“I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!” Psalm 119.8
Psalm 119 offers a systematic theology of sorts on the doctrine of Scripture. Each eight-verse section extols a unique aspect of God’s Word. This first section reveals the link between the Word and the blessed walk. As the psalmist brings this first stanza to a close, he repeats his intention to walk in (keep) God’s statutes and his dependence on God to enable him to do so.
The psalmist declares his obedience in the same way he declared his praise in the prior verse. Then, he immediately acknowledges his incapacity. He reveals two key aspects of the blessed walk—resolve and dependence. He’s resolved to obey. He’s also dependent on the Lord to empower that obedience. If the Lord were to forsake him, abandon him to his own devices, obedience would be impossible.
The same is true for every believer. Left to our own human nature, the result is always sin, a rapid descent into decadent corruption (See: Romans 1.18-32). This is true corporately and individually. If God forsook us, we’d have no hope of obedience.
Friend, how is your resolve? Have you devoted yourself to faithful obedience to God’s Word? Do you recognize your dependence on him? Seek Him. Seek the righteousness that only Christ can provide, and commit yourself to abiding in his truth.
Oh powerful God, we confess our utter powerlessness. We long to obey, to keep your statutes. Do not forsake us, oh Lord. Fill us with your righteousness, that our lives might be lived to your glory.