Psalm 119:113

I am now ready to take in hand the next octave of Psalm 119 entitled Samech.  From the pronunciation guide in my Bible, sa would be pronounced the way we Midwesterners pronounce saw and mech would be pronounced like meck.  This is not likely the exact pronunciation, but it’s close.  Now you probably do not know anyone by the name of Mech.  I do not think there are many Mechs around.  But if you do know someone named Mech, you can say when you see him or her that you samech.  Now let’s consider today’s verse.  

Psalms 119:113  ¶SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

Today’s verse at the beginning of this octave follows logically upon the last verse of the preceding octave.  In that verse the psalmist stated that he had inclined his heart to perform the Lord’s statutes alway.  With an inclination like that, it follows that the psalmist would hate any thought that would interfere with his objective to perform God’s statutes. 

Now just what is a vain thought?

Vain – Devoid of real value, worth, or significance; idle, unprofitable, useless, worthless; of no effect, force, or power; fruitless, futile, unavailing.

A vain thought is an unprofitable, useless thought.  It does you no good to think it.  Note in today’s verse that vain thoughts are contrasted with the law of God.  So any thought that opposes God’s law and distracts us from our duty as defined by God’s law is a vain thought.  This would, of course, include any thought of sin, since "sin is the transgression of the law" (1John 3:4).  Sinful thoughts are certainly unprofitable.  But any thought that distracts you from what you should be thinking at a given time is a vain thought, even if it is not a thought of something in itself sinful.  For example, when you are praying to God, reading His word, hearing His word preached, or partaking of the Lord’s Supper, or when you need to be focused on your job or on the needs of your family, you should not be thinking about the exciting football game you saw last weekend, or the exchange of texts with a friend, or the ill-matched colours of someone's outfit.  Such thoughts at such times are drawing you away from your duty to God’s law.  They are so many vain thoughts in that they do not help you to achieve what you should be achieving at the time. 

And then consider the myriads of imaginations that dance around in our heads that are nothing but so many vain thoughts.  We sometimes imagine tragedies that have not and may never occur.  We imagine people saying or doing hurtful things to us that they have not done.  But, oh, don’t we love to think of ourselves as the victim of the injustice of others!  Such thoughts carry us to a moral high ground over others causing us to feel superior.  We fancy great things for ourselves.  How easily our vain imaginations can transport us from a cubical at work to the oval office of the White House.  We imagine ourselves performing heroic feats that draw the admiration of our fellows.  We sometimes do this to such an extent that we would be painfully embarrassed if others knew what we had been thinking.  Speaking of this, John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, wrote:

“Nor does my fancy confine itself within the narrow limits of probabilities; it can busy itself as eagerly in ranging after chimeras and impossibilities and engage my attention to the ideal pursuit of things which are never likely to happen.  In these respects my imagination travels with wings; so that if the wilderness, the multiplicity, the variety of the phantoms which pass through my mind in the space of a winter’s day were known to my fellow creatures, they would probably deem me, as I am so often ready to deem myself, but a more sober and harmless kind of lunatic.”

Oh, can I ever relate to that!  There is not a sinner on this earth who is not guilty of vain thoughts.  This is true of the most educated minds.  In fact, it is especially true of the most educated minds.

1 Corinthians 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

20  And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

So much that is taught in institutions of higher learning is only so much vanity that one must renounce if one is ever to know the wisdom of God.  Consider the theories of evolution, scientism, socialism, atheism, relativism, or existentialism, to name a few, that are poured into the minds of idealistic youth in colleges and universities thus filling their heads with so many vain thoughts.  Add to this the plethora of doctrinal errors propounded in various religious schools and seminaries.  And then consider all the vanity that daily bombards our minds from the various media outlets that we are continually exposed to, or worse, that we expose ourselves to.  No wonder we have such a battle with vain thoughts.  The wonder is that we have any profitable thoughts.

It is an evidence of man’s depravity that he loves vain thoughts and hates the law of God.  It says a lot about the corruption of our culture that Hollywood has thrived even though Hollywood is an abounding source of vain thoughts.  But people support Hollywood with hours and hours of their time and millions upon millions of their dollars.  Why?  Because they love vain thoughts!  Nowadays the best of films are laced with filth to corrupt our thinking.  And add to this all the sheer non-sense that passes for entertainment.

