Walk at liberty!
[Psalms 119:41-48]
Pastor Charles Spurgeon said of the highest form of liberty: “The highest for of liberty is always laboring to know the mind of God and to be conformed to it” (Spurgeon). How is this possible? First we must get to know God's heart. We must get to know God's heart through the word of God. In the midst of that, we must obey God's commandments. This is the life of supreme freedom. In other words, by getting to know God's heart through His word and obeying His word, we can enjoy the true freedom that God gives us.
This is what the psalmist said in Psalms 119:45 – “And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.” The psalmist said, “I will walk at liberty.” How could he say that he could walk at liberty? How can we walk at liberty? Psalms 119:41-48 teaches us at least two things:
First, in order for us to walk at liberty, we must seek the Lord’s precepts.
Look at Psalms 119:45 – “And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.” The psalmist sought the Lord's precepts. Here, “precepts” refer to directions, rules, or principle lessons that all people in the covenant society must obey. This means that we can enjoy true freedom as we seek and obey biblical principles. But I think the problem is to distinguish between biblical and non-biblical principles. Too many times it seems that we are confused between these two principles. I think one of the causes is the confusion that comes from our lack of learning the heart of God through His word. In other words, when we don’t learn the word of God well, we are confused biblical and non-biblical principles because our will is ahead of God's will. Therefore, in order for us to truly walk at liberty, we must know the heart of God through His word. And we must understand and obey God's will by knowing the heart of God.
Second, in order for us to walk at liberty, we must love the Lord’s commandments.
Look at Psalms 119:47-48: “I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love. And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes.” What does it mean to love the commandments of the Lord? There are four ways to think about it:
(1) It is to meditate on His commandments because we take delight in them.
Those who love the commandments of the Lord are delighted to meditate on His words. In a word, those who love His commandments take delight in meditating His words.
(2) It is to trust in His commandments.
Look at Psalms 119:42 – “So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.” If we love the commandments of the Lord, we trust them. Therefore, like the psalmist, we pray, “May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O LORD, Your salvation according to Your word” (v. 41). Like the psalmist, we trust in the word of the Lord's promises even before those who blaspheme (v. 39).
(3) It is to keep the word of truth at hand.
Look at Psalms 119:43 – “And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances.” The psalmist wanted the word of the Lord and wanted to keep it close to his mouth. In other words, he wanted his lips and heart to be controlled by His word. The heart that is governed by the word of truth is a free heart.
(4) It is to keep the Lord’s commandments continually.
Look at Psalms 119:44 – “So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever.” In order to walk the path of the Lord's commandments to the end (v. 33), we must always keep the Lord's law forever and ever (v. 44). To walk truly free is to walk the path of the Lord's commandments. Keeping those commandments and obeying them is the secret of walking at liberty. Those who love and obey His commandments are those who love the Lord (Jn. 14:21).
Jesus said in John 8:32 – “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” I hope and pray that we can walk at liberty through the truth and knowing God's heart and obeying His commandments according to His will.
Wanting to enjoy true freedom by obeying the word of truth,
James Kim
(A truly free man in the Lord)