“THIS HAS BECOME MINE, BECAUSE I KEPT YOUR PRECEPTS” Psalm 119:49-56

Introduction Conventional wisdom suggest that God really does not do that much for us. We might agree when events happen to us. Even though we are told to put our trust in God and He will protect us. Now the world will provide us with what we consider worthwhile. Here and now, not wait until your life is over.

Psalm 119: ¶ Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. 50 ¶ This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. 51 ¶ The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law. 52 ¶ I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself. 53 ¶ Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. 54 ¶ Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. 55 ¶ I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. 56 This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

The Perspective Of David Though he made mistakes, David in general loved the law of God above all else and always sought to obey His will. Yet, he impresses us not as someone deprived, but as one whose life was greatly enriched as a result of his relationship with the Lord. It is this type of relationship that should be desirous for us to achieve. Notice some things which David realized.

A servant mentality David considered himself a servant of the Lord—to many this might seem like a curse instead of a blessing, but we need to understand that everyone is a servant to someone or something: Rom. 6:16-18 Those who live in sin are servants or slaves of Satan: Jn. 8:34, 2 Pet. 2:18-19 But Jesus offers us true freedom: Jn. 8:36. However, just as in our nation we can have real freedom only when we submit to the law, so can we have true freedom in Christ only when we submit ourselves to His law as His servants: 1 Cor. 9:19-23

Hope David understood that his hope was based upon a knowledge of God’s word, and the same thing is true for us: Col. 1:3-5 However, the people in this unbelieving world live and die without this wonderful hope: Eph. 2:11- 12, 1 Thess. 4:13 While our hope involves something in the future, it has present benefits because it gives us the strength to persevere or endure whatever trials and tribulations come our way in life and thus provides stability: Rom. 8:18, 24-25; Heb. 6:17-20

Comfort The Biblical idea of comfort is support and encouragement as well as consolation; the people of this world try to find comfort in money, power, pleasure, fame, immorality, alcohol, drugs, and other such things, yet none of them really satisfy, so where can we find true comfort? Rom. 15:4 When we face the deepest sorrows of life, this world has very little comfort to offer, but Christians can find comfort: 1 Thess. 4:14-18 Thus, whenever we need comfort, we’ll find that the only real source for it is God, and it comes through knowing Him, serving Him, and hoping in Him: 2 Cor. 1:3-7

Indignation The English Standard Version reads “Hot indignation”—the idea of a “heated” response to anything based on religious conviction seems distasteful to our “politically correct” age, but we must understand there are some things that God hates: Prov. 6:16-19, Rom. 1:18 Therefore, those who truly love and fear the Lord will also hate that which is evil: Ps. 97:10 & 119:104, Prov. 8:13 And the New Testament teaches Christians the same thing: Rom. 12:9. This “hot indignation” against wickedness is in fact a blessing, because if we don’t hate and oppose evil, then we’re just giving it more room to grow and flourish. While we must be careful never to let our indignation lead us into sinful actions, we must love God’s truth enough to defend it and stand against anything which opposes it.

Joy Our songs are an expression of our joy: Jas. 5:13 Thus, our blessings which come from serving God will give us something to sing about, and in turn this joy will provide spiritual strength: Neh. 8:9- 10 More than mere “happiness” of the world that depends on outward circumstances, this joy is an inner disposition resulting from having a right relationship with our Creator that sustains us even in the midst of suffering and trials: Phil. 4:4

God’s name The idea of one’s “name” is more than just the title by which he’s known, but represents who and what he is: Prov. 22:1 Thus, remembering God’s name is more than just superstitiously chanting the name of God like some kind of mantra—it’s accepting and following everything His name stands for: 2 Chron. 7:14 Therefore, having God’s name, which is the result of doing His will, is an important blessing because it identifies us with Him: Rev. 3:12

Conclusion Remember that David said, “This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts.” And these same blessings can be ours if we keep God’s precepts given to us through the revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ. We must realize we have more blessings than we can count when we are faithful. Are you faithful?