"I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy Word."
Psalm 119:16
Part 3
Yesterday:
We praise God, and we ask Him to teach us (v. 12).
We teach others what He has taught us (v. 13).
We treasure up His Word and heartily take pleasure in it! (v. 14).
We meditate on His Word and continuously refer to it as our guide in life (v. 15).
Today:
“I will delight myself in thy statutes.”
Because of the previous seven verses and how the Word transformed the psalmist, he can say now with a right heart, “I will delight myself in thy statutes.”
After:
His focus on cleansing his heart (v. 9).
Making God the object of his “seeking” (v. 10).
Hiding God’s Word in his heart (v. 11).
Blessing the LORD and asking Him to instruct him (v. 12).
Teaching others the truth, God has taught him (v. 13).
Rejoicing in God’s testimonies (v. 14).
Meditating on God’s Word and His ways (v. 15).
Now the psalmist says:
I will delight, and I will not forget the Word (v. 16).
“I will delight myself – The Word is very emphatical: …I will skip about and jump for joy” [1] (Clarke).
It is an active choice to “delight” in God and His Word.
What is it that makes the blessed man delight?
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
“And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved” (Psalm 119:47).
“Thy testimonies also are my delight and my “counselors (Psalm 119:24).
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Romans 7:22).
It is the Word of God, for many reasons, that brings delight to the heart of God’s servant.
“I will not forget thy word.”
The psalmist says, “I will not let the world crowd God’s Word out of my mind!”
“I will never forget thy precepts: for with them, thou hast quickened me” (Psalm 119:93).
“I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (Psalm 119:162).
“We can almost hear a challenge from the Psalmist: ‘You live your compromising, impure life that thinks it knows pleasure and satisfaction; I will cleanse my way and give the fullness of my life to God and His Word, and we will see who will be more blessed, more happy, and more filled with life'” [2] (Guzik).
Quote: “But Jeremiah said… Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live” (Jeremiah 38:20).
[1] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Guzik, David. David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.