Turn Your Feet!

 

 

 

 

[Psalm 119:57-64]

 

 

Adam Clark once said about the secret to a godly life: “Determination makes for a good beginning, prayer keeps piety going, and reflection corrects mistakes.” I believe this is a wise statement. Especially in a godly life, I think reflection is very important. To reflect on oneself in the spiritual mirror of God’s holy word, acknowledging and repenting of the sins that are revealed, and turning back is crucial in living a godly life. In the passage today, in Psalm 119:59, the psalmist says, “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to your testimonies.” Based on this verse, under the title “Turn Your Feet!”, I would like to learn two lessons on how we can turn our feet.

First, we must reflect on our actions.

Let’s look at the first part of Psalm 119:59: “I thought about my ways….” The psalmist reflected on his own actions. In this reflection, he presents a checklist with seven questions that we should ask ourselves to examine our lives:

  1. Are we keeping the Lord’s word? (v. 57) Are we being lazy in keeping it? (v. 60)

  2. Are we earnestly seeking the Lord’s grace? (v. 58)

  3. Are we living as if we have forgotten the Lord’s law? (v. 61)

  4. Are we living in thankfulness because of the Lord’s word? (v. 62)

  5. Are we fearing the Lord? (v. 63)

  6. Are we making those who obey the Lord’s commandments our friends? (v. 63)

  7. Are we filled with the Lord’s lovingkindness? (v. 64)

We need to ask ourselves these questions and examine our lives carefully. As we do this, we must humbly reflect before God. In other words, we need self-reflection in our self-examination.

Second, we must turn our feet with the Lord’s testimonies.

Let’s look at the second part of Psalm 119:59: “…I turned my feet to your testimonies.” After the psalmist made a decision before God to keep His word (v. 57), he earnestly sought the Lord’s grace (v. 58). Then, he immediately obeyed the Lord’s commandments without delay (v. 60). In other words, after deciding and praying, the psalmist took immediate action. Similarly, we must examine our actions carefully, and after deciding and praying, promptly obey God’s commandments. As we act swiftly to obey God's commandments, there will be temptations. But when temptations arise, we must not forget the Lord’s word (v. 61); instead, we should use it as an opportunity to deepen God’s word in our hearts. As we reflect on our day at night, we should give thanks (v. 62) and continue to learn the Lord’s word (v. 64). We must learn to fear the Lord and make those who obey His word our friends (v. 63).

 

 

 

Dedicated to diligently reflecting on his actions in the light of God's Word,

 

 

Pastor James Kim
(Hoping to be raised as one who decides and puts into action the Word learned)