Let’s Start Our Day Together With Aha Moments

Parents guide their children toward independence.  God guides his children toward dependence… on him and his word. His precepts are one of the things we depend on.

We are studying the word precepts in Ps. 119. Remember that precepts are codes of wisdom or principles to guide our lives.

Just 2 minutes ago, I finished looking at and meditating on the verses on the left below, and wrote down my thoughts and responses on the right. I encourage you to do the same with the five remaining verses in Ps. 119 with the word precepts in them. The blank chart is at the bottom of this post. Copy and paste, work on them, and join me tomorrow for a look at them together.

Psalms 119:100  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.	Practicing precepts (Bible codes of wisdom and principles) gives me more understanding than my ancestors. Here’s one that most of my predecessors probably didn’t get: The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. (Psalms 34:10) The precept of seeking the Lord to have my needs met is one to remember today and always.
Psalms 119:104  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.	By meditating on his precepts, I get understanding, or “aha” moments, and it makes me hate every false way. Here’s one: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Prov. 31:30)  The false way that I hate is the emphasis on fashion and sex appeal. They are vain. Fear of the Lord provides  satisfying internal beauty that no one can resist.
Psalms 119:110  The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.	The wicked are not my friends, and they want to trap me in their wickedness. (This can happen via TV or the internet as easily as anywhere else.) Yet, I haven’t tripped up from God’s precepts. Here’s a precept, or code of wisdom, to help with that: I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. (Psalms 101:3)
Psalms 119:128  Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.	When I look at God’s precepts regarding any area of life, I have no doubt that they are right. I start with that assumption, and so, in comparison, I hate every false way. Here’s a precept I will assume is right and ponder today: The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. (Prov. 13:4) I want a plump soul, so I know it’s right that I be diligent in studying God’s word vs. being a sluggard, and wishing I was God-fulfilled, but doing nothing about it.

Study with me for tomorrow morning. As I think through the verses on the left, I think of precepts that come to mind that I can apply. At the top of your chart for tomorrow, copy and paste this statement: Precepts are codes of wisdom or principles to guide our lives.

Psalms 119:134 ¶ Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
Psalms 119:141 ¶ I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
Psalms 119:159 ¶ Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
Psalms 119:168  I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.
Psalms 119:173 ¶ Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

Learn to Meditate on Precepts

Nearly all the verses in Ps. 119 talk about the word of God in one form or another: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments. We are taking the intriguing word precepts and examining it further. Precepts are codes of wisdom or principles to guide our lives.

I encourage you to copy and paste the chart in my last post that lists all the verses in Ps. 119 with the word precepts in them. I’m just going to write my thoughts, observations and prayers in the box next to each. You can do the same. Here are my first two:

Psalms 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.	Precepts are good to know, but I must go beyond knowing them and keep or apply them diligently.
Psalms 119:15  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.	To really get a precept, I must meditate on it. For example, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Meditate on that precept with me. 1Pe 5:5 …”Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

The best meditation would be to find other verses that amplify that thought. Remember, precept upon precept in Isa. 28:10. I use my Treasury of Scripture Knowledge in my e-sword Bible program (download it for free www.e-sword.net.)

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Job 22:29  When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

            Wow. I feel like I’m tiptoeing through a forest of the awesomeness of God—and it’s just a single precept. God responds positively to the humble person. Does my meditation stop there? It could, but remember, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little.

            Let’s see, who in the Old Testament wasn’t very humble, and God brought them down? There are many. But here are two for further examination:

In Daniel 4, king Nebuchadnezzar thought he was the hottest thing going. And then he had a dream that he didn’t understand. Daniel eventually stood before him to interpret the dream, and it wasn’t good. The king could have corrected his life and avoided the prescribed judgment, but humility wasn’t a trait of his. Read what happened.

Dan 4:30-33  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?  (31)  While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.  (32)  And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.  (33)  The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

In Esther 3, king Ahasuerus promoted Haman above all the other princes—to the point that everyone was told to bow down to him, but Esther’s uncle Mordecai wouldn’t comply. What? Not worship Haman? He was furious and devised a plan to kill Mordecai. That involved hanging him on gallows that Haman had built. Haman was too proud, and it came back to bite him. Read what happened.

Est 7:6-10  And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.  (7)  And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.  (8)  Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.  (9)  And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.  (10)  So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

 The outcome is never good when we are proud. Remember our precept: God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Back to our first two precept verses from Ps. 119. Aren’t they so much richer?

Psalms 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

Psalms 119:15  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

Jody

The Bible Secret

The Bible isn’t for babies, though babies can easily draw life-sustaining milk from it. Really, God's word is for those with spiritually attuned hearts and minds. Here’s the secret.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.  (10)  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (Isa. 28:9-10)

Knowledge and understanding of God’s word comes from God. We can read it and get a little devotional thought, but real knowledge and understanding is an act of God in our hearts and minds.

If that’s the case, to whom does God bestow that knowledge and understanding? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  (13)  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  (14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Heb. 5:12-14)

Do you want to transition from the “little daily devotional” milk mindset to a full meaty knowledge and understanding of God’s word? It’s not only an act of God in the heart (whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make to understand doctrine), it’s a discipline of the will and an application of time and effort. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. That simply means that you compare scripture with scripture.

When you sit down to read your Bible, pray Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Ps 119:18) because God’s word can only be spiritually discerned. The mind of the flesh will not get it. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they [the things of the Spirit of God] are spiritually discerned. (1Cor 2:14)

Then, become skilfull in the word. Don’t settle for reading a paragraph from the Bible each day. Find an interesting thought and trace it through the Bible. Use a good Bible computer program that allows you to find cross references to ideas in the Bible.

If I was stuck on a desert island with only one other book besides my Bible, it would be the “Treasury of Scripture Knowledge,” which takes you to other verses that contain the same ideas of the verse you are reading. Good Bible software has the “Treasury of Scripture Knowledge” built in. (I use the Bible program e-sword, which I downloaded from the internet for free. Visit www.e-sword.net.)

Follow me in future blog posts as we go through Ps. 119 and look at that word precepts. Remember in Isaiah we saw For precept must be upon precept. Let’s learn more about that together.  

Jody