Driving 7 hours today I had a lot of time. So I listened to Psalm 119 several times again. Truthfully I would fade in and out of listening. I would start thinking about someting and realize I was in Psalm 121.
One of the things that came out of the time today is another project. I have heard snippits of other Psalms as I listen to Psalm 119. One of the projects that I am going to pursue is to work through Psalm 119 section by section and connect the themes in that section to other Psalms.
I started that this evening. The idea is to spend a week on each section. So I started looking more closely this evening at Psalm 119:1 - 8. I noticed something that I had not seen before. Verses 1 - 4 describe the benefit of obedience, being blessed. Verses 5 - 8 record David asking the Lord to help him, establish him so that he can obey. David realized that on his own he was not able to really keep the Lord's statutes. In this he predated Paul in Romans 7.
By the way that theme, beseeching the Lord for help to follow Him, is a consistent theme through 119.
So it would seem that our ability to obey, like our faith, may be a gift from God.
One of the things that came out of the time today is another project. I have heard snippits of other Psalms as I listen to Psalm 119. One of the projects that I am going to pursue is to work through Psalm 119 section by section and connect the themes in that section to other Psalms.
I started that this evening. The idea is to spend a week on each section. So I started looking more closely this evening at Psalm 119:1 - 8. I noticed something that I had not seen before. Verses 1 - 4 describe the benefit of obedience, being blessed. Verses 5 - 8 record David asking the Lord to help him, establish him so that he can obey. David realized that on his own he was not able to really keep the Lord's statutes. In this he predated Paul in Romans 7.
By the way that theme, beseeching the Lord for help to follow Him, is a consistent theme through 119.
So it would seem that our ability to obey, like our faith, may be a gift from God.
When I first read your introductory question my thought was, "You are kidding, right?" Trouble obeying? Do I ever NOT have trouble obeying? Not if I could really see the reality of my motives with His clarity.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that has happened to me since He took the love of my life to Himself (and I sure can't blame Him; she loved Him passionately) is I've seen far more deeply and far more clearly the nature of my inner being. More than once it has left me unable to speak or even take a deep breath for the regret and pain. I understand far more (yet still only a tiny bit) why the suffering of the Garden and the Cross to atone.
But I know He did atone, I know I am His son, as wretched and rebellious as I am. But how I long to be different, to be really holy, to both do what is right and do it with a pure motive!
Obedience at any level can only be a gift from God through the power of the Spirit. I believe this is part of the process of increasing my dependence on Him, That's what really glorifies Him
Someday I shall be different; it can't be soon enough.