Now if my pointing out all these examples of vain thoughts is stirring hatred within you for such thoughts, then that is a good sign.  It is the work of God’s saving grace to reverse the trend of our depraved, fallen nature.  Charles Gurnall wrote:  “The work of Divine grace is to restore the disordered affections to their proper centre, and to bestow them on their right object; ─ hating vain thoughts, and loving the law of God.”  How a man reacts to vain thoughts says a lot about his character, whether he loves and indulges them or whether he hates and resists them.    

Now the psalmist does not say that he had no vain thoughts.  He had his share of them as do we all.  But he did not love those thoughts.  Vain thoughts may have entered into his mind, but they were neither welcomed nor allowed to stay there.  This brings to mind the following verse:

Jeremiah 4:14  O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

We cannot always prevent vain thoughts from passing through our minds.  But we can prevent them from lodging there.  The psalmist mounted a resistance against vain thoughts because they were contrary to what he loved most and that was God’s law.  And so must we do.  If we truly want to clean up our act, we need to wash our heart, that is, our thoughts from wickedness since actions take their rise from thoughts.  Instead of allowing vain thoughts to set up housekeeping in our heads, we would do well to heed Paul’s instruction:

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Thoughts of “these things” that Paul listed are profitable thoughts.  They are thoughts that perfectly align with God’ law, which we should love supremely.  The more we cultivate our love of God’s law, the more our hatred of vain thoughts will increase and the more we will resist them.  And bless God for the promise of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ when the day shall dawn and the day star shall arise in our hearts (2Peter 1:19), for then vain thoughts shall be forever banished from our minds and every thought be pure.  “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).   

Psalm 119:112

Today’s verse brings us to the end of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Nun. 

Psalms 119:112  I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.

We defined this word incline when we dealt with verse 36, but that was a long time ago.  So let’s define it again.

Incline – To bend (the mind, heart, will, etc.) towards some course or action; to give a mental leaning or tendency to (a person); to dispose.

The heart is the apparatus of thought, intent (will), and desire (Hebrews 4:11; Psalms 37:4).  Therefore, to incline the heart to something is to bend the thoughts, desires, and will toward that something so that you think about it, want it, and choose it.

In our modern culture we often encounter the idea that people should incline their ways to their heart.  “Follow you heart,” we hear.  But the Biblical instruction is the very opposite.  We should rather incline our hearts to the way we should go.  Instead of letting your heart guide you, you should rather follow the advice of Solomon and “guide thine heart in the way” (Proverbs 23:19). 

As a result of the fall of man into sin, man’s heart has an aversion to God’s statutes so that he cannot incline his heart and mind toward them.

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Romans 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Before a man will incline his heart to perform God’s statutes, the Lord must give him a new heart so that he possesses the ability to bend his thoughts, desires, and intents toward doing what the Lord commands.

Ezekiel 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

20  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Philippians 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Being given a new heart, a man can now, with God’s continued assistance, incline his thoughts, desires, and intentions to perform God’s statutes.  But notice the qualification that I have just stated:  he can do this with God’s continued assistance.  Without continual supplies of grace, even the new heart is unable to surmount the opposition mounted by the world, the flesh, and the devil against one’s duty to God. Our brains, which are a part of our flesh, are programmed by the fall and by years of sinful practice toward breaking God’s statutes.  Our Christian duty consists in overcoming that inclination with the inclination of the new heart towards God’s law.  It is only “through the Spirit” that we can “mortify the deeds of the body” and obey the truth (Romans 8:13; 1Peter 1:22).  That is why we found the psalmist in verse 36 praying to the Lord:  “incline my heart unto thy testimonies.”  So must we be ever praying and seeking the help of the Holy Spirit if we are to maintain the right inclination. 

Now the psalmist resolved to perform God’s statutes alway, even unto the end.  He would obey his God every day in every situation to the end of his life or the end of the world, whichever came first.   I love Charles Spurgeon’s terse summation of this verse:  “He made it his end to keep the law unto the end, and that without end.”

And that brings us to the end of the octave Nun, pronounced like noon.  Now that Nun is past we will see what comes in the afternun, Lord willing.

Psalm 119:111

Today’s meditation turns a searchlight onto our heart and reveals how much we truly value the Scriptures.

Psalms 119:111  Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

Let’s begin by defining the word heritage.

Heritage – That which has been or may be inherited; any property, and esp. land, which devolves by right of inheritance.

