Obedience, Psalm 119:57-64

Psalm 119:57-64 (NKJV): You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words. ⁵⁸ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. ⁵⁹ I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. ⁶⁰ I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments. ⁶¹ The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law. ⁶² At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments. ⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. ⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.

This portion of the Psalm we see what could be determined as obedience. God does desire that our hearts change so that we are obedient. It never was about sacrifices, rituals, traditions, etc., it was about following and trusting His Lead.

1 Samuel 15:23-25 (NKJV): So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from beingking.” ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

We see Samuel talk to Saul about not being obedient and instead focusing an traditions and rituals. Saul did recognize that he was pleasing people rather than God. Though he kind of repented, for the rest of his reign, he was at odds with God because he didn’t fully repent.

For us, as we allow the Holy Spirit work on us and our hearts, let’s seek in being obedient to God and not rituals and traditions. Let’s focus on growing in our Relationship with Him.

We will continue to be looking at Psalm 119 in sections. Although,  we need Jesus to bring us back into A Relationship with God The Father, this Psalm lays a foundation of how we should be walking in our Faith walks.