Hearing the Voice of God Part 2

Expanded notes and thoughts on the aspect of meditating on God's Word.

A closer look at Psalm 119

Vs 1-2 The tone is set for what God wants to teach us through this Psalm.
Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.

The word blessed means happy, fortunate, "to be envied". I read in the paper recently about celebrity worship sickness. People look at the lifestyles of the rich and famous and they envy them, consider them blessed. But when you read the biographies of those self-same rich and famous - they are far from blessed. They may have money and fame, but their lives are strewn with the debris of broken relationships, heartache, substance abuse, anorexia, insecurity, perversion, loneliness, anger and violence, skeletons in the closet etc etc.
The Bible says true blessedness, true happiness, doesn't lie in luck, circumstance, brilliance, beauty, talent etc. Blessed is the person whose ways are blameless, who walks according to the law of God.

The question one asks is: Is it possible to be blameless? The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God's righteous standard. Yes, but the Bible also says that Jesus
"Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness -- by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." 1 Peter 2:24-25.
Peter was perhaps paraphrasing Isaiah 53:6
"All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

So thanks to Jesus, who has carried away our sin, the stain of our sin and our love of sinning - we can be blessed, truly happy, to be envied. But note the Bible doesn't say blessed is he who is blameless, but he whose ways are blameless. There is a difference..
The word translated blameless means entire, whole, full of integrity, perfect, without blemish
The word translated "way" is derek and it means way of life, journey.

So the Bible is saying in the first verse of Psalm 119 that truly happy, to be envied, is the person whose way of living, whose journey through life is entire, whole, full of integrity, without blemish, perfect.
Well, you say, can my ways be blameless? The answer is given - "who walks according to the law of God."
In other words if you can live your life in line with the word of God, if all of your dealings in life and your daily journey can be in accordance with God's word, then you will be a person of integrity, complete, entire, without blemish - and thus you will be truly happy.
2 Tim 3:15-17
From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. .All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
And yet again the question arises - how on earth can I walk in line with the word of God? The answer yet again is given - by seeking Him with all your heart.

Verse 5 the Psalmist acknowledges that his ways are wayward, but then says in v7 that if he starts by praising with an upright heart, then he'll learn God's righteous laws.
James 1:21
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Rom 12:2
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

What I have found in Psalm 119 is that God has given us the key to transformation, He has placed in our hands the truth, the revelation, the nitty gritty of how we can walk in line with His word - how we can receive that word. A manual to the Bible if you like, the operating instructions for how to walk according to the law.

PRINCIPLE - GRACE
God is after your heart, your affections, your love, first and foremost. Look at vs 9 - yes I can keep my way pure, blameless, by living according to your word. But how do I live according to your word - vs 10 and 11 - by seeking you with all my heart, hiding your word in my heart.
You see the principle is grace - rather than start by trying to keep God's word in the hope of becoming acceptable - I turn it around thanks to Jesus. I cry out to the Lord and trust first in His grace, His mercy, His unfailing love toward me. It is relationship based on His grace that allows God to implant His word in my heart.
Vs 14 - right attitude towards the Word
NB v 17, 18 we need revelation
v41, 73, 76, 77, 88, 124, 125, 145, 146, 149, 154,

PROCESS - MEDITATING ON THE WORD
11, 15, 16, 48, 78, 130, 133, 142-143,148
OT:7878 siyach (see'-akh); a primitive root; to ponder, i.e. (by implication) converse (with oneself, and hence, aloud) or (transitively) utter: KJV - commune, complain, declare, meditate, muse, pray, speak, talk, sing (with)

Illustration - ask someone to make a statement about anything they like. Then converse with them about that statement, ask questions about what they mean by the words they use, then ask them how they feel about what they've said. Your see there are Two levels - first, You get to understand their statement, second, You get to understand more about them personally, their feelings etc.
To meditate is to converse with God over what He has said, only you ask Him questions about His word, and the answer coming into your spirit is the voice of God. It's a little difficult to spot at first because His replies are in your thoughts rather than an external voice. The Word is truth and is also a doorway to understanding more of God through meditation (conversing). (v130 unfolding, unpacking, doorway! 137-138) You are first of all "conversing" with God about what He has said, then conversing with Him about what He thinks and feels. Because you are born again and His Spirit is in you (Christ in you - the hope of glory) then as you ponder His word in this way, you are conversing with Him - this is true meditation. And it results in God's light coming into you.
Try it right now - take God's statement "I have loved you with an everlasting love" and spend five or ten minutes unpacking that verse in a "conversation" with God.

PRACTICE - OBEDIENCE
v2, 4, 5, 55, 56, 60-64, 102, 145 -146 165-168
We've already covered this really - because in all instances the key is that grace is the principle. If we try to live in line with God's word in order to find favour with God, then we've lost it, we'll never make it. But the relationship comes first, the heart first, the desire for God, the promise, the grace - then our obedience will flow and follow naturally.

The message of Psalm 119 is that God's Word is the key, the doorway, to renewal and transformation. We start with the relationship, move on through revelation and into restoration.