Have you ever thought of your Bible as an inheritance?  Today’s verse is teaching us to do just that.  Although the Bible is everywhere available for anyone to read, it is especially the property of God’s chosen and professed people, which God has bequeathed to them.  Hence, it is theirs by inheritance.

Psalms 147:19  He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.

20  He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

Romans 3:1  What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

2  Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Of course, the psalmist was a professed Jew and a member of the church of the Old Testament, to which the testimonies of the Lord were committed.  The testimonies were, therefore, his heritage. The same can be said for those who comprise the church of the New Testament.

Ephesians 1:9  Having made known unto us (the saints, see verse 1) the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself….

Colossians 1:25  Whereof I (Paul) am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you (the saints, see verse 1), to fulfil the word of God;

26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

God gave the Old Testament to the predominantly Jewish church, called Jacob or Israel, and God has given the New Testament to the predominantly Gentile church, called the saints.  The church is represented as a woman in Revelation 12 and it is she and her seed that “have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” that is, they possess the Scriptures, which testify of Christ (Revelation 12:17 with John 5:39).  So if you are a baptized believer in a New Testament church, the Bible is your inheritance.  It is specifically written to you.  This is evident from the fact of how much of the New Testament is specifically addressed to local churches, their members, or their officers. 

But if you are to enjoy your inheritance, you must do as the psalmist did, you must take it unto you.  If someone left you an inheritance of one million dollars, how quick would you be to take it unto you?  Well, here is an inheritance of far greater value.  Why then do you just let it sit on a table or a shelf without taking it unto you?  Could it be that, truth known, you do not value it as much as you do money?  Perhaps you and the psalmist do not share the same values.  Said he:

Psalms 119:72  The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Now the next part of today’s verse explains why the psalmist took God’s testimonies for his heritage:  for they are the rejoicing of my heart.  When your heart finds joy in something, then you are moved to take that something that you enjoy for your possession.  We want to own and take unto ourselves what we most enjoy.  This principle drives markets in the economy.  If you enjoy something, then you are far more likely to spend your time and money acquiring it.  So if you are not taking the Bible for your heritage, it is probably owing to the fact that you don’t find much joy in it.  Therefore, you neglect this wonderful inheritance.  Now that is a sad and sorry state of affairs!

Lastly, observe that the psalmist said that he had taken the Lord’s testimonies as an heritage for ever.  He held tightly to his Bible and would not be parted from it.  It was his by inheritance and he aimed to keep that inheritance.  Furthermore, the Scriptures are the Lord’s testimonies.  That is, they testify of Him, Who is an infinite, inexhaustible Being.  This explains why one can spend a lifetime studying the Bible and yet only scratch the surface of all there is to know in that Volume.  It will take us an eternity to explore “the depth of the riches” of the God and Saviour revealed in the pages of the Scriptures (Romans 11:33).  That is why the psalmist could say that he had taken God’s testimonies as an heritage for ever.  This is something you can inherit that will never pass away.

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Matthew 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Psalm 119:110

Today’s meditation from Psalm 119 follows closely upon the meditation of verse 109 that precedes it.  Both verses deal with the themes of danger and duty.  In the preceding verse we saw that the psalmist was in continual danger of losing his life.  A major reason for this danger is stated in the verse we take up today.

Psalms 119:110  The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.

David had many snares laid for him as we note from his pen in these two passages:

Psalms 38:12  They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

Psalms 140:4  Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

5  The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

These snares set David to calling upon the Lord for help.  

As we think of the wicked laying a snare for us, let us not forget the devil, called by our Lord “the wicked one” (Matthew 13:19).  Satan is ever laying snares to entrap men in error and sin. 

When this verse is compared with the preceding one, we can say that since our soul is continually in our hand, the wicked are continually laying snares for us.  In his book The Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon cited the following poem by Quarels.  It demonstrates how we encounter snares everywhere.

“The close pursuers’ busy hands do plant

Snares in thy substance; snares attend thy wants;

Snares in thy credit; snares in thy disgrace;

Snares in thy high estate; snares in thy base;

Snares tuck thy bed; and snares surround thy board;

Snares watch thy thoughts; and snares attack thy word;

Snares in thy quiet; snares in thy commotion;

Snares in thy diet; snares in thy devotion;

Snares lurk in thy resolves; snares in thy doubt;

Snares lie within thy heart, and snares without;

Snares are above thy head, and snares beneath;

Snares in thy sickness; snares are in thy death.”

