Upheld or Ashamed

Psalm 119:116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

To uphold something is to sustain or to support it. This is the same word that is used as, “borne up” in Judges 16:29.

...Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

When we are weak and we think we cannot stand, it is God who bears us up and upholds us.

Psalm 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

Psalm 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Psalm 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

Many people depend on something or someone to keep them going. It may be someone who is a real blessing. A spouse, a parent, a pastor, or a friend. Their advice and counsel may be exactly what you need to hear, but even the best intentions can fail. A person does not have all knowledge or wisdom or ability. They cannot be available all the time. God is able to be our upholder twenty-four, seven, three sixty-five.

When we come to God asking Him to uphold us remember that it must be according to His word. God uses His Word to sustain us through our trials. His Word can uphold us through any affliction, adversity, and hardship.

Pleasing the Wicked or Pleasing God

Psalm 119:115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

Usually the friends a wicked man will reject him when he accepts Jesus Christ as his Saviour. His new life makes them uncomfortable and his desires are no longer the same as theirs. Since he has become a new creature in Christ old things have passed away, including his friends.

On the other hand, some new Christians find it difficult to be snubbed by old friends. Rather than keeping the commandments of the Lord, which include being baptized and being faithful to a local church where a new family can be found, he will be influenced by the evildoer. (This may include people who have been saved many years.)

It is impossible to keep God's commandments while keeping evil company. If a man will devote all his life to the Lord he must reject the evil doers of this world.

God’s judgment has been placed on the wicked man and on those with whom he associates. Even pagans believed it was dangerous to dwell under the same roof, or to sail on the same yacht as a profane person. How much more ought Christians be fully persuaded of the danger of being friends with wicked men?

II Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord...

We need to separate ourselves from the wicked or we may damage our testimonies and our usefulness for God. We need to depart from the man who has departed from God.

A Hiding Place and A Shield

Psalm 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

First, Christ has the strength to be our hiding place. Man made houses and fortresses will eventually fail, but He is the Rock of Ages.

Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Second, Christ has the height to be our hiding place. The short houses of man can soon be scaled, but Jesus Christ is as high as heaven. He is Jacob's ladder that reaches from earth to heaven. He is too high for even Satan and the devils. There is no creature who can scale His high walls.

Third, Christ is faithful. A false hearted protector is worse than an open pursuer. Christ is the faithful witness. He cannot be bribed to surrender up any creature that comes to hide himself.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God...

Fourth, Christ is diligent. A sleepy guard may betray a castle or a garrison as well as a faithless guard. Jesus Christ is ever diligent and watchful.

Psalm 121:3-4 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Hatred and Love

Psalm 119:113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

As a Christian we should hate vain thoughts. They build evil devises, and create double minded imaginations. The man with vain thoughts is the man whose mind will change with the wind. They are the thoughts of the man who is unable to stand.

These thoughts are found in the vacant hours. Hours spent without business, without company, and without sleep. They are spent in solitude. They are unprofitable, proud, covetous, sensual, envious, or malicious. They are welcomed by the carnal mind and they are the delight of evil mind. 

The mind focused on God’s Word will recoil at vain thoughts. Although these thoughts will intrude from time to time, they are not welcome and are rejected by the power of God. They become a test of character. Do we love and indulge vain thoughts or do we abhor and pray against them?

We need to learn to hate these thoughts. It is not enough to just dislike them, but perfect hatred is required to overcome evil in our hearts. All our thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word need to be hated.  Even our thoughts of doubt need to be hated.

Vain thoughts are set on trivialities and the inessential. They neither tend to our profit nor to the benefit of others. Since vain thoughts are concerned with childish vanity and foolish conceits, then all their debates, conceits, and musings, are of no value.

Proverbs 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin...

The solution to vain thoughts is not just hatred, but it is falling in love with God’s law.

An Affliction and An Answer

Psalm 119:112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.

It is only after receiving a new heart through salvation that we are able to perform the statutes of the Lord. Our flesh will still tempt us, but we now have the ability to incline our hearts to Him.

Our hearts set the direction of our life. We can incline it to serve our flesh, or we can incline it to obey the Word of God. We have a choice to make. Joshua put the challenge well.

Joshua 24:23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

Do we have false gods that we worship? Television, sports, wealth, pleasure, etc.? The Israelites that stood before Joshua and promised to put away their false gods and incline their hearts unto the Lord, did not keep their resolve long. 

