I will run to Your words!
[Psalms 119:25-32]
A pastor visited the family of a believer. It seems to there is an indication of a person in the house, no matter how much he knocked, the door didn’t open. The pastor, who felt like the believer was ignore him, left with a note of Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” It was next Sunday. The believer who had been visited also handed a note to the pastor in the same way. The pastor, who looked at the note couldn’t stop laughing. There was a Bible verse Genesis 3:10 written on the note: “He said, ‘I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself’” (Internet). There is a lesson to learn from reading this illustration. It is nothing but application of the word of God. When I looked at an internet article, I saw a pastor saying that the biggest problem in the Korean church today is that the theory is abundant, but the application is weak. As I was reading the article saying that even though the Biblical knowledge is overflowing, each church is full of Bible study hours, and even if you go to a Christian bookstore, there are so many good Christian books, the problem is there is no power from heaven. As I was reading this, I was challenged that in order to experience power from heaven, we have to apply God’s word in our lives. Then what is application of His word? ‘If meditation is to hold on to His word and let it take root and influence deep in our minds and hearts, it is application that makes it appear concretely in our lives’ (Internet).
I want to apply the three lessons of Psalms 119:25-32 under the heading “I will run to Your words!” in our lives. I want to be challenged with two prayer topics and one dedication.
In running to the Lord's words, the first prayer topic is 'Make me understand Your words!'
Look at Psalms 119:27 – “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.” I thought about how I could describe this age. At that time, I remembered the words of Mark 4:12 – “… and ever hearing but never understanding; …..” Why is this age never understand? The reason is because this age draws close to evil. Look at Job 28:28 – “… Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.” If we apply this to us in more detail with the words of the apostle James, the reason why we Christians don’t understand the word of God is because we are stained with the world (Jam.1:27). The reason we don’t experience our righteous souls being tormented day after day even though we see and hear the worldly people’s lawless deeds (2 Pet. 2:8) is because we are stained with this world. In other words, because we have not been able to protect ourselves from being secularized, even if we listen to the word of God dozens, or even hundreds of times, we don’t understand. The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 44:18 why the Israelites didn’t understand: “They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.”
The psalmist in Psalms 119, who was living in a dark age, wanted to understand the way of the Lord's precepts (Ps. 119:27). When he was in a situation where he saw, heard, and felt the way of lawless deeds a lot (2 Pet. 2:8), he prayed to God and received a prayer answered (Ps .119:26). The psalmist received the prayer answered from God as a result of praying to God for his many difficult ways. Therefore, the psalmist said: “I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes” (v. 26). The psalmist, who wanted to understand the word of the Lord more and more through the answered prayers, wanted to understand the way of the Lord's precepts rather than walk the way of lawlessness in the world, and wanted to walk the way of the Lord. What was the reason? It was because he wanted to meditate on the Lord's wonders (v. 27). He wanted to understand the way of the Lord's precepts in order to meditate and appreciate the beauty of the Lord's words (“wonders”) (Park).
I desperately want this year to be a year in tasting (experiencing) the beauty of the word of the Lord. I hope and pray that this year be a year of seeing, listening, and meditating on the Word and enjoying the sweet taste of every verse of the Bible through the realization of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as the psalmist said in Psalm 119:103, I sincerely hope that there will be a confession among us: “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
In running to the Lord's words, the second prayer topic is, “Strengthen me according to Your word!”
Look at Psalms 119:28 – “My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.” In what circumstance was this second prayer of the psalmist offered? He prayed to God to strengthen him according to the word of the Lord when his soul was melting by pressure. This is when he was suffering from tribulation and hardship (Park), and when his soul was mourning for suffering (Calvin), he prayed that he would be strengthened according to His word. In other words, when the psalmist suffered from tribulation and hardship and his strength was poured out like water, he prayed for the weakened heart to be strengthened by the power of the Lord's word. The heaviness in the heart melts and wastes our hearts as if a candle melts and wastes. The repentant soul melts its heart with tears because of sin. But even these repentant souls can melt their hearts through tribulation. Then we feel like we want to pour out our hearts and cry out to God. The psalmist’s prayer situation is explained in verse 25a: “My soul cleaves to the dust; ….” This means that the psalmist prayed to God when hope was lost in his soul because of all the worthless things in this world. What did the psalmist pray for? He prayed, “Revive me according to Your word” (v. 25). What the prayer of the psalmist who knows the sweet taste of the Word? The psalmist who knew that all the world could give was the bitter taste, and he put hope in the word of God even when hope was lost in his soul due to the suffering of tribulation and hardship, and all the worthless things in this world. The reason is because he believed that only the word of God would revive and strengthen his weakened and lost soul.
