Psalm 119:5-8

Psalm 119:5-8

(5)  O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

Who else can direct our ways but God Himself? But God does not force His ways upon us. Instead, He extends to us the choice whether or not we will seek Him and His direction.

"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:6)

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." (Proverbs 16:6)

There seems to be a fine line between our hearts and our ways with the Lord's direction. If we never acknowledge Him and His ways, He will not direct us. So the question is: do I want God to direct me? If so, am I moldable to where He can direct me?

(5)  O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

(6)  Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

What does it mean to "have respect" to God's commandments? The Hebrew word nabat (5027) means, "to scan, i.e. look intently at; by implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care:" There is no shame for the believer who relies heavily on God's Word and finds It their source of pleasure.

Are we ashamed of God's Word? or are we ashamed because we've not been in God's Word?

"Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed." (Psalm 119:80)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Timothy 1:12)

(7)  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

The more we learn of God's righteous judgments, the more we will realize how we should praise Him. Take, for instance, the Psalms:

            - 132 verses mention "praise"

            - 19 verses "praises"

            - 6 verses "praised"

That is a total of 157 verses (188 individual times) that a form of "praise" is mentioned in the Psalms. If we poured over the Psalms alone, we would glean so many reasons to praise our Lord.

(8)  I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

We expect God to keep His promises ("O forsake me not utterly"), but do we intend to show effort on our part? If God's promises were based on how we performed, we would not be as richly blessed as we are daily. Are we willing to, in gratitude, keep God's statutes because He is faithful?

Just a few promises of God's faithfulness:

"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." (Psalm 9:10)

"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalm 37:25)

"For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." (Psalm 37:28)

"For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance." (Psalm 94:14)