That poem quite describes my daily life.  How about yours?  Girolamo Savanarola also vividly depicts the snares the wicked everywhere lay for us.

“In eating, he (the wicked) sets before us gluttony; in love he impels to lust; in labour, sluggishness; in conversing, envy; in governing, covetousness; in correcting, anger; in honour, pride; in the heart, he sets evil thoughts; in the mouth, evil words; in actions, evil works; when awake, he move us to evil actions; when asleep, to filthy dreams.”

Now that says it, doesn’t it?  Snares!  Snares!  Everywhere a snare!  And since the wicked are continually setting traps for us, we need to be ever watching lest we be ensnared. 

Matthew 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

But even though the wicked were laying snares for the psalmist, he could state:  yet I erred not from thy precepts.  Again we encounter that conjunctive adverb yet joining the two clauses of this sentence (refer to the preceding meditation for the definition of yet). The psalmist had so much danger to contend with. However, contrary to what you might expect, he did not let that distress take his focus off of God’s precepts.  His safety and his deliverance lay in the fact that he kept to God’s precepts and did not stray from them.  If he walked according to God’s precepts, he would walk safe from many snares that he might otherwise stumble into.

Proverbs 3:21  My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22  So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

23  Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

Proverbs 13:14  The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

But if he stumbled into one of the traps the wicked laid for him, he would be able to recover himself from that snare by repenting and turning again to God’s precepts.

2 Timothy 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth (the Lord’s precepts);

26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

May the good Lord keep us safe from every snare.

Psalm 119:109

In today’s meditation we find two outstanding themes that recur throughout this Psalm 119, those being danger and duty.  Although the psalmist often found himself in danger, he remained constant in his duty.  And that is what it means to be “a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2Timothy 2:3).

Psalms 119:109  My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.

To have one’s soul or life in one’s hand is to be in danger of losing it.  When Jephthah passed over against the children of Ammon and thereby risked losing his life, he described his plucky action as putting his life in his hands.

Judges 12:3  And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

Or when David, but a youth, risked his life to defy the giant Goliath, it was said of him:

1 Samuel 19:5  For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel….

This makes sense when you think about it.  If you have something in your hand, you run the risk of dropping it, losing it, or having it snatched from you.  Such is the case when your soul is in your hand.  If your soul is lost or snatched from you, you lose your life since the body without the soul is dead.  And that the psalmist’s soul was continually in his hand means that he was in continual jeopardy of losing his life. 

Although the psalmist was in danger of losing his life, he was in no danger of losing his faith as he held that fast in his heart and mind:  yet do I not forget thy law.  Now this word yet introduces an interesting element in the sentence.  It is a conjunction joining the two main clauses of the sentence together and is defined as follows:

Yet – Introducing an additional fact or circumstance which is adverse to, or the contrary of what would naturally be expected from, that just mentioned:  In spite of that, for all that, nevertheless, notwithstanding.

What is stated in the second clause is contrary to what you would expect from what was stated in the first clause.  Imagine the stress of living with such a constant threat of losing your life.  You would think the psalmist would be scarcely able to think of anything else other than fending for his safety.  But although this is what you might expect, yet the psalmist had God’s law in his thoughts.  How this should remind us of our Lord Jesus Christ Whose life was threatened from His infancy until He was finally killed on Calvary.  Nevertheless, though His life was continually in His hand, He always had the law of His Father uppermost in His mind.  This is readily apparent from His words as He was ever speaking of the Scriptures.  Even on His cross as His life was being drained from Him, He said things for the express purpose of fulfilling the Scriptures. 

John 19:28  After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

He never forgot God’s law.

I close with Charles Spurgeon’s beautiful comments on this verse:

“They say that all things are fair in love and war; but the holy man thought not so:  while he carried his life in his hand, he also carried the law in his heart.  No danger of body should make us endanger our souls by forgetting what is right.  Trouble makes many a man forget his duty, and it would have had the same effect upon the Psalmist if he had not obtained quickening (verse 107) and teaching (verse 108).  In his memory of the Lord’s law lay his safety; he was certain not to be forgotten of God, for God was not forgotten of him.  It is a special proof of grace when nothing can drive truth out of our thoughts, or holiness out of our lives.  If we remember the law even when death stares us in the face, we may be well assured that the Lord is remembering us.”