Ps 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul observes them.
Wonderful – In regard of the deep mysteries, the most excellent directions, and the exceeding great and precious promises of God contained in them. John Wesley’s Notes
Because Your testimonies are wonderful, I will keep them.
soul <nephesh> all of me, the very breath of me
keep <natsar> guard, protect, observe
Notice the word soul means every fiber of your being. This is so much more than mere acknowledgement with words. Do we try to live God’s word? All the time? Even when it’s exceedingly difficult to stand apart from the crowd? Even when it may mean the loss of a relationship? Do we breathe God’s word?
Revisit the words to the familiar song ‘Breathe’ by Marie Barnett: This is the air I breathe. Your holy presence living in me. This is my daily bread. Your very word spoken to me. And I’m desperate for You. And I’m lost without You.
While [I] live will I praise the LORD. George Carpenter, the Bavarian martyr, being desired by some godly brethren, that when he was burning in the fire he would give them some sign of his constancy, answered, “Let this be a sure sign unto you of my faith and perseverance in the truth, that so long as I am able to hold open my mouth, or to whisper, I will never cease to praise God, and to profess his truth”; the which also he did, saith mine author; and so did many other martyrs besides. –John Trapp.
The things that are truly wonderful to us we desire to be a part of. Keeping God’s word means we guard it. Are you able to defend His word? To defend the Word means we need to know and understand it. What steps are you taking to know His truths?
Consider for a moment those persons you love. How careful are you to protect their integrity? How difficult is this when their actions give a different message than their words? Acting upon what we know to be true is different than acting upon what we think or what we wish to be true. Humans have an uncanny ability to manipulate their understanding of something to fit what they want to justify. Let’s be careful here and hold our family in Christ accountable to a pure representation of the Lord we love.
Keeping God’s testimonies must involve action. Your actions prove your words to be sincere. They prove your love for God to be genuine. If you believe God’s testimonies are wonderful, you will follow Him with all your might. With your very soul. With each breath.
Jas 1:21-23 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and [all] that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
Those that see God’s word to be admirable will prize it highly and preserve it carefully. Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Tertullian said, “I adore the fullness of the Scripture.” This is well, but it is better still to stand in awe of their authority, and cheerfully yield obedience to their precepts. Spurgeon Devotional Commentary
Ps 119:2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all [their] heart.
Ps 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Thy law.
God’s word is miraculous!! It reveals His promises to us. It reveals His commands to us. It is perfect! In God’s word we find comfort, we find strength, we find instruction. It is unchanging, it gives us understanding.
2Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Ro 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
[The Psalmist] Expresses his admiration of God’s testimonies, and his purpose to observe them. They are wonderful, contain astonishing discoveries of invisible things, of the mystery of God and of Christ, of the covenant of grace, of the way of godliness, and of the joys and miseries of the eternal world; therefore doth my soul keep them, locked up in my heart as the richest treasure, and with unreserved devotedness obeyed. Note, it is not commending God’s word, but doing the work it enjoins, which can show our real esteem for it. Haweis
What is the wonder of God’s word?
God’s word reveals His commands and promises. God’s word allows His followers to know something about Him. God’s word causes His children to be amazed at who He is. His truth continues to draw us into admiration for His person, His work, His righteousness and His plan.
God’s word has the power to guide us through life on earth in a manner pleasing to Him, and into life eternal where we will be in His presence.
1Ki 2:3 “And keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,
Jas 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
God’s testimonies are free from error.
Ps 18:30 As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
God’s testimonies give instruction; they strengthen and comfort.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
Ro 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Isa 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
Ex 15:2 “The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will extol Him.
God’s testimonies humble men; they transform men.
Ro 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Jas 1:21 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
God’s word gives us hope; it gives us direction.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Ps 73:24 With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.
Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
God’s word is eternal.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(There are many more characteristics of God’s Word that are wonderful – too many to mention in this study.)
Robert King of Sicily did so prize God’s word, that, speaking to his friend Petrarcha, he said, “I protest, the Scriptures are dearer to me than my kingdom; and if I must be deprived of one of them, I had rather lose my diadem than the Scriptures.” Thomas Watson, in “The Morning Exercises”
As a child, I grew up in a small suburb just north of Los Angeles, California. Often, I remember my lungs hurting when I took a deep breath of the smog-filled air. It was not unusual to see a grayish film lingering in the sky from pollution.
The word ‘smog’ comes from a combination of the words smoke and fog. It is made up of nitrogen oxides, Sulphur oxides, ozone, smoke and carbon monoxide. (Information taken from Wikipedia).
This was so common at that time that when someone said, ‘I have smog’, people knew what you meant. It meant your lungs hurt from breathing the heavily polluted air. Sometimes the air was thick with contamination harmful to humans. But, what to do, there was no choice, you had to breathe! On particularly heavy smog days, we stayed inside.
Breathing is a necessary part of life. Physically, we must have air to fill our lungs. With no inhaling and exhaling of air, we cannot live. Spiritually, we must have God filling our lives. Without the intake of His truths through His words, our souls will be deprived of what is necessary to grow and thrive as His children. We may not be able to do much to change the quality of air we breathe on this earth, but we can choose the quality of the atmosphere we allow in our souls.
Breathe deeply of God’s testimonies. Act upon what He reveals to you. Breathing polluted air from the world will contaminate truth. Pure, gentle winds from God will energize you to work on His behalf and fill you with Truth.
