January 23, 2020 -- Psalm 119:98 -- The Commandments as running shoes

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

Psalm 119:98 English Standard Version

The King James Version puts it this way:

Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:

for they are ever with me. (Ps. 119:98 KJV)

Notice the slight, telling, shift in emphasis between these two translations. The KJV makes it clear that it is the LORD Himself Who makes His people wise. He uses His commandments, the instruments of instruction for our life for godliness, as the tools for forging this wisdom in us.

There is a wry joke among hikers who travel in bear country. “Says one hiker to the second hiker: ‘Why are you wearing those nice running shoes instead of your usual hiking boots?’ Hiker two replies: ‘That way, If we encounter a bear, I don’t have to run fast, just faster than you. These babies will help me accomplish that’.” The point is this: the bear will take the slower, easier target.

The commandments of God are the running shoes which carry our feet swiftly from the threats and entanglements of evil to the refuge of God our Savior. The commandments of God help us to discern the times we live in, and the plots and potential for ruin which lurk around the corner. The commandments of God remind us there is a God Who is both Judge and the Avenger of His Name. Wrong will be judged and completely overthrown. At the Judgment Seat the saints and sinners will behold the victory of our God and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord, He IS right, true Who restores all things equitably. Finally, the commandments of the LORD are ever with us. Our enemies will eventually grow tired, they won’t be able to keep up with those who are running in the path of God’s commandments. While the enemy is dogging our heels it is the Law of the LORD which directs us, guiding us in the very core of who we are. This law is illuminated by the Spirit and by this same Spirit of Power we are empowered to run to the arms of Christ our Savior, by Whose blood we are reconciled to God our Father.

Our enemies won’t always be with us. Trials will one day end. Sufferings can not take away our victory in Jesus Christ. As Isaiah the prophet said it:

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

(Isaiah 40:8 ESV)

Look to the word of God and see it is mighty because of the Glorious LORD of Power and Dominion, Honour and Wisdom Who spoke it, Who defends it, and by it brings His people to victory over all enemies, even sin and death and the grave. Ah, blessed are You LORD our God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

Spirit of Truth it is tempting for us to keep our gaze fixed on our trials, our enemies and the very things which would defeat us. Break through and turn our stares from looking in all the wrong places. Spirit of Truth, turn our full attention and trust to the glorious Word of God and His great commandments. Help us to discern, Spirit of Power, the great victory of Jesus Christ. Teach us how His victory has become our own through faith in Him. Spirit of Wisdom, lift our eyes to see the vision of all that is to come, where God our Father welcomes us into the kingdom of the Son He loves and all Your enemies and ours face their ultimate end. Remind us that one day we will see how even our trials and all we suffered was used for Your glory and our edification. You will show us how You were forging in us the knowledge of the glory of Jesus Christ and the fact we were brought through the forger’s fires, purified and strengthened for service to You, Triune God. As Your completed workmanship, Radiant Majestic Sovereign, we will then be fit and fully prepared to worship You and delight in Who You Are as we celebrate all You have done. Amen.