Psalm 119:175, 176
Are you more concerned about your body than about your soul? There can be no denying of the fact that man is deeply concerned about his body. All the physicians, hospitals, and establishments that manufacture medicines reveal how much man is concerned with the life of his body.
There is nothing wrong with this. Jesus healed many bodies and raised three of them from the dead. But the life and well-being of the soul is far more important and must be there, or our concern for the body is sinful. The psalmist writes: "Let my soul live, and it shall praise Thee; and let Thy judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments" (Psalm 119:175, 176). Our versification has it in these words (PRC Psalter):
Thy servant like a wandering sheep
Has lost the path and gone astray;
Restore my soul and lead me home,
For Thy commands I would obey.
The undeniable fact is that if our souls are not given the life of Christ, our bodies are going to suffer more misery in the lake of fire than we now know and medicine has temporarily relieved.
What becomes plain here in these last verses of this lengthy Psalm is that the psalmist, and we with him, slip and slide and fall back into sin time and time again. We have only a small beginning of that new obedience. We are like sheep that go astray and cannot find their way back.
Neither by word nor deed do we praise God the way we ought. God must continue to make our souls live, if we are to praise Him by our deeds and by our words.
How important then is it not that we live close to God's Word. In it and out of it we learn what our calling is before Him. From it we learn our calling to praise Him and how to do so. That Word will show us clearly that we have strayed and how vile and evil we are. We need God's Word more than we need daily bread. The life of our souls, that is, the spiritual life of our souls, is far more important than the life of our bodies. With the psalmist we surely should pray, and pray earnestly, that God will let our souls live, that we may praise Him.
Read: Luke 12:16-34
Psalter versification: #343:3
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #36
Why not sing along??
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
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Daniel 6:1-28
2 Peter 3:1-18
Psalm 119:129-152
Proverbs 28:21-22
Quote for Reflection:
“Those who are truly humbled in their hearts, and brought to place their confidence in God, shall experience how much care he has for his children, and how well he provides for their necessities… after he has afflicted and tried us, he does not forsake us; but after he has molded and trained us by the cross to humility and meekness, he still shows himself to be a wise and provident father in guiding and directing us through life.” ~ John Calvin
Additional Info
- Date: 29-November
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.