Psalm 119:108

We continue working our way through the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Nun.   

Psalms 119:108  Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.

Commenting on this verse Matthew Henry pointed out that we are here taught to pray for two things “in reference to our religious performances,” those two things being the acceptance of them and assistance in them.

The psalmist besought God to accept the freewill offerings of his mouth.  These were not offerings of his herd, or flock, or purse.  They were offerings of his mouth.  This refers to the praise and thanksgiving that we offer to God with our mouth.

Psalms 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High….

Hebrews 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Hosea describes this as rendering “the calves of our lips,” instead of the calves of the stall (Hosea 14:2).  And this kind of sacrifice is more pleasing to God than any sacrifice of beasts such as the Jews brought in the Old Testament.

Psalms 69:30  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

31  This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

But note that these are freewill offerings.  Let’s define freewill.

Freewill – Spontaneous will, unconstrained choice (to do or act).

A freewill offering is an offering that one chooses to make simply because he wants to do it, not because he has to do it.  Do you praise and thank God because you know you should or because you want to?  Is your praise constrained or freely offered?  We find far more joy in those things we do willingly than in those we do by necessity.

1 Chronicles 29:9  Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

And such offerings delight the Lord as well.

2 Corinthians 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

As the psalmist brought his offerings of praise to God, he besought the Lord to accept them:  Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth.

Beseech – To beg earnestly for, entreat (a thing).

He literally begged God to accept his praise.  When we think of begging, we tend to think of one begging another to give him something.  But in this case, the psalmist was not begging to be given to, but rather he was begging to give.  Now that says a lot about how earnest the psalmist was in worshipping the Lord.

He also begged the Lord:  teach me thy judgments.  He not only prayed that the Lord would accept his worship, but he also prayed that the Lord would teach him so that he might perfect his worship.  In order for our worship to be acceptable to the Lord, it must be in accord with the instructions of His word.

Psalms 119:7  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 

The more of God’s judgments we know and keep, the more acceptable praise we can offer to Him.  On the other hand, you may be sure that all the singing and shouting of praise and thanksgiving heard in churches that are governed by the tradition of men rather than the commandments of God, are vain lip service that God utterly rejects, no matter how freely it is offered.

Matthew 15:7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Let us join in prayer with the psalmist beseeching God for His acceptance and assistance so that such may never be spoken of our worship.