The Treasure

DEVOTION

PSALMS

THE TREASURE

Ps 119:65-72

65 Teth

Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

NIV

Day nine in the longest psalm. Again we deal with the teacher. So often we look to the degreed men to instruct us in the things of God, the educated, the scholars, the professors who supