The Disciple’s Handbook – Gimel
Gimel – Desiring God’s Word
Psalm 119:17-24 – “17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. 20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. 21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. 22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.”
In the first two chapters of this book, we discussed what a “blessed” man is – a man who will follow God’s way for his life – a person who has chosen to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. In chapter 1, you were given the chance to reflect if you have the characteristics of a disciple, and in chapter 2, you were given advice on how to stay on God’s path for your life. In this chapter, we will discuss an issue that is a struggle for many Christians – Desiring God’s Word.
During the time of Jesus, whenever a great teacher would appear, many young scholars flocked to become that teacher’s disciples. They specifically chose to become a disciple either to be associated with the “great” name of the teacher or because they agreed and loved what the teacher taught. Those who were likely to become just like their Rabbi or teacher fell with the latter group. In a very similar manner, we as disciples of Jesus Christ if we hope to become more and more like Him must begin to desire His Word. For how can you grow in love with a person if you do not love what that person says, especially since most of what we can know about Christ comes from His Word. Gimel is the section of Psalm 119 in which the Psalmist first (out of many) describes how much he desires the Word of God. As spoken of in chapter 2, one of the best ways to keep on God’s path for your life is to desire His Word, because if you treasure His commands, you are likely to keep them. As we look at each individual verse in Gimel to find how we can apply it to our lives, we will additionally see how the Psalmist expresses his desire for God’s Word and hopefully be encouraged to love God’s Word just as much if not more.
Asking for God’s Word
In Beth, we saw that one of the main ways we can keep in God’s path for our life is to ask Him to keep us in it. In the same way, we need to ask God to help us know and understand His Word. The Psalmist does so in vs. 17-19.
Ps. 119:17-19 – “Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.”
The Psalmist begins by asking God to open up His Word to his life, which is an excellent first step to take in growing closer to God. These three verses are filled with words of pleading, such as, “deal bountifully,” “open thou mine eyes,” “hide not thy commandments from me.” In every one of these three verses, we find that the Psalmist asks God to teach him His Word. But additionally, we do not just see a meager asking but a pleading – an unbelievable desire – as one would desire water in the desert or hand-made ice cream on a hot, humid July day. First, in vs. 17, we find that the Psalmist considers God’s Word a bountiful blessing that preserves life. When one takes a first look at vs. 17, it almost appears as if the Psalmist was trying to bargain with God – “Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep Thy Word.” It looks as if the Psalmist was trying to tell God, “You need to bless me, so that I can have the strength to keep your Word, and if not, then I won’t be able to.” But if you look a little deeper and put it in the context of the Psalmist’s character, which you can see throughout the Psalm, when the Psalmist was saying, “Deal bountifully with your servant,” he surely was speaking of God’s Word – “Reward me with your Word.” Many of us do not realize how much of a treasure God’s Word actually is, taking it for granted, leaving it on the coffee table or bookshelf to collect dust, but the Psalmist considered it a bountiful blessing required for life – “that I may live.” The Psalmist realizes that without God’s Word in his own life – life is basically nonexistent and is nothing but being like the living dead. Without God’s Word in our hearts, we basically walk each day as zombies not doing anything but the routine. Take a minute and consider what you do each day. Does your schedule sound like this? 1) Wake up in the morning and drink some coffee to wake up. 2) Check my email or read a newspaper (if people still do that). 3) Get ready for work. 4) Go to work and do my work until lunch. 5) Eat lunch. 6) Back to Work till it ends. 7) Go home. 8) Take a shower. 9) Watch TV, eat dinner, and relax. 10) Go to Bed. 11) Most important!!! Repeat. Doesn’t this routine describe most of our lives? It is like we are living zombies going through the motions of everything without one spark of life. But if we allow God’s Word into our hearts and ask Him to fill us with it, we will find that life is bountiful and exciting as we keep His Word. For example, one of His commands is to share the Gospel of Christ. Now, add that to your schedule whenever you can, and automatically there is a surprise waiting at your doorstep each day, for you do not know when you will get the chance to act as a minister of God – that is just one bountiful blessing.
Also, try adding time with God into your schedule – time you will spend getting to know His Word as you ask Him to open it up to you – and there will come a second blessing, for you never know what surprise lessons He will show you. I can attest to this myself. For what you are reading here is just one of the blessings He shared with me as I spent time in His Word.
The second indication that the Psalmist not only asked for God’s Word but desired it is in vs. 18, where he describes the secrets in God’s Word as wondrous – “…that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” The Psalmist considered God’s Word wondrous, in that, it was unexpected and unbelievable – in a good way. Wonder is a feeling that does not come often for most of us city folk, but for those who have gone hiking or camping, wonder is a feeling that you can easily associate with. Think about the first time you went up to the mountains and saw the numerous stars in the sky. That feeling you got at that moment is wonder, for you see the majesty and unbelievable beauty of the stars. I personally had this feeling of wonder on a cruise that I went to inAlaska. We got stormed out of a port that we were supposed to visit, but instead of just staying at sea, the captain brought us to the most beautiful place I have ever been – Tracy Arms Fjord inAlaska. This fjord was nature at its best. Cruising on water that blended from tropical to glacial blue was amazing as I witnessed glacier topped mountains and waterfalls in abundance. I would love to just show you a picture of that place, but a picture could not do it justice; for I was awestruck with wonder as I breathed the cool air. All the while I could feel the slight chill that accompanies the Alaskan air scattered with a hint of rain, giving a freshness to the air. Unbelievable beauty that filled me with wonder. This feeling was exactly what the Psalmist felt when studying God’s Word. He knew that if God would but open his eyes to the secrets that are in His Word, he would be awestruck at the beauty. Spend time in God’s Word, and you personally will be filled with wonder each day as well.
