Seeking Hearts
April 19, 2023
Psalm 119, Aleph-Gimel
Whole-Hearted Seeking
“Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” - Psalm 119:2
There are countless blessings in God’s Word, but they don’t jump out from between the leaves and into our hearts. They come to those who seek God in His Word with wholehearted passion. They come as a result of digging for the treasures that are to be found in the pages of the Bible. God is found by those who most earnestly desire Him and look for Him.
God testifies of Himself and, in so doing, He sets forth His expectations for us. His purposes are higher and greater than those we have for ourselves. His calling is loftier and grander than any we can imagine. His very presence and nature compel us to come forth and enter into fellowship with Him.
We are truly blessed when we seek Him with the whole heart.
Wholeheartedness for God is a rare thing indeed. It is the deer panting for water. It is the hunger that knows no satisfaction apart from the manna of God’s truth. It is the little baby that can find no consolation apart from the comforting embrace of her mother. It is full engagement and absolute focus on seeking Him.
The psalmist knew what he was looking for every time he opened the scriptures. He was not seeking information or even inspiration. He was seeking God himself. He was looking for encounter and nothing else would do.
This is not a question of superficial concern. It is the great question of our lives: “What am I seeking and what am I willing to invest of myself to find it?”
In the answer lies the secret to our spiritual success. The answer must be: “God and everything.”
The Power of a Positive Intention
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalm 119:9
By living according to God’s Word a young man can keep himself pure. That is no small thing. If there is any creature on earth prone to impurity, it is a young man. For that reason, Solomon spends no small amount of energy and no few words in the Proverbs instructing young men on this very matter.
The psalmist asks the question with the intention of learning and complying with the answer and God inspires the answers that flow in the verses that follow. All revolve around the one great call to live according to God’s Word.
By seeking God wholeheartedly, verse 10 assures us, we will avoid straying from His commands.
By hiding God’s Word in our hearts, verse 11 promises, we will not be as likely to sin.
By asking for guidance with praise, according to verse 12, we will have God Himself as our teacher.
By speaking the Words of God, according to verse 13, we will be voicing what He has first voices.
By rejoicing in God’s statutes, as stated in verse 14, we shall be adopting a positive attitude which will recognize the immense treasures of His truth.
By meditating on God’s precepts, as commended in verse 15, we will be considering His ways.
By delighting in what He has said by decree, verse 16 suggests that we will not neglect His Word.
It is really a rather simple matter. We can pursue purity in our lives by living according to the Bible, seeking God in it, absorbing it into our hearts and minds, asking God’s guidance through it, speaking it with our lips, rejoicing in each new nugget of truth, meditating deeply upon it, and delighting in everything it says.
Temptations abound, but God’s Word is always available to purify our hearts as we seek Him with all that we have and all that we are. If it is a young man’s or young woman’s intention to live a holy and pure life, they way is provided.
Praying Over the Bible
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. “ Psalm 119:18
Before you read, pray.
This grand and simple prayer is an expression of expectation and faith. Our level of discovery in scripture will seldom exceed our level of expectation. It is seekers who find according to Jesus. David expected wonderful things from the law of God. He, in turn, found wonders beyond anything he could have dreamed.
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
Dr. King, approached the scriptures to be instructed and informed. As he formed his philosophy of non-violence from the example and teaching of Jesus, so we must be willing to be shaped and molded by words we have never read along staircases of truth we have never traveled.
Dr. King also said on the night before his death, “I just want to do God's will”
In the same way, we must approach God’s Word in search of His will with a desire to receive it and do it whatever it may command.
Dr. King once wrote, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Much worse is willful ignorance and arrogant stupidity. Our prayer over scripture and our reading of the same must not be arrogant and all-knowing. We come to God for instruction and apart from that instruction, we remain willfully ignorant. We must come humbly, willingly, and prayerfully. The psalmist speaks of his own longing for God’s Word in verse 20 and of God’s rebuke for the arrogant who think they already know it all in verse 21.
In verse 24 he speaks of God’s laws as his counselors. Because that is so true, we bow before God before we even open his Word, asking that He guide us and teach us. Martin Luther King, whose birthday we commemorate tomorrow, is but one example of what God can do through the life of a person who comes prayerfully to the scriptures for instruction and enlightenment.
-------------------------------------
א Aleph
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
ב Beth
How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.