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blog meditation Psalms

Meditation Psalm 119o

ס Samekh

I hate double-minded people,
    but I love your law.
You are my refuge and my shield;
    I have put my hope in your word.
Away from me, you evildoers,
    that I may keep the commands of my God!
Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I shall live;
    do not let my hopes be dashed.
Uphold me, and I shall be delivered;
    I shall always have regard for your decrees.
You reject all who stray from your decrees,
    for their delusions come to nothing.
All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
    therefore I love your statutes.
My flesh trembles in fear of you;
    I stand in awe of your laws.

(Ps. 119:113-120 NIV)

A double minded person doesn’t outrightly reject God’s law – they just can’t make up their mind about which course of action to take. Elijah rebuked the doubleminded because they would not decide between God or Baal

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

(1 Ki. 18:21 NIV)

The Psalmist was single-minded in his choice to serve the Lord and to obey God’s word. The Lord is a refuge and shield for the Psalmist because the Psalmist has placed his hope in what the Lord has promised in His word.

The Psalmist rejects the evildoers. He does not want their company or their influence anywhere near him. The Psalmist wants to be free from their kind of distraction. In his freedom he will choose to keep God’s word. If the Lord upholds the Psalmist, then he will be delivered

The Psalmist acknowledges his dependence upon the Lord and asks that God will sustain him according to the promises that God has made in His word. If the Lord sustains him, he will live. If the Lord does not sustain him then his hope will be dashed because he has placed his hope only in the Lord. The Psalmist expresses again his singleness of mind and purpose to treasure the word of God.

The Lord will reject the wicked just as the Psalmist rejected them (v115). The wicked are likened to dross – the impurities that rise to the top of molten metal as it is put through the furnace to be purified. The dross is scraped off and discarded. The Psalmist feels this way about the wicked because he has seen how God views the wicked through reading God’s word. The Psalmist has come to love what the Lord loves and hate what the Lord hates.

As bold and forthright as the Psalmist is in prayer before the Lord, he also has great respect and fear of the Lord. He physically trembles as he stands in awe of the word of God.

Prayer
Lord help us to be resolved in our hearts and minds to serve You. Help us to respond with obedience as we read Your word. Let our reason for living be Christ. Lord help us, we pray, to walk before You in obedience because we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.