Psalms 119:31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
Let’s begin by looking at the meaning of the verb phrase stick to.
Stick to - To give one’s adhesion to (a doctrine, cause, etc.). To adhere, keep or hold to (an argument, demand, resolve, opinion, bargain, covenant, and the like); to refuse to renounce or abandon; to persist in. To refuse to be enticed, led or turned from; to attend unremittingly to (an occupation, course of action, work, etc.).
In the previous verse the psalmist expressed to God that he had chosen the way of truth. In the verse we consider today, the psalmist tells the Lord that he has stuck to that choice. By sticking to God’s testimonies he was sticking to the way of truth since God’s testimonies are the way of truth. The psalmist chose a course of action and adhered to it refusing to give it up. We call this stick-to-itiveness. Another word that describes this trait is the word stedfast.
Stedfast – Fixed or secure in position. Of persons: Unshaken, immovable in faith, resolution, friendship, etc. Also said of belief, purpose, or affection.
The stedfast person sticks to his faith; he stands by his decisions and commitments.
Suffer me to express my personal opinion. I love people who decide to do something and stick to it. So many people flip from thing to thing never staying very long with anything. They become easily burned out and so move on to something else thus never really achieving any degree of excellence in anything. As the old saying goes: “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” To be sure, we all try something and discover that it is not for us. Or maybe we stay with something for awhile and then give it up because we realize it is no longer serving our purposes. Everybody does that, okay? But I am talking about people for whom jumping around and never settling down to one thing is a way of life, a defining trait of their character. This is not good! Wishy-washy, indecisive, back and forth, on and off just doesn’t cut it. For once, such people need to make up their mind and stick to it.
Now when it comes to our personal growth in our relationship with God, decisiveness and stedfastness are absolutely essential.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….
Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
The stedfast, unmoveable, stablished believer is the one who abounds in faith and in the work of the Lord. He is not stagnant. He is growing. In fact, in the following passage growth in grace is placed in contrast to falling from one’s own stedfastness.
2 Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
If you fall from your own stedfastness, you don’t grow.
You choose to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to commit your life to following Him by following His commandments. Then you stick to that choice and you do not let anyone or anything turn you from it. When you do that, you can say to God: I have stuck unto thy testimonies. And being genuinely able to say that, you can then make this request: O LORD, put me not to shame.
If the Lord abandons us, we will be put to shame.
Psalms 44:9 But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
10 Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
15 My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
16 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth….
Without God’s help, we will not grow in grace and knowledge of Him. Our ignorance will shame us when the enemy attacks us and we cannot defend our position. Without the strength of the Lord, Satan and our enemy lusts will overpower us and we will succumb to temptations to sin. When this happens, the enemy will reproach us and we will be ashamed. If the Lord is not with us to deliver us, we will be put to shame. Hence, this prayer is a prayer for deliverance.
Psalms 31:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
But if you are sticking to God’s testimonies, you can call upon the Lord to deliver you from being put to shame and He will answer your prayer. He will deliver you. He will strengthen you. And you will go on to know Him and serve Him more and more.
Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
1 comment:
Great point on how being steadfast results in growth (Col 2:5 and 2 Pe 3:17-18). Something that caught my mind was the contrast between steadfast and growth. Col 2:5 answered it with the word "rooted." When you are rooted, you have a major connection that is firm and not moving. Yet there is another part of yo the is vibrant, growing, changing and adapting.
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