commandments. Notice their several leading thoughts.
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My Light for Living (Psa 119.105)

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Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
And a light unto my path (Psa 119.105).

David, the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Sam 23.1), continues his magnificent psalm of praise for the sacred Scriptures as the word of God. In this verse, he uses two metaphors. The original word order of this couplet stresses the words slightly differently:

A lamp to my feet is thy word,
And a light to my path.1
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Motivation for a Righteous Life (Psa 119.101-102)

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I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
That I might keep thy word.
I have not departed from thy judgments:
For thou hast taught me (Psa 119.101-102).

We may speak of human motivation in two senses, intrinsically and extrinsically. Everyone grants that what moves a man psychologically to behave in a certain way is his aim or purpose. Belief leads to action, whatever that belief may be. A biblical worldview adds to this truism the more profound teaching that distinct from every man is the God of providence, who most holily, wisely, and powerfully preserves and governs all his creatures and all their actions (Westminster Shorter Catechism #11). While God operates secretly in the hearts of all men without coercing them to act against their will (Prov 16.9; Jer 10.23), he is nevertheless not an intrinsic part of the human nature. The Bible teaches that he hardens the reprobate, while in the case of the godly, God works in them graciously, both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2.13).
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Safety in Obedience (Psa 119.87)

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They had almost consumed me upon earth;
But I forsook not thy precepts (Psa 119.87).

If Satan the roaring lion (1 Pet 5.8) cannot destroy you with violence, then as a cunning serpent he will deceive you with temptation (Gen 3.1 ff.). Your only hope of peace and safety is steadfastly to obey God’s law. Truly, there is more genuine and lasting danger in sin than in suffering. Christian martyrs are delivered from the devil once and for all, while the tried on earth remain vulnerable to at least a degree of apostasy through compromise, with its disastrous consequences. If you will keep to the straight and narrow way, though you must suffer persecution, you shall ultimately be saved.
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Christian Integrity and Honor (Psa 119.80)

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Let my heart be sound in thy statutes;
That I be not ashamed (Psa 119.80).

A recent study shows that compared to 1975, today’s high school seniors consistently think they are doing very well and have bright prospects for the future, while their actual performance on objective tests of academic achievement is considerably lower. They are proud failures! This is comparable to being high on drugs and feeling very artistic while you cannot draw a straight line.

I am afraid that this divorce between self-respect and performance has carried over into the spiritual realm, and things are perhaps even worse than before. “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (Prov 30.12). They think they are Christians but they are mistaken. They may even judge themselves to be quite committed Christians, but they have not understood the ABC’s of biblical spirituality.
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My Creator’s Wisdom (Psa 119.73)

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Thy hands have made me and fashioned me:
Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments (Psa 119.73).

Wisdom is our greatest need, and wise is the man who knows the spring of wisdom and how to tap into it. Wise men like the psalmist know this. “Wisdom must be from God, because it can be found only in relation to Him” (Edmund P. Clowney). “Wisdom and the will of God are intimately related . . . Nothing is more vital for practical knowledge of the purpose of God than wisdom” (Sinclair Ferguson). “If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge” (Vance Havner)1. Even as James wrote by the infallible Spirit, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas 1.5).
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The Heart of the Matter (Psa 119.70)

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Their heart is as fat as grease;
But I delight in thy law (Psa 119.70).

Sincerity is not everything, but everything else without sincerity is nothing. Sincere adherents to false religions are abominable to God, and their earnestness in opposition to Him and His truth only increases their guilt. Conversely, one may say and do all the right things externally—profess Christ, be baptized, adhere strongly to the most orthodox confession of faith, serve as a church officer and volunteer for scads of worthy causes—and yet fail of God’s approval.
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Aspiring to Goodness, (Psa 119:68)

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Thou art good, and doest good;
Teach me thy statutes (Psa 119.68).

From our youngest days, we were exhorted to “be good,” and if we wanted to please our parents, we were motivated at least to try. We discovered by experience that being good wasn’t easy, and some of us became frustrated. Then we rationalized that being good is for little kids. Teenagers typically want to be cool, independent, or rebellious—anything but good! And too many adults never return to their earlier aspirations for goodness.
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Prompt Obedience

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I made haste, and delayed not
To keep thy commandments (Psa 119.60).

“Obey right away.” This is a slogan which was drilled into the minds of the children of our household from their toddlerhood. True obedience is prompt obedience. Procrastination is “soft rebellion,” insubordination wearing a thin mask. It is saying “I won’t” even when the lips do not move. A great danger of it is that we may flatter ourselves into thinking we will obey eventually, even though, without realizing it, we have no serious intention of obedience whatsoever. Then, because we can convince ourselves that we are willing to be willing later instead of now, we think we are safe from God’s displeasure. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” intentions that are never carried out. “Not to decide is to decide” (Harvey Cox). “He that saith he will be good tomorrow, he saith he will be wicked today” (James Janeway).
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My Responsibility for Righteousness

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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 Judgment Day when they thought to have some positive reward; the spiritually-lazy may be shocked by their condemnation because they had wrongly believed Jesus forgives the sins of impenitents, that is, those who simply continue as they were without getting a new heart and practicing new obedience. Many of the sluggards are deluded into thinking that a momentary decision to accept Jesus is enough all by itself for deliverance from the wrath of God. It is not.
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