After pointing out that God’s word is a “light” to his pathway, the psalmist speaks, in the 15th stanza of Psalms 119 (verses 113-120), of being devoted to God’s Word. Using several contrasts, he illustrates this devotion.
He begins by saying he hates “those who are doubled-minded.” The idea is of a person who is not totally, but only half-heartedly devoted, to God’s word. The psalmist on the other hand says he loves God’s law, it provides protection and a “hiding place.”
He wants the “evildoers” to depart from him so that he “may observe the commandments of [his] God.” He wants the word of God to “sustain” him so that he may live and have the hope God has promised.
There are those whom God has “rejected” because they have wandered from God’s “statutes” and their “deceitfulness” is falsehood. God has “removed all the wicked of the earth,” but [this poet] loves God’s “testimonies,” he “trembles for fear of [God] and [he is] afraid of [God’s] judgments.”
It seems this devotee desires two things. He does not want to associate with those who are not committed to God, but he personally wants to be connected to God.
Based upon the testimonies of God, he recognizes that God will not have anything to do with those who are not loyal to God’s message; the non-believers in God. Those who will not make a firm decision to be a follower of God.
This is not to say that God does not love these individuals, but rather to say that God will not be helping those who are not devoted to Him and His message. God is very patient with people, but His patience with doubters is limited; it will come to an end one day.
This stanza provides some encouragement to Christians. If we want to have God “sustain” us during hard times, we must be devoted to Him. If we want Him to “shield” us from the evils of life, we must be devoted to Him.
God wants total commitment from people. He is very patient while humanity is learning about Him and His expectations. A great example is God sending an overabundance of prophets to Israel. God sending His Son is the ultimate manifestation of His efforts to work with people.
As Christians, our desire must be that we are totally committed to the word of God. We are going to devote our lives to learning and observing God’s word.
Christians must not only place their hope in God’s word, but they must never be ashamed of God’s word. The world can see we are devoted to God’s word because we are living God’s way.
Carlton G. McPeak (carlton_mc@msn.com) is an evangelist working in the Florida Gateway region. Scriptural quotations from the NASB.