O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
It is an earnest prayer and longing for one's ways and conduct to be directed by God so as to keep His statutes. It stands within the blessedness of the undefiled who walk in His law, keep His testimonies, seek Him with the whole heart, do no wrong, keep His precepts diligently, and learn His righteous judgments. It means turning from human ways to walk in God's ways with the whole heart, becoming established and made firm in obedience to His law. Obedience therefore calls for God's guidance and reveals a consecrated heart and mind, the spirit of a truly obedient child to whom His commandments are a delight, in contrast to bitterness against His law. When answered with respect to all His commandments, it brings freedom from shame and honor instead, and learning His righteous judgments leads to praising Him with an upright heart. Knowing His Word awakens this longing, for it exalts His law to guide and rule life and sets forth principles that distinguish right from wrong, and the prayer is to be offered continually by His servants, adopted by His commandment-keeping people, and taught to children and youth.
Prayer for Directed Obedience
The cry is an earnest prayer and longing for personal ways, life and conduct to be directed so as to keep God's statutes. It is a prayer to have the life directed to that end, expressing a spirit that desires to heed the way of the Lord. Its setting is the blessedness of the undefiled who walk in the law of the Lord, keep His testimonies, seek Him with the whole heart, do no iniquity, keep His precepts diligently, and learn His righteous judgments. That desire is bound up with diligent obedience, wholehearted seeking of God, walking in His ways, and learning His righteous judgments.
The prayer means turning from human ways to walk in God's ways with the whole heart, doing no iniquity. Knowing God's Word produces this longing for life to be made firm and established in keeping His statutes and in obedience to His law and testimonies, because God has commanded His precepts to be kept diligently. Obedience to God's law thus calls for God's guidance. It reveals consecration to God of heart and mind, the consecration asked for, and shows the heart of the obedient child to whom the commandments are a delight.
It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart. This stands in contrast to pouring out bitterness against the law of God and following the leadership that brought sin into the world. The prayer belongs to the song of a faithful people whose love and loyalty to God's law grow stronger when the law is despised, and keeping God's commandments is part of their faithful witness.
Blessing, Instruction, and Witness
When the longing to have personal conduct directed to keep the statutes is answered, and there is respect to all the commandments through obedience kept diligently with the whole heart and doing no iniquity, there is freedom from shame. That unashamed honoring of the commandments brings honor instead of shame, and those who are established firm in obedience honor the divine name by their obedience. Learning the righteous judgments leads to praise of God with an upright heart.
Knowing the Word produces this longing for life to be made firm in keeping the statutes. The psalm exalts the law to guide and rule life, and studying the Word sets forth principles of righteousness that clearly distinguish right from wrong and truth from error. Together with the first sixteen verses of the psalm, the longing is to be set before children as a precious lesson and jewel of truth from the treasure house, to enable them to grow up to trust and believe in God as their very best Friend. It is to be read with tender and softened hearts and committed to memory, forming the religious training of parents and children in the home that must be given time and put before temporal interests and economy.
The commandment-keeping people may adopt this prayer as they seek to obey the precepts diligently. It is a prayer for servants to offer continually, and for young men and women to study to encourage the desire and spirit to heed the way of the Lord. The psalm points out the sacredness of the law and is to be read with solemn earnestness to a large assembly as a testimony that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere to punish transgressors of His law.
It is an earnest prayer and longing for one's ways and conduct to be directed by God so as to keep His statutes.
It stands within the blessedness of the undefiled who walk in His law, keep His testimonies, seek Him with the whole heart, do no wrong, keep His precepts diligently, and learn His righteous judgments.
It means turning from human ways to walk in God's ways with the whole heart, becoming established and made firm in obedience to His law.
Obedience therefore calls for God's guidance and reveals a consecrated heart and mind, the spirit of a truly obedient child to whom His commandments are a delight, in contrast to bitterness against His law.
When answered with respect to all His commandments, it brings freedom from shame and honor instead, and learning His righteous judgments leads to praising Him with an upright heart.
Knowing His Word awakens this longing, for it exalts His law to guide and rule life and sets forth principles that distinguish right from wrong, and the prayer is to be offered continually by His servants, adopted by His commandment-keeping people, and taught to children and youth.
Prayer for Directed Obedience
The cry is an earnest prayer and longing for personal ways, life and conduct to be directed so as to keep God's statutes. It is a prayer to have the life directed to that end, expressing a spirit that desires to heed the way of the Lord. Its setting is the blessedness of the undefiled who walk in the law of the Lord, keep His testimonies, seek Him with the whole heart, do no iniquity, keep His precepts diligently, and learn His righteous judgments. That desire is bound up with diligent obedience, wholehearted seeking of God, walking in His ways, and learning His righteous judgments.
The prayer means turning from human ways to walk in God's ways with the whole heart, doing no iniquity. Knowing God's Word produces this longing for life to be made firm and established in keeping His statutes and in obedience to His law and testimonies, because God has commanded His precepts to be kept diligently. Obedience to God's law thus calls for God's guidance. It reveals consecration to God of heart and mind, the consecration asked for, and shows the heart of the obedient child to whom the commandments are a delight.
It is the language of every truly obedient and sanctified heart. This stands in contrast to pouring out bitterness against the law of God and following the leadership that brought sin into the world. The prayer belongs to the song of a faithful people whose love and loyalty to God's law grow stronger when the law is despised, and keeping God's commandments is part of their faithful witness.
Blessing, Instruction, and Witness
When the longing to have personal conduct directed to keep the statutes is answered, and there is respect to all the commandments through obedience kept diligently with the whole heart and doing no iniquity, there is freedom from shame. That unashamed honoring of the commandments brings honor instead of shame, and those who are established firm in obedience honor the divine name by their obedience. Learning the righteous judgments leads to praise of God with an upright heart.
Knowing the Word produces this longing for life to be made firm in keeping the statutes. The psalm exalts the law to guide and rule life, and studying the Word sets forth principles of righteousness that clearly distinguish right from wrong and truth from error. Together with the first sixteen verses of the psalm, the longing is to be set before children as a precious lesson and jewel of truth from the treasure house, to enable them to grow up to trust and believe in God as their very best Friend. It is to be read with tender and softened hearts and committed to memory, forming the religious training of parents and children in the home that must be given time and put before temporal interests and economy.
The commandment-keeping people may adopt this prayer as they seek to obey the precepts diligently. It is a prayer for servants to offer continually, and for young men and women to study to encourage the desire and spirit to heed the way of the Lord. The psalm points out the sacredness of the law and is to be read with solemn earnestness to a large assembly as a testimony that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly interfere to punish transgressors of His law.