The third indication of desire instead of just want is found in vs. 19, where he begins by calling himself “a stranger in the earth.” The Psalmist considered himself a stranger in the earth, yet he was human. If anything, the Psalmist should have considered himself a citizen and felt normal about living on the earth, which is his home planet of course. But instead the Psalmist found that he was a stranger. He desired God’s Word so much that he felt that earth was no longer his home, some other place was – heaven – God’s presence. The Psalmist followed this phrase with “hide not Thy commandments from me.” He was basically telling God, “I don’t belong here on this earth, I belong with you, so teach me your commands.” In the same manner, when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior we are no longer citizens of earth, for our home is in heaven above; therefore, we are nothing but “stranger[s] in the earth.” We need to stop treating ourselves as people that belong here, desiring the stuff of earth, but instead begin to set our eyes on the things above, separating ourselves and drawing closer to God. As you ask God to show you His Word, you must remove yourself from the earth, for how can God fill a heart that is already filled with other things?
Judging and Living in God’s Word
The Psalmist not only begins to fufill his desire for God’s Word by asking, but he begins to apply God’s Word to his everyday life, showing his desire through his actions. We as Christians need to not only hear God’s Word but apply it to our lives, so that we will not fall into the danger of becoming hypocrites. Vs. 20-24 of Psalm 119 indicate how the Psalmist used his desire for God’s Word to help guide his life.
Ps. 119:20-24 – “My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.”
The Psalmist begins his practical use of God’s Word in vs. 20-21 – “My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments at all times. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from Thy commandments.” Before delving into the Psalmist’s practical use of the Word, let us look at his desire once again. The Psalmist’s heart was breaking to see God’s judgments on the earth. Examine your heart today and see if your heart is breaking to see God’s judgments. Do you want to see His judgments in your life? Are you living in a manner where you will not be afraid of His judgments? The Psalmist longed for God so much that his soul broke. Do you have that same desire to see God’s judgments occur all the time?
The interesting thing is that the Psalmist delves into a description of God’s judgment. In vs. 20 he states how God judges the proud. If we consider that the Psalmist might have been David, then he might have took this reminder of how God judges to each case that was presented before him. He may have taken what he knew about God’s judgment and began to judge in that same manner, allowing him to see God’s judgment at all times. If you desire to see good triumph over evil and God’s judgments to begin to work, then begin to judge righteously as well. Begin to judge in your everyday affairs with others as God would judge, for 1 Cor. 6:3 says that we will judge the angels (1 Cor 6:3), so why not get accustomed to judging righteously today?
The next practical use of his desire is seen in vs. 22, where the Psalmist says, “I have kept thy testimonies.” The Psalmist not only applied his desire to how he interacted with other people but he applied his desire to his actions. He even tells God to remove all the reproach and contempt that others were having toward him, because he was keeping God’s Word not only in his righteous judgments but his everyday life. We need to turn our desire to hear God’s Word into action, for until we obey, God will not reveal much more to us. This principle was best stated by Oswald Chambers in his devotional for July 27th in the book My Utmost for His Highest,
The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.
No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.
When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First . . . go . . ..” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 27
Until you begin to apply God’s Word in your life, why would you expect Him to reveal more to you? If you cannot keep the little things, how can you expect to keep the bigger things? Begin to apply the Word you desire instead of just listening.
The next use of desire is seen in vs. 23, “Princes also did sit and speak against me: but Thy servant did meditate in Thy statues.” We once again see the Psalmist’s desire for God’s Word in his life, because he chooses to meditate in God’s statues; but additionally, we see a reminder of how we can keep in God’s ways, which is to meditate in God’s statues. He allowed his desire to consume his thought life. We need to spend time thinking about what we have read and learned in God’s Word. The Psalmist did not just spend 5 minutes reading the Word of God and then went off the rest of the day doing his own thing; instead, he read the Word of God then meditated on it throughout the rest of the day (as seen in Mem). What is amazing about the Psalmist’s desire is that he meditated even when princes, people of renown, were basically mocking him. You will realize that if you meditate on God’s Word throughout your everyday life, sometimes the people you have respected will begin to think you are crazy or some religious fanatic, but do not mind it, for if you are living and keeping His Word as you meditate on it, you will do nothing but show them what a true Christian is like – what a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like. Take the desire to have God’s Word in your life and make it practical by allowing it to take over your thought life.
Lastly, we find that the Psalmist took his desire for God’s Word and made it his counselors. Once again, we see an indication of the Psalmist desire for God’s Word, because he calls God’s testimonies his “delight.” He took joy and pleasure in God’s Word just as a teacher takes joy in seeing his students learn and succeed or Kobe Bryant or Lebron James takes joy in winning a championship. But most importantly, we find that he took his desire and made practical use of it by making the testimonies his counselors. The Word of God began to lead and guide his way. Being students at one time, you should remember talking to your counselor about what classes you should take and the best approach you would have at graduating. In the same manner, we need to take God’s Word and allow it to become a road map for our life, guiding our every step, as well as, judgment.
In Gimel, we find an expression of the Psalmist’s desire and love for the Word of God, but what is interesting is that he not only asks God to fulfill his desire but he took that desire and began to apply it throughout his life from the way he judged everyday affairs to his actions to his thought life and even to his future. When someone truly desires something, he will not only learn about it, but he will put his learning into action to obtain what he desires. May we as disciples of Jesus Christ, desire His Word as this Psalmist does.
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