A Daily Devotional – Psalm 119:33-40 – Personal Meditation (5)

A Daily Devotional – Psalm 119:33-40 – Personal Meditation

Comment: Diligence and slothful are ways of life and identify the character of people; each have sub-categories that complete the identity of each. Ambitious, reserve, faithful, honest, full of integrity and other attributes of good character that will accurately describe a diligent person. Likewise, the slothful has these identifying characteristics; scoffing, unfaithful, dishonest, destructive, lacking integrity and a host of others too, see Proverbs 13.

Devotional: God is not willing that any soul should perish, His desire (Will) is that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of this TRUTH, see 2 Peter 3:9. God is willing to save the diligent and the slothful, this is grace and mercy since, neither the diligent or the slothful deserve salvation, see Ezekiel 33:13 and Romans 3:10. So one might say, what about the diligent, are they not righteous and what about the slothful; are they not unrighteous? Wrong, since both are righteous in their own esteem. 

God is not interested in relative righteousness, which is self-applied righteousness of human diligence or slothfulness. Why? simply because the human standard for righteousness is doing what is pleasing in one’s personal eyes rather than seeking the righteousness that pleases God. So, all of this said is to seek to understand that God has a will for us (you and me) to follow His Statutes, Law, Commandments, Testimonies, Judgments, Precepts and Word, DILIGENTLY!

The psalmist in our section this morning understands that whatever character he has falls short of God’s Perfect Righteous Standard. Salvation is by FAITH in Christ Jesus ALONE, nothing else, since our righteousness as God sees these are as ‘filthy’ rags; see Isaiah 64:6-7. When we finally comprehend, and believe this, it is good news, but this is only the beginning. We must be willing to turn away from our righteous human standards and seek the absolute standard of God’s Righteousness.

Still with all of this said, many of the children of God fail since they are not willing to give up their relative righteous standard of a diligent or slothful character. Now don’t say “humbug” listen up, we need to observe the Living Word of God more closely, even as the psalmist, we must be willing to ask God to ‘teach us’ His Statutes, to give us understanding, only then will we begin to rid ourselves of self-righteous do’s and don’ts and begin to walk in the ways of God’s Righteousness.

We must allow God to bend and shape our heart/soul, we must allow God to improve our eyes to keep us focused on Him, rather than the worthless, self-imposed standards we sometimes may or may not approve of. We must be willing to ask God for His will to revive our soul to His Righteousness. All of the God-fearing prophets, priests and kings, and all of the disciples of Christ Jesus our LORD reveal to us that without being clothed in the Righteousness of Christ/God, we will not see Him; see Matthew 5:20.