By keeping it according to Your word"
-Psalm 119:9
"Your word have I treasured in my heart,
that I might now sin against Thee."
- Psalm 119:11
"The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip."
-Psalm 37:31
I have been reminded of these verses lately. The top two I memorized as a child and the third I found in my cross-reference while looking at the other two. They were brought to mind after the first few days of my new job. I quickly saw that there was an influence there, and not one for good. I saw how quickly I could be dragged down into the muck and mire of sinful thoughts and conversation. I also saw the desire of those around me for me to join them in their sin and corruption. This scared me. I didn't want to have the filthy mouth and mind that they said I would have soon enough. I wanted to remain holy in this world so enslaved to sin.
The Lord brought these verses to my mind, reminding me of how this could be accomplished. The simple question of how I can remain pure is answered in the first verse, by keeping/acting/following according to God's word.
The second verse shows me more, it shows me another specific way to avoid sin, and that is to treasure God's word in my heart. To know it, memorize it, meditate on it and to value it. Psalms 19:10 says of His word "They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb."
The third verse tells me even more. The law of MY God is to be written on my heart, it gives me one of the reasons why it is to be precious to me. This isn't just any one's words or thoughts, they are MY GOD'S! It also says that while my God's law is in my heart my steps will not slip. I was reading a sermon from Spurgeon on this verse and he pointed out the importance of this word "step". He says:
"Here is a man who has God’s word in his heart, and you notice that he takes pains about his steps. A step is a very little thing; we must take a good many hundreds of steps to walk a mile; but good men take notice of little things. The man, who has the law of God in his heart, is scrupulous and conscientious about thoughts and imaginations, as well as about words and actions. Hence, the promise in the text is suited to him, for it is a promise about little things: “None of his steps shall slide.”
I need to take care to look at the little things! I know that one of the principles that I have been taught has been that the biggest failures and sins of men always started with a small compromise that may not have even been in and of itself evil, but was the first step in a downward spiral. I have seen this to be true in even my relatively short lifetime. What can seem so small can become so HUGE! Spurgeon goes on to say:
Our old proverb says, “Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves;” and the same rule applies to our actions. If we are careful about our little, actions, the great ones will be pretty sure to be right. Oh, that we were all very guarded about how we act at home! Oh, that we were careful about our speech as we sit around the tea-table! Such a little thing as that may do almost infinite mischief. I believe the worst evils in the world arise out of little things.
So I need to be watching my steps, not looking for huge sins and compromises, but at the little things. Do I stay and listen to a conversation that heads down an impure path? Do I laugh or smile at crude humor? Do I begin to think that maybe I'm being to uptight about things and should just relax? These are just some examples of the little things that I need to beware of.
I don't know how many of you there are that read this, but if you do I would certainly appreciate your prayers, that the word of God would be treasured in my heart that I may not sin against my God. I need to take the best thing, put it in the very best place and trust the Lord for the best result!
