Ps 119:4-8 "You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. " NIV
This verse is written by someone who is mourning their lack of consistency before the Lord. This passage is written by someone who knows the pain of their personal failures before the Lord. He understands that the Lord’s intention is complete obedience not a negotiated relationship and yet he acknowledges by his words that he has failed to live up to this high standard.
The Psalmist speaks with conviction of the precepts of the Lord “that are to be fully obeyed.” There is an unquestioning certainty about his knowledge of the Lord’s intentions in regard to the commandments laid down in scripture. This same certainty is the source of the Psalmist’s grief as he recognizes the great gap that exists between the Lord’s standard and the Psalmist’s obedience. He speaks of the conviction that He feels in his spirit when he meditates on the commands of God. Truly disobedience brings shame upon our hearts and this shame robs us of joy and confidence before God. For many this knowledge is more than they can bear. The moment conscience is violated is the beginning of a season of separation from the Lord as their sense of guilt drives them further and further from the Lord. Instead of turning to the Lord for restoration they move further away.
Psalm 119:4-8 is a picture of a right response as the Psalmist provides in his words a right concept of the both the Lord’s convicting righteousness and His redemptive purpose. Unlike the many people who are unable to turn to the Lord in their brokenness and failure, the Psalmist is able to embrace the Lord even in his sense of personal failure. Instead of running away in guilt he makes a declaration of commitment to learn the ways of God instead of being judged by the ways of God. Instead of wallowing in his failure this man of God makes an affirmation of faith “I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.” His determination is to live thankfully with a heart directed towards growth rather than guilt! Oh that the church would get this revelation. God is more interested in transformation than judgment. His word is a call to change not an opportunity for His wrath. The Psalmist makes it clear by His response to God that he is living in a revelation of a merciful God.
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