DAY 8.
We are making progress through the Psalm 119 and as we turn to vs. 57 – 64 the thought strikes me that David is going through the battle looking for respite than for the Lord in it.
Here is a situation similar to today where folk are looking for the benefits of grace with out changing their own life style or pattern of living.
They are wanting everything on a plate just as the children of Israel did when they entered the Promise Land under Joshua, the battle is the Lords but we are the troops in His army.
They were looking to the Lord to fight the battle for them without them driving the enemy out of the land, the truth and fact is God did His part and they did not and look at the mess they are in even today as a result.
The closing two chapters of Joshua give us a clear picture of this and the two sides of the same coin are seen, God did bot fail once but they soon slipped into failure leaving themselves open to constant attack.
If further proof were needed the book of Judges follows Joshua both in sequence and literally and we glean the massive problems they faced because they did not do their part of the covenant.
Now before we go any further we should look at the state of the Church today, a sad indictment on the glorious Church Christ is preparing for eternity.
All divided into little man made groups or tribes, all mixed up with human effort and attainment the mark of its growth and spiritually lethargic with no vision.
Human nature is dominating the affairs and the Holy Spirit left to work on those few section individuals who like David are ploughing on in the School of Faith.
This may seem tough and judgemental but it is the truth the Church Universal has become a church localised to our little group, without vision of the lost or sanctification a priority.
David encourages us to press onwards towards the Lord and to rejoice in the many promises laid out for us in our inheritance.
We begin here with the thought that the battle is raging around us and the truth of Gods presence is with us no matter how difficult the problems are that surround us.
The promise is clear 'I will never leave you or forsake you' so we look up into the face of our Commanding Officer this morning to gain comfort from this fact.
'Thou art my portion' pointing to God being our fixed task and that brings us into our inheritance, we are only claiming what He has promised to give to us.
We need to bask in the love, joy, peace' hope and salvation today because these are priceless gifts that He has poured upon us as His children.
The truth is that many of us have lost our first love the first desires for the Lord have been superseded by other things and the Christian pathway is strewn with boulders that look insurmountable.
The Christian discipline is biting hard and our time is getting limited by the strain of life and the study of Gods word is being pushed out to the end of the day.
Now we stop to take a look at ourselves today and we begin by renewing our love to the Lord 'Thou art my portion O Lord' He is not only our goal but the pathway there.
We are seeking to be drawn closer to our beloved Lord and one major part of it is to commune daily with Him so that He becomes our all in all.
'I entreat Thy favour' v 58 two words here the first is 'entreat' the idea is of coming into league with the Lord, to fall upon the Lord and enjoy His company continually.
The other word is 'favour' its meaning to look up into the Lords face and to see that He is kindly affectionate towards us, He is showing His tender mercy towards us.
Every child of God who walks along the pathway of righteousness and holiness will face loneliness because there are only a few that really desire to walk that way through life.
The fact is 'churches' are a cul de sac where folk meet to exchange views before returning back to their own haunts and pleasures.
The highway of holiness is the true road for us to walk on as v 59 reveals and Satan will battle long and hard to distract us of that road.
As we travel on the road or path of righteousness we are going to find changes that need to be made and as we read and study Gods word these will become apparent to us.
Soon we will recognise that the scriptures are being dropped by many a saint around us who want to stay in the valley rather than reach out for the peaks with the Lord.
David enjoyed walking on the Royal Route of holiness even though it means being on your own, but then the promise comes to us 'I will be with you wherever you go'.
We are never alone because our Saviour is right along side and other people get in the way so often that indiscipline He removes them from our situation so that we can enjoy His company.
Now discipline involves practical effort, 'I thought' v 59 and goes on with 'I turned my feet' the first is the teaching that is given cases us to ponder it through.
The other words point to the application of the word and these involve the promises that are revealed being worked out in us.
None of us 'that seek the Lord with all of our heart will be disappointed' or let down by Him and the more observant we become the more readily we will be ready for the changes that draw us closer to Him.
This also brings out the thought of v 60 'I make haste' we do not linger on the fringes of the spiritual life becoming neither hot or cold but we quickly move into the deeper things of God.
'I made haste' and only a fool would draw back from plunging into the waters of life at Gods command, it is there that we find the wonders of grace and love in immeasurable depths.
Ah few there are that take the plunge today rather sitting in the valley enjoying the views
not willing to get out and get walking on the narrow way that leads us to life eternal.
No they sit in their arm chair criticising the climbers telling them about their mistakes and failures and not realising they are robbing others at the same time.
The Christian can rob another of their inheritance by distracting them and drawing them away from the need of the quiet time that they do not want themselves.
The word 'bands' literally means 'company' and how often are we distracted from the Lord by the company that we keep in the day.
We cannot run away from the truth being revealed here, the company we keep will show where we are spiritually in our walk heavenwards.
If we keep the company of folk in the valley we will never know the wonders of the vision higher up on the slopes or stand on the mountain top ourself.
There is energy involved and many of us give in far to quickly because we have never learned the lesson of drawing from the divine supply of strength that is promised to the obedient believer.
'My strength is sufficient for thee' 2 Corinthians 12 v 9 says the Lord Jesus Himself and then 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' Philippians 4 v 13.
What weighty promises these are for us to grasp hold of and then to apply to our lives, precious promises to claim in the battle when things are rally tough.
Yes that includes the 'mid night' hours when we are bereft of sleep, comfort and rest we can turn our hearts and minds to the Lord and commune with the lover of our soul'.
Today we too are 'companions' with a large group of like minded folk who are longing for the Lord to do a new work amongst us that will release the many fellow Christians hung up on self motivation rather than letting go so that God can do in and through us what He wants to do.
A 'companion' is a fellow climber an associate who is longing for the same goal, climbing along the same route as we are with heaven our destination, we are connected through the Lord Jesus Christ.
We can gaze together at the Creator Lord and hold communion together with Him and those companions in His death and resurrection.
Together we can share the thins that the Lord has given to us from His word and the mighty promises that He wants us to lay hold of as we journey together on the path of righteousness.
