Psalm 119:5, 6
When one is in a strange city and desires to find a certain building, or park, or any other point of unique interest, one does well to follow carefully the instructions given and the signs that mark the way.
And to enjoy true, lasting blessedness, we must follow God's law as the compass to bring us there. When God's testimonies tell us to go north, and we go east, west, or south instead, we will not reach that blessedness. It is for that reason that the psalmist in Psalm 119:5-6, cries out, "O that my ways were directed to keep His statutes. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments."
Here we find another word for God's law, namely, statutes. And statutes are things fixed or established, some thing decreed. Here it is that which is decreed for God's image bearer to perform here on this earth.
If we turn to our Psalter versification, we find this interesting interpretation:
My wav'ring heart is now resolved
Thy holy statutes to fulfill;
No more shall I be brought to shame
When I regard Thy holy will.
How true it is that we have wavering hearts that do go south, east, and west, when God orders us to go north. But also how true it is that by God's grace, our ways begin to be directed to keep His statutes. And then we are not brought to shame. The idea is that, no longer foolishly disregarding God's statutes, we are not walking in a way wherein we ought to be ashamed of ourselves. Depart from God's statutes and we walk foolishly as well as sinfully. Then shame must cover our faces. Have respect to God's commandments, and there is no need to be ashamed of our deeds.
Will you, when you go to bed tonight, be ashamed of your walk? If so, then make this prayer of the psalmist yours, "O that my ways were directed to keep His statutes."
The word respect literally means look. Do that. Look at God's compass, and then go with it and not against or away from its reading. Arriving at the blessedness at the end of that way, you will not be ashamed and disappointed but reach everlasting joy and gladness.
Read: I John 2:18-29
Psalter versification: #321:3
Daily Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #123
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Deuteronomy 29; Deuteronomy 30
Luke 11:37-54; Luke 12:1-7
Psalm 78:1-31
Proverbs 12:19-20
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Quote for Reflection:
… That man is truly humble who neither claims any personal merit in the sight of God, nor proudly despises brethren, or aims at being thought superior to them, but reckons it enough that he is one of the members of Christ, and desires nothing more than that the Head alone should be exalted. -- John Calvin
Additional Info
- Date: 6-April
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.