“I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.” (Psalms 119:15)
In this psalm, the psalmist who is thought to be David, praises how on one hand the righteous are kept and blessed and on the other prays to be kept righteous and blessed in God’s goodness. In this verse, he makes a declaration and an affirmation that his thoughts will be on the Lord’s commandments and that he will regard with care the Lord's ways.
What he has declared to do is hard and takes constant effort. Our mind wanders and our thoughts wander to events and conversations of the day, the past week, past months or years. It’s always churning and sometimes will go to thoughts we don’t want which is the doing of the enemy. The enemy has the ability to influence our mind but does not have the ability to read our minds because he is not all-knowing, or omniscient. Only God knows the thoughts of our minds. “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.” (Psalms 94:11) Nothing is hidden from the Lord, not our thoughts of envy, greed and desire. All of our thoughts of anger and hatred is in plain sight to Him. Whether good or bad, our thoughts are exposed to the Lord.
Sometimes we’re not even aware where our thoughts are taking us. This is why Paul advises us to make a concentrated effort to direct our minds and tells on what to think. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8) One thing that will dispel a dark thought is to start thinking of a Scripture. The mind will quickly get on the right path. So, like David we can make a declaration to meditate on God’s commandments. When you realize your mind is taking you to a thought that would offend God, think on His commandments, a Scripture or like Paul, think on those things he suggests and reject anything that isn’t true, honest, just, pure lovely, a good report and anything in which there is no virtue nor praise.
David in this psalm also states that he will respect God’s ways. The word respect means to look intently, attentively, observantly and with care. This sets a standard way to look at God’s ways. God’s ways are not to be regarded flippantly as just impossible to follow, but as a goal. Yes, we are human. Yes, we are incapable of coming up to God’s standard on our own strength. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13) When we feel that we cannot obey God, we can ask Him for strength through Christ to do what we can’t in the natural. God’s standards cannot be reached in the natural. We need God’s supernatural strength to obey them. When we yield to God and surrender, He is there to pull us up. We have the Holy Spirit to help us change into the image of Christ. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Corintians 3:18) I love that this Scripture says from glory to glory. It’s step by step, each time getting closer to that standard. While we’re on this earth, we will always struggle with reaching that standard. But if we surrender to the strength of God, we’ll get closer. When we are face to face with Him, the things that we struggled with will stay on earth, the flesh, the world and the devil.
Bible teachers sometimes just make flat out statements that we accept. This is one instant. I’ve always been taught that when we die and come face to face with our Savior, we’ll instantly be made perfect into the image of Christ. I always imagined it some kind of miraculous transformation. That’s because we’re not taught that all of the righteousness, goodness and purity of Christ is already in us, in our born-again spirit man. What keeps us struggling to be like Christ is the flesh, the world and the enemy. They fight constantly in the soul area, the mind, will and emotions to sin. But when we leave this earth, those things stay here. Our spirit man is free of the sinful flesh, the world influence and the devil. We can be what we were born again to be.
Making that declaration like David did is the beginning of a new page. We’re letting the demons, and their cohorts know where we stand. We’re telling the whole spiritual world that we stand with God. In the spirit, I imagine angels rallying around to minister to us much like they did Jesus when He responded to the devil’s temptations in a similar way. “Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” (Matthew 4:11) Jesus defeated the temptations by declaring, “It is written...” (Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10) In the same manner, we can change our thoughts and conquer temptation, by declaring, “It is written...”
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