Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.
--Psalm 119:37 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on July 7, 2013 of Psalm 119:33-40; Philippians 1:21-2:11; 1 Chronicles 7.
Today's focus verse comes from the fifth stanza of the 119th Psalm, the octet of verses associated with the Hebrew letter He. I'm not sure if there is any special significance to the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but our psalmist certainly devoted its stanza to express his wish to receive God's instructions. We can almost feel his longing to better know and follow God's law. "Teach me Your statutes", he implores of the Lord, "and I'll obey them to the end of my days." OK, so that's a bit of a paraphrase, but we can easily read our psalmist's nearly overwhelming desire to faithfully follow the Lord's commandments. He wants to observe them with all his heart, to walk through life in their path. He needs for God to know that he fears Him, respects Him, and that he considers God's judgments to be good. He longs to live in righteousness.
Mosaic Law began with the Ten Commandments God decreed man to live by. These were embellished a goodly amount by Moses in conversation with and as instructed by God while the children of Israel still sojourned through the wilderness. Many rituals were added, with specific offerings and sacrifices for all manner of sin. The book of the law quickly filled with do's and don't's. By the time Jesus arrived to walk the earth among us, the law under the Pharisees and Sadducees had become so convoluted and complex, no one could possibly keep it all to the letter. Not even the religious leaders of the day, who would change things as necessary to fit their own needs. The problem with the law is that it is based on doing things and not doing things, do this but don't do that. In other words, a person's salvation depended on their works according to the law. Jesus came to free us from all this, from the utter futility of trying to obtain salvation through adherence to the law, a feat not possible for mortal man. Jesus instead offers redemption and eternal life based solely on faith and belief in Him as the Son of God. We can never be saved by the works of our own hands, but only by the grace of our merciful God.
The psalmist does offer good advice, though, and advice we should heed. If Jesus is our only path to salvation, if only by our faith and belief in Him can we be redeemed, then we ought never take our eyes off Him and that ultimate goal. Nothing in this world should distract us from following our Christ. All the things of this world are worthless except for when we put them to use expanding God's kingdom. But the only thing that holds value for us where it really matters is Jesus. In Him we can be revived. Through Him we are saved. Amen.
Precious Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the sacrifice You made for us. Thank You for doing all the work for us because we could never possibly do enough to earn our way into paradise. Only by our Father's goodness and grace and Your intercession on our behalf are we given the great gift of salvation. Thank You, Savior. In Your most holy name, Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
Mosaic Law began with the Ten Commandments God decreed man to live by. These were embellished a goodly amount by Moses in conversation with and as instructed by God while the children of Israel still sojourned through the wilderness. Many rituals were added, with specific offerings and sacrifices for all manner of sin. The book of the law quickly filled with do's and don't's. By the time Jesus arrived to walk the earth among us, the law under the Pharisees and Sadducees had become so convoluted and complex, no one could possibly keep it all to the letter. Not even the religious leaders of the day, who would change things as necessary to fit their own needs. The problem with the law is that it is based on doing things and not doing things, do this but don't do that. In other words, a person's salvation depended on their works according to the law. Jesus came to free us from all this, from the utter futility of trying to obtain salvation through adherence to the law, a feat not possible for mortal man. Jesus instead offers redemption and eternal life based solely on faith and belief in Him as the Son of God. We can never be saved by the works of our own hands, but only by the grace of our merciful God.
The psalmist does offer good advice, though, and advice we should heed. If Jesus is our only path to salvation, if only by our faith and belief in Him can we be redeemed, then we ought never take our eyes off Him and that ultimate goal. Nothing in this world should distract us from following our Christ. All the things of this world are worthless except for when we put them to use expanding God's kingdom. But the only thing that holds value for us where it really matters is Jesus. In Him we can be revived. Through Him we are saved. Amen.
Precious Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the sacrifice You made for us. Thank You for doing all the work for us because we could never possibly do enough to earn our way into paradise. Only by our Father's goodness and grace and Your intercession on our behalf are we given the great gift of salvation. Thank You, Savior. In Your most holy name, Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment