Psalm 119:64

Has God Forgotten His Mercy?
Ronnie W. Wolfe

Is the earth really full of mercy? We certainly do not see it manifested in the lives of the people who live on the earth! We do not see it in our own lives. We do not experience it when we live among the inhabitants of the earth. Certainly there is much violence and hate in the world, but where is the mercy in the earth?

The mercy is stored in God's essence, and it is manifested to us in his immanence. His immanence is his coming among us and being active in our affairs with truth, mercy, and grace.

God reveals himself to people on earth from the beginning by his creation. Notice two scriptures:

1. Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2. Psalms 97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

 But where is his mercy? Notice Psalms 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?     Continuing to read this psalm, we find that God's mercy is in all that he is and does. Read the entire psalm.

Grace is also found in verse nine. Psalms 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.  Both God's mercy and grace are manifest by his own will toward his own purpose.  

Remember above all things:  Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Psalm 119:63

Evil & Good Communication
Ronnie W. Wolfe

We must be very careful about our companions. 1 Cor. 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. If we as God's people have close communion with evil people and events, we can expect that our manners will be corrupted.

That is why in our verse today the psalmist is a companion of all the people who fear the Lord. We can find these fearful people in our family, in our church, and in many places in our community.

A closer communion can be enjoyed with those who keep the precepts (commandments) of God. Obedience (keeping) of God's precepts is of utmost importance in our lives. Many people today know very little of obedience. King Saul was impervious to the damage that could be done through disobedience, and it cost him his kingdom.

Keep company with God's people, those who love the word of God and who obey his word and those who fear God. There is great benefit in doing so.

Psalm 119:62

Ronnie W. Wolfe

Throughout our waking hours we should acknowledge the presence of God and the effect of his penetrating word in our lives; but even when we are asleep and awake at midnight we should acknowledge and welcome his word. His word is alive and beneficial at all times.

When the night echoes the problems of the day, rest like shadows in the night, bringing fear and worry, we can always replace that fear and hesitation with the word of God, and it brings comfort every time if we are serious about believing it.

Even the Law of Moses instructs us to make the word of God active at all times, as it says in . . .

Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

So . . .

Genesis 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

Psalm 119:61

Robbery Of The Wicked
Ronnie W. Wolfe

There are wicked people in the world. There is no denying that, and they work in bands. This unusual word for "bands" in Hebrew is CHEBEL and has several meanings. All of these meanings are appropriate here.

One meaning is "territory" or "company." Another meaning is "sorrow" or "pain." This word can also mean "union" and even "destruction." All of these meanings can be applied to the very wicked of the world, and in this passage I believe that the word applies in a comprehensive way to the wicked of the world. These are the people mentioned in . . .

2 Peter 2:1719  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

They have "robbed me," says the psalmist. The author is David, and he certainly was robbed by King Saul. The Amalekites robbed him at Ziklag. He was in despair from this, but during all of these events, he never forgot the law of God.

The law of God is a manifestation that God is real, that he is just, and that he is right in all things. This knowledge lends credence to the fact that God will also be with us in every situation and will fulfill every promise he has made. Psalm  115:11 says, Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

God's law does not always fit our fancy, but it is always right. We must trust God's ways to keep our minds sober and our hearts strong. David was thinking about God's law. He meditated in God's law day and night (Psalm 1:2). Let us not forget to do the same.

Reading Your Bible

Pastor Ronnie Wolfe

Read Your Bible Thoroughly

  Do not read the Bible in sections, but read it through and through. One part of the Bible is as important as another. This takes consistency, doing it every day. Mrs. Lovins told me at her house the other day concerning her quilting that, if you don't do it every day, you will never get it done. That is also true with your Bible reading.

Read Your Bible Thoughtfully

  As you read your Bible, think! Take your time; you have the rest of your life to read the Bible. Read and consider what the Bible says. The word of God must take effect in your life, and it can do that only if you will consider thoughtfully what you are reading and how that affects your life.

Read Your Bible Thankfully

  Approach the Bible with deep reverence and love. Revere the Bible, as it is God's word, not man's. Approach it with humility, knowing that it is above any other book on this earth. Then bow in humble thankfulness for what God has done through his word, for it was the word of the Gospel that brought salvation to us. Jesus Christ is the subject of the Bible, and we should be continually thankful for him and his work.

Psalm 119:60

Hasting To God's Commandments
Ronnie W. Wolfe
 

 There is a positive and a negative inscribed in this verse regarding the psalmist and his relation to the word of God, God's commandments. First, he states positively that he "made haste" to keep the commandments of God. So our hearts and thoughts, and even our physical exercise, should be with regard to our own relation to God's word.

Each morning we should run to the book to consume it upon our weary souls that God may give some good instruction, some good refreshment, and some needed scolding. We will find there a river of water that will give peace:

Isaiah 48:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

The negative in this verse displays the same thought concerning the word of God, His commandments. He says he "delayed not." That is, he did not allow anything to come in the way of his daily walk through the word. He is so fascinated with God's word, so indwelt with its  soothing balm and its vivid instruction, that he cannot stay, he cannot falter, he cannot wait but must hurry on to his daily excursion through the word of God. Line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10), the word builds up to a culmination of great desire fulfilled and great wisdom to carry on with the day.

May we make haste to God's commandments, believe them, live them, and teach them that men, women, boys, and girls may hear and obey the Gospel by repenting and believing in Christ Jesus, acquire eternal life, and learn to live above the world. That is our legacy. 

Psalm 119:59

Consider Your Ways

Ronnie W. Wolfe

Hosea 14:9 says ". . . the ways of the Lord are right." Therefore, when we look on and think of our ways, they seem to come short of God's requirements.  We find that we are walking the wrong way, turning aside from God's ways.  

• Jeremiah 8:5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
• Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 The psalmist thought on his ways. Proverbs 4:26 says, Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. When we see our own ways, the path of our feet, then we realize that God's way is better than our way, and we should turn our feet unto the testimonies of the Lord.

Moses said in Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.  Every commandment of the Lord points its way to the ways of the Lord and to his testimonies. Our path should be guided by his word, which is a lamp and a light unto us.
  

When we are not walking in God's ways, we are walking in our own ways, and we will reap our own reward, regard our own thoughts, and work to save ourselves; but there is only one good reward, only one line of righteous thought, and only One to save us.  

   

Let us do as Haggai 1:5 says, Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.  Let us then turn our feet to God's testimonies. Then we shall reap His reward, regard His thoughts, and receive His salvation. We shall also please him in our work as He leads us by His Spirit. 

Psalm 119:58

Intreating With The Whole Heart

Ronnie W. Wolfe

The word intreat in this verse carries with it the idea of being weak or of being nervous or fearful. So, with fearfulness in reverence to God, not deserving even one of God's rich blessings, the psalmist prays or even pleads for God's favor (or literally "his face") with his whole heart.

He wanted God's face to shine upon him, as each of us should do, also; but we must realize that, when God's face shines upon us, when he looks directly at us, when he considers us, it is with fear, lest God should treat us as we deserve.

We do not deserve his least favor. We do not deserve his love, and for sure we do not deserve his salvation, his kindness, and assurance, and his company. But we long for it in a merciful way, and God is indeed rich in mercy.

The psalmist calls upon the word of God to guarantee God's mercy to him. If God said it, he will do it! The word mercy is found 261 times in the Bible. The word merciful is found 36 times. That is a total of 297 times, not including other words, that the Bible mentions mercy. Most of these mentions are a reference to  God's mercy. The word longsuffering comes to mind as in 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  God was longsuffering, merciful, to us, his children, before we were saved and also now that we are saved.

Perhaps we who are so many times complacent about the things of the Lord should cry out in fearful trembling before God that he would have mercy upon us according to his word. I am sure he will. He said he would in his word. We must be sure to do it with trembling and with a whole heart. 

Psalm 119:57

I Am His And He Is Mine
Ronnie W. Wolfe

A portion is a possession. Not only do we belong to the Lord, but he belongs to us. Thirteen times in the New Testament the words "my Lord" are used. Twelve times the phrase "my God" is used in the N. T. Luke 1:47 speaks of "my Saviour."

Here the psalmist says that God is his portion, his possession. We own him only because he resides in us by the Holy Spirit and through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are prompted to keep his words.

He does not belong to us as we belong to him. He is our Creator and our Teacher, our Comforter, and so many more things. He is also our Lord; therefore, we are to keep his commandments. Jesus said in John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 

Psalm 119:56

This Is What We Have
Ronnie W. Wolfe

This very terse statement seems to me to be a brief pause in the writer's thoughts in order to remember the things that he has already realized and written concerning the blessings of the law of God, his commandments, his testimonies, his statutes, his precepts, etc.

These blessings may be those of comfort, instruction, peace, or simply the delight that he has in God's word; but we know that the blessings come as a direct result of his connection with God's precepts.

Remaining faithful to the word of God is a blessing to all those who exercise that faithfulness. There will be a noticeable difference in one's life for spending time in the reading, studying, and meditating on God's word.

The word of God will cleanse his churches (Ephesians 5:26); it will give new birth to those who believe (1 Peter 1:23); it will be our sword (Ephesians 6:17) and many other such things.

