Psalm 119:10–“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments.
In the scripture, the Psalmist wants the Lord with all his heart and soul: His glory, face, presence, communion with Him, His grace, to know more of His doctrine, His mind and will. The Psalmist’s existence was geared to rely on God, total dedication to God. He asks God to ‘not’ deny him His grace, which he sincerely and earnestly desired and laboured to obtain.
The Psalmist also recognized his weakness to maintain such a dedication (not to wander away nor have self-righteous pride). Good men go astray by: their hearts, affections, and their feet wander from the way of their duty. Moving from God’s commandment leads one from light into darkness, from liberty to captivity, from happiness to misery. The Psalmist asks God to lead him away from temptation and to not withdraw His grace, which was necessary to keep him from wandering. Many things lead good men aside: a corrupt nature, an evil heart, a body of sin and death, the snares of the world, and the temptations of Satan. The worst of all, when God leaves them to themselves, withdraws His grace, and brings them into such circumstances as to expose their going astray.
How can we keep on God’s Word?
– Do not be content to hear or read God’s Word. Persisitently receive and consider God’s Word in the love of it; cherish it like a choice treasure, to be ready for all occasions: to counsel, quicken, or caution.
– Consider the Divine precepts, promises, and threatenings diligently and affectionately, to be kept away from all sinful practices.
– Seek God; earnestly pray and request for Divine light for a tender conscience, and for strength to walk upright.
– Submit your whole heart or you cannot succeed. If you keep any affection for idols or abomination; if you keep a part of heart away from the Lord, God will not answer your prayers.
– Take care to keep in the path of duty, of abstinence and self-denial.
– When your soul is conscious of ‘following the Lord fully’, you will develop a peculiar dread to wander. But in a careless or half-hearted state, we will not watch our wandering as long as they do not lead to any open decline or moral deterioration.”
If we carefully treasure God’s Word, declare it to others, meditate on it, and heartily delight in it; then by His grace, we shall act according to it.
Dear Lord, please keep me on Your path at all times by Your mighty power. Lord I need You to hold me by Your right hand, to guide and direct me, especially when I choose to wander away. I want to be with You in all areas of my life and I surrender them to You now. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