I believe in the power of God's word. I believe that the word of God has the power to revive our stagnant and discouraged souls. The reason is because the word of God itself is living and active (Heb. 4:12). Even though we are exhausted while serving the church, which is the body of the Lord, we must hold onto the word of the Lord’s promise, ‘I will build my church’ (Mt. 16:18). And with the word of that promise, we must gain the strength of our hearts. With that promise, the Lord raises us up so that we can faithfully serve the church. We experience Proverbs 24:16 in our lives: “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again ….” I sincerely hope and pray that we will be built up more and more with the word of the Lord's promise. In this vain and meaningless world where everything is worthless, even though our hearts and souls are melted down like water through tribulation and suffering, let us only hope in the word of God's promise and experience its power when we are weakest. May the grace of God be among us.
One application in running toward the Lord's word is 'I will devote myself to the word of the Lord'.
How did the psalmist devote himself to His word? We can think of it in three ways.
(1) The psalmist chose the faithful way.
Look at Psalms 119:30 – “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me.” The psalmist didn’t choose the unfaithful way, even though many unfaithful ways were laid before him. So he prayed to God like this: “Remove the false way from me ….” What choices do we make? One of two: the way of truth or the way of lies. But the very sad reality is that too many of us are confused the way of truth with the way of lies. We regard lie as truth and choose to walk the way of lie, but we are mistaken for walking the way of truth. The word of God is clear. Furthermore, the reason why we choose the way of lies while discerning the way between truth and lies is because we have lost the ability to choose the way of truth. The psalmist, who realized the word of God and tasted its sweet taste, and who experienced the revival by the word, chose the way of truth. He made the truth the standard of his life (v. 30). Like the psalmist, we must choose the faithful way, the way of truth, and devoted to walking it.
(2) The psalmist clung to the Lord’s word.
Look at Psalms 119:31 – “I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame!” Why are we Christians being shamed by the world? The reason is because we don’t live according to His word. For example, we can choose the faithful way and walk on it. But since we walk on the fase way, we are ashamed (vv. 29-30). Likewise, when we don’t live a life of obeying His word, we are bound to be shamed by the people of the world. The psalmist, who clung to the Lord's words in order not to be ashamed, was firmly attached to His words (Park). In other words, he was faithful to God's word. Like the psalmist, when we cling to the word of the Lord, we can avoid lies.
(3) The psalmist devoted himself to run on the way of the Lord's commandments.
Look at Psalms 119:32 – “I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.” The psalmist chose the faithful way, not the false way, and was also clung to the word of the Lord. Therefore, he said that he would run on the way of the Lord's commandments because he was sure that the Lord would enlarge his heart. Here, the word ‘to run’ refers to ‘to make a straight line movement by focusing, but the movement is relatively quick and enthusiastic.’ Those who focus on His word and run toward it, the Lord will enlarge their hearts even further (eg. 1 Kgs. 4:29). Why was the psalmist able to run on the way of the Lord's commandments? The reason was because the Lord set his heart free (Ps. 119:32).
We must run the way of the word of the Lord. In order to do that, we must pray to God. We must ask God to make us understand His word. Also, we must ask God to strengthen us according to His word. As we pray, we must devote ourselves to the word of the Lord. We must devote ourselves in choosing the faithful way, striving to cling to His word. And we must run on the way of the Lord's commandments. May this prayer and devotion be for all of us.
Desire to run the way of the Lord’s commandments,
James Kim
(Devote to His word)