Keep the Bible close. Read it often. Hide it in your heart. Believe it. Practice it. Delight in it. Be corrected by it. Give it to others. This we will have if we keep his precepts: joy, peace, comfort, strength, discipline, and many other such things that will make us vessels of honor in the house of the Lord (See 2 Corinthians  6:8).

Psalm 119:55

The Word In The Night

Ronnie W. Wolfe

Have you ever had a bad night in which you have bad dreams or even nightmares? I have, and it takes a toll on a person's nerves sometimes and steals rest from the body.

Most of the time we are told to count sheep, but an old song tells us, and I think rightly so, that we should count our blessings.

"When I am lonely and I can't sleep,
I count my blessings instead of sheep,
And I fall asleep counting my blessings."

Another great hymn tells us to "Count your many blessings, name them one by one."

We are to keep our minds upon the Lord and his word. The Lord's name is a precious name, and we are to remember his name, not for vain repetition or for religiosity, but for comfort  and assurance.

In John 16:23 we read,  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

But then Acts 9:16 says this, For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Let us not forget God's law, let us think of it when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up (Deut. 6:7). 

Psalm 119:54

Songs In My Pilgrimage
Ronnie W. Wolfe

I love music. I have been playing piano since I was seven (7) years old. I had a natural ability to learn music, so I learned on my own with a little help from friends along the way and by God's wonderful grace.

My experience as a real pianist began when I was 10 years old. I was asked by Gum Lick Baptist Church to play for their congregational music. I did that for about a year. I did not do it well, but they were merciful and patient.

When I was 17 years old, I left home to go to Lexington, Kentucky, to business college. There I attended Ashland Avenue Baptist Church where I met Bro. Bob Jones and listened to the first Bluegrass Boys Quartet sing. I so enjoyed their music, not realizing that soon I would be accompanying a trio on piano. That was in 1963.

Since that time my experience with this group has been hard, interesting, fun, and educational. A few years after we first began to travel, I began to sing with the group. We have always tried to sing songs that are Scriptural, that bring glory to God.

Thus, the Lord's statutes have been my songs here in this house (my flesh) of my pilgrimage. One day the instrument of piano and voice will be silenced for me, but then I will continue to sing throughout eternity of the great grace with which the Lord called me, saved me, kept me, comforted me, and supplied his word to me from which the sweetest refrains were received. 

Psalm 119:53

The Horror Of The Wicked
Ronnie W. Wolfe

 From the hand of the wicked in the world we who are believers in Jesus Christ, saved by his grace, are hounded, persecuted, and hated; but we should not be surprised due to the fact that the world is the realm of the wicked. Notice Job 9:24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked . . .

Job also said in Job 16:11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.  Job is at the mercy of those around him, or at least he thinks he is. There is no real mercy with the wicked. They call the name of the Lord awful names. They teach people their wicked ways and rejoice in iniquity.

The very reason the wicked are wicked is because they forsake the law of the Lord. They are determined that any way is better than the Lord's way. Atheism is in their heart, and they purposefully turn away from God and his statutes. Any answers are better than God's answers, and any morals are better than God's morals, for God's morals are absolute, and men who think on an earthly level come to believe that everything is temporary, ever changing, and uncertain.

The wicked attack those of us who believe in absolutes and portray us as weak minded and fickle, childish and unlearned. Mostly, the wicked are arrogant and selfish. Notice that the prophet said in Jeremiah 44:10 They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. 

So we must continue in faithful love and obedience to God's word. Yes, we will be separate from the world, but we will be pleasing God. God separated the Hebrews, Exodus 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. Jesus did not come to send peace but a sword, a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, etc. (Matthew 10:34-35).

We should not be in horror nor fear: Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Yes the world is against us, but let us stand firm on the word of God and be a light to both Jews and Gentiles of the great Light and the great understanding that we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

Psalm 119:52

The Judgments Of Old
Ronnie W. Wolfe

The judgments about which this psalmist is speaking is nothing more than the very word of God, which preceded the creation of the world. The Bible itself tells us in Psalms 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

The word of God came to us in small increments, but it was settled (established) in heaven before the world was ever created, and  Matthew 24:35 tells us that Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

When we bring to mind the word of God, we are remembering God's "judgments of old." We are blessed today to have the whole of God's revelation to us through his word, the Bible.

Perhaps this is the pearl of great price mentioned in Matthew 13:46. It does at least have great value. I told the people at church Sunday evening that there is no other book like the Bible, and that means that it should take priority over any other book in the world. We should all heed this verse and remember the judgments of old and find comfort in them.