James Nisbet Commentary - Psalms 119:94 - 119:94

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James Nisbet Commentary - Psalms 119:94 - 119:94


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

SALVATION

‘I am Thine, O save me: for I have sought Thy commandments.’

Psa_119:94 (Prayer Book Version)

We notice as we read this psalm that there is one thought that occurs in every single verse right through the psalm from beginning to end, and that is the thought of God’s law. The writer has evidently learned one great fact in his life, that we depend upon God for all our good things, and without Him we can do nothing; he has learned that as God is the supporter and stay of the whole creation, so He is the supporter and stay of the individual human life. And then, as he dwells upon this change, there is another thought which comes to his mind, and which seems to press upon him almost as strongly as that first thought, and that is that there is something between man and God which prevents man from following God’s Will, and that something he knows to be the existence of sin. He feels his need of pardon, and so he prays, ‘I am Thine, O save me!’

I. The need of a Saviour.—This need is a need which we should all of us feel. There have been times, and we know it, when we have wandered far away from God. But God has blessings in store for the sinner, as soon as the sinner becomes penitent and turns from the evil of his ways.

II. The meaning of penitence.—Let us try and see what is the real meaning of this word, penitence. The first step necessary in true penitence is that we must learn to know ourselves. The writer of this psalm says, ‘I am Thine, O save me! for I have sought Thy commandments,’ and that is necessary for us as it was necessary for him. How can we gain this necessary self-knowledge? Christ says, If you would know human nature, know yourself and your own life. There must be times when you cut yourself off from the world, and when you get alone with God. And so, if we would know what real penitence is, it is necessary first of all to know ourselves and our own life, and to call upon the Lord, ‘O save me!’ And then comes the second step, which is equally necessary. You find it in the second part of that same verse, ‘I have sought Thy commandments.’ That is what is necessary for true penitence; that is what we mean by real conversion.

III. A change of life.—Conversion means turning to God, seeking His commandments, and we must make no mistake about it. It means a change of heart, which must be followed by a change of life. Real penitence, real conversion is not a state of feeling, but a change of life. The result of our conversion, or our turning to God, may show itself in different ways. It sometimes is a sudden result, and it shows itself suddenly in the complete change of a life, so that those who know us can see what has taken place in our lives and see at once we have turned to God. But conversion does not always come to a man in this way. Sometimes it comes slowly and gradually. Sometimes God’s Holy Spirit has to deal with a man very gently, and lead him on slowly, step by step, correcting one fault at a time, gradually changing his life; and it is only after a long time that we see the result of the change in his changed life. Let us see that our penitence is real and true—that our conversion is genuine. And this we can do only by going through those two steps which are mentioned in this psalm. The first step by calling upon God—‘I am Thine, O save me!’ and then by seeking His commandments.