Delighting in God’s Word (Part 4): Yearning of a Penitent Heart

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Psalm 119:17

Deal generously with your servant
so that I might live;
then I will keep your word.

(CSB)

In a tragic love story, we see a man and woman in love.  They are living the good life with everything they needed provided.  Their only restriction is a dietary one that forbids them from eating of one particular item growing in their garden. What makes this story a tragedy is that the couple could not even obey this one simple restriction placed upon them.  If this story sounds familiar it is for it is the story of Adam and Eve and their fall found in Genesis 1-3. 

Sin is the source of all the evil in the world and as such something we must teach about if we are to get to the root cause of the problems in the world and our lives.  However, preaching on sin is sadly missing from many pulpits today and replaced with a preaching of corporate grace.  (1)  This preaching of corporate grace is a politically correct message aimed at making the congregation feel good and not offend anyone.  This watered down message is not why Jesus came for Jesus Himself stated he did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:32-39). 

Christians across the world serve Christ at the risk of losing their lives.  They are not willing to risk their lives for some watered down feel good message but for a life changing message with the reward of eternal life with God (2 Corinthians 5:8).  While many reading this in nations like the United States have the freedom to worship God without the threat of death, they must worship with the same resolve as those that do for as history has demonstrated, freedoms can vanish. 

The psalmist of Psalm 119:25-32 begins with an expression of heaviness of soul due to bondage to earthly things.  As we read these verses we see an emotional plea from a man broken with the realization of his sin reaching out to God for forgiveness.  (2)  When the pulpit does not preach on sin, it does not teach the need to reach out to a loving God who instead of choosing judgment of humanity for sin, chose grace and the life of His Only Son whose shed blood provides forgiveness from sin.  The penitent heart of the psalmist teaches us

1)      God’s Word brings life (Psalm 119:25) – The Apostle Paul refers to the Bible as the word of life (Philippians 2:16).  This is the opposite of sin which results in death (Romans 6:23).  Without knowledge of sin and its resulting death why would one have a desire for the life-giving Word of God.  We cannot have one without the other.

2)      All the answers to what is happening in our lives are in the Word of God (Psalm 119:26-27) – Everyone faces challenges in their life and often struggle to find answers.  The psalmist speaks of telling the Lord about his life and receiving an answer through the Word of God.  He then asks God for greater understanding of His Word.  May we too learn to seek Godly counsel and the Word of God for answers to what is happening in our lives.

3)      God’s Word provides strength (Psalm 119:28) – The grief of life has a way of making us tired.  During these times people often fall into deep depression or even turn to self-medication for relief.  The psalmist, however, speaks of finding his strength in the Word of God.  When weary from grief, may we learn to find our strength in the Word of God. 

4)      God’s Word keeps us from deceit and leads us into truth (Psalm 119:29-30) – It was deceit that led to the fall of humanity into sin (Genesis 3:1-7).  The psalmist reminds us that the only way to avoid the deceit of the devil and remain on the way of truth is through study of Scripture.  May we avoid deceit by dedicating ourselves to the study of the truth of the Word of God.

5)      To dedicate ourselves to clinging to and pursuit of God’s truth (Psalm 119:31-32) – Dedication to the Word of God involves both a dedication to search and study scriptures but also a commitment to obediently obey what It says.

Obedience to the Word of God begins with acceptance of Jesus as Savior in our lives.  If you have not already done so, I invite you to pray with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

The shed blood of Jesus Christ has now paid in full the penalty for your sin.  Now share this good news with someone.  A good place to start is by commenting on this post.

May God bless everyone reading this.

1. Haloran, Kevin. 5 Reasons Preachers Avoid Sermons on Hell. www.thegospelcoalition.org. [Online] The Gospel Coalition, November 5, 2015. [Cited: February 4, 2018.] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-reasons-preachers-avoid-sermons-on-hell/.

2. Spurgeon, Charles. Exposition of Psalm 119:25-32. eternallifeministries.org. [Online] Eternal Life Ministries. [Cited: February 4, 2018.] https://www.eternallifeministries.org/psalm119d.htm.