DAY 13.
The contrast between being a defeated person and a delighted one is brought out in v 97 with real power and authority today.
'O how I love Thy law' comes from a victorious life that has been rooted on Gods word that has brought him into living dynamic contact with the Creator God.
The trials and troubles have been multiplied but so has the promises of grace to him and so the do to all who seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The desire of the heart becomes the delight of the soul and that brings us to the determination to yield more and more to Gods word.
The desire to come to the Lord early in the day reveals the depth of love that we have with our Lord Jesus, do we come with eager anticipation of meeting with the Lord?
The delight is manifested amongst the saints as they share notes on what has been revealed to them in the quiet place by the Holy Spirit, do you share your delights?
The determination to follow the path of righteousness comes as we apply the word and ass we see it working out in the varied circumstances that we face day by day.
Ah the delight of sharing the word and receiving it first hand for application is never at the mercy of inquisitive arguers.
'I love the Lord' Psalm 116 v 1 'because He has heard my voice' He came to my distress and met my need, He flew to my relief when I was afflicted and comforted me.
He opens up the word to me and has bountifully blessed me as I read, study and meditate on it, truly 'Thy faithfulness is on all generations' v 90.
What a mighty God He is there is none like Him, majestic in holiness and yet condescends to stoop down to lift folk like me up and to cause us to walk in righteousness.
He who has established the earth comes to establish the Christian disciple causing it to stand firm in the midst of all their troubles.
What a tremendous thought comes through here, that the Creator is in control of the whole universe naming each star, planet and constellation and He stoops down in particular to planet earth.
On that little planet are multitudes of folk who are known specially by name by the same Creator as forgiven sinners who are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
He has brought them into a special relationship and is building them up into One Body that He will delight in on earth as He will in eternity.
The body of people has been growing ever since the The Lord Jesus died on Calvary and rose from the dead in Resurrection power, our heavenly Father is watching over them all.
We note the word 'continually' there is never a day, hour or even a second when He is not conscious of them all v 91.
Now we look up to our precious Saviour and to our Glorious Father to magnify and exalt them for who they are and then for what they have done for us personally.
The Creator has done what no one else could do for us He has recreated us in Christ Jesus His beloved Son who is our Saviour, made us anew, brought us back to live in holiness on the path of righteousness..
We turn out attention to a precious thought in v 92 the laws that the Creator is working with
these laws are divine and the construction of the Universe is divinely planned.
These laws operate without any human intervention or construction, the universe revolves around these fixed laws and we cannot change, alter or touch them.
The truth is we are living inside the boundary of those laws, we are very limited in what we can do and where we can go.
Our knowledge has expanded over the past decade of time beyond our understanding and reveals how little we really know about the vast creation that we are a minute part of.
Now the Creator has laid down laws by which we must accept if we are going to commune ans communicate with Him, 'be ye holy for I am holy' is number one.
Very quickly we realise what unholy people we really are, we are self sufficient in many ways but correcting ourselves from the unholy mess we get into is beyond us.
Then the Creator opens up His thoughts to us in the Holy Bible and as we cannot help ourselves He came down to help us to become holy people.
The Law of God negates self effort to live holy lives but it is positive in revealing the way out of our dilemma by showing us the higher way of living is possible when sin is repented of and forgiven.
We then move on from mere human thinking to live in Gods way and thinking, holiness is an obligation and not an option to those who would walk according to Gods law.
There is an amazing transformation taking place, where once the bible was dead to us it is now our delight, we enjoy communing with God through His word.
It is hard and tough in places but it is there that we see the hand of the Lord operating bringing us into the light and understanding of His ways.
We must make sure that it is not human wisdom that keeps us away from studying the word, we are such fickle creatures even when we have the Holy Spirit to aid us.
We should also make sure that it is not the enemy of our souls that is keeping us from receiving the benefits and blessings of Gods word.
He to is subtle in his operations and will do anything and everything possible to keep us from Gods word and applying it to our lives.
That word 'delight' comes nine times in the Psalm and five of them point us to the pleasure that the scriptures bring to us and to the rejoicing that is motivated through studying them.
The sheer joy of application and the guaranteed satisfaction as we practice them in daily operation fills the soul with delight and the mind with praise.
There was a hymn that we used to sing 'Oh the pure delight of a single hour when before the Throne we spend' that sentiment has gone out of our thinking today.
We do not like to bow before the Throne of Grace because we are taken up with singing and dancing on our feet, if it is not lively we get bored.
Satan is robbing the saints of their inheritance, he is filling the days and hours with activities that wear us out and giving us little opportunity to truly worship the Living God.
We note the 'perish' v 92 because it is very pertinent today, it means ready to pass away, it points to a flower or plant starved of water drooping before dying.
Many a Christian is seen in that perilous state running all over the place, worn out as a result having little or no time for the Lord and they are spiritually dying on their feet.
The obedient soul is like the tree planted by the water that will not wither but in the fullness of time will bring forth its bud then its leaf and finally its fruit, all quickened by the Spirit of God.
In the midst of winter the tree is established in the ground by storm, winds, snow and ice but come the spring and the plant begins to show life and growth, come the Autumn and it is abounding with fruit.
The picture is opened up to us to reveal the nature of spiritual growth, the trials and troubles we face are the winds and storms that make us strong in the faith.
The cold isolation felt amongst the worldlings and the frozen conversations in our midst are but the stuff that strengthens the resolute soul in their quest to become godly people.
Come the passing from the earthly scene and our entrance into eternity we will produce the fruit for our Fathers glory, that will bring honour, praise and glory to His name.
We return back to the picture of the 'fruit tree' and to the constant threat that the wicked have on us v 95 they are waiting all the day long hoping that we will fall.
Never forget this because the enemy of our souls is relishing the fall of any single Christian and will practically participate in their down fall when he is given an opportunity to do so.
They 'waited' the word can be used at harvest when the bundles of hay are twisted together so that the bundle may stand upright to dry completely.
The harvester ties the bundles with a piece of chord and that is a similar situation every day that Satan is seeking to tie us up so that we become ineffective for Christ.
The truth is the enemy is eagerly looking and waiting for the right moment to catch us of guard and then to tie us in knots with doubt and failure.
The way to counter these wiles of the enemy is to keep the lovers tryst with the Lord through His word, here is safety as well as succulent food for the observant disciple.
In v 96 we look at the word 'perfection' or completion, David is looking at the broad canvas here, he reminds him self of the limitations of human nature, we are very finite but God is Infinite.
David looks at the conquest over the enemy, Goliath the strongest, Asahel the swiftest, Ahithophel the wisest and Absalom the fairest but they do not come near the perfection that Gods word reveals.
David is going all out to become the best that He can for the Lord seeing that the Lord has certainly been the best for David.