What is the secret of keeping our commitment to God? How can we have a heart that is inclined to do the will of God? Is it by learning some hidden truth in the Bible? Is there something in the Bible that we are missing?

Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

It is through God’s grace that we are able to incline our hearts toward Him. Divers and strange doctrines, mysteries that we cannot identify, some hidden truth we do not know: these do not incline our hearts to God. It is God’s grace that saves  us and gives us a new heart and it is by God’s grace that our hearts follow Him.

An Inheritance and A Crown

Psalm 119:111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

We ought to take the time to consider the great inheritance we have in the Lord.

Every Christian needs to be thankful for this great inheritance.

I Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you...

All the tribes of Israel received an earthly inheritance of land, except for the tribe of Levi.

Exodus 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not [any] inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.

The tribe of Levi was the tribe of priests and received a spiritual, not an earthly, inheritance. In this regard they were a type of us, since our inheritance is out of this world. 

Although we have an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, there are also rewards that can be earned. There are crowns to be won, and investments to be laid up in heaven’s bank.

Matthew 6:19-20 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal...

A Trap and An Escape

Psalm 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.

It doesn’t take long to realize that life is full of traps and snares. In fact, it is not difficult for a careless Christian to be trapped on a path that is close to God’s plan, but not quite. It is close enough that many would never notice, but in a few moments time slides by and life is wasted. The only way to keep from throwing away life is to stay on the path of God’s Word.

If you desire to be greatly used by God, then keep your eyes on His Word. Paul warned Timothy about the danger of the snares of the wicked.

I Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

I Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction...

II Timothy 2:25-26 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

My Grandpa Beals and I used to set animal traps when I was a boy. To keep them hidden we would set the traps just below moving water. Snares are no threat if you know where and what they are. By spending time in the Word of God we can learn the tricks of Satan and through prayer we can obtain the protection of the Lord.

II Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

A Soul and a Law

Psalm 119:109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The man who carries his life in his hand should carry the law in his heart.”

• We are to be good stewards of the life which God has given us. It is through the Word of God we learn how to be good caretakers of this life.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• God desires that we are sanctified in Him. This means that we should be separated from the world toward Him.

I Thessalonians 5:23 ...the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We live in a dangerous world. Our three great enemies, the world, the flesh and the Devil are out to destroy us. In order to see clearly we need to go to the Word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.

You wouldn’t think of trying to walk through fallen power lines in pitch darkness. Yet, many run blindly through the darkness of this age with no light at all. They have no idea of the danger to their soul. How much safer and easier it is to turn on the light.

An Affliction and An Answer

Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.

Most people would point out the fact that they have also faced much affliction. Even when our lives have not been too difficult and we haven’t gone through a lot of trials we still have a tendency to perceive great afflictions. It doesn’t matter if our afflictions are great or light, God is able to help us through them.

Through the Word of God we receive the quickening grace of God in the midst of our afflictions. The reason many Christians can’t see their way through the afflictions they face is because they have no idea what to do or where to go. They have no light because they spend no time in the Word of God. In their affliction they run to their pastor, or a counselor, or their best friend. These people may be glad to help, but even the best of intentions will fall short compared to the Word of God. As a pastor, I truly desire to be a blessing to anyone who is facing difficulties, but I know that I am limited as a person. I don’t have all knowledge, or all strength, or all wisdom, and I know I can fail. A person needs to spend time with God through His Word. God has all knowledge, and has all strength and all wisdom. He can help in every situation. There is nothing wrong with going to your pastor for counsel, but this pastor will take you to God’s Word for the guidance we need.

The Holy Spirit will use His Word to guide you through life’s journey. He will illuminate your way. When we, as a church, walk together down this path the combined light will make every difficult affliction easier and make every dark corner brighter.

A Vow and a Fulfillment

Psalm 119:106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

God provides no excuses for a person to break a vow. He does not change and he takes swearing (making a vow) very seriously. In fact, God calls the person who will not pay his or her vow a fool.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

God is always faithful to keep His vows.

•  He kept His promise to redeem Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:8 ...because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

• He kept His promise to have compassion on Israel.

Deuteronomy 13:17 ...there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers...

• He kept His promise to judge Israel for disobedience.

Judges 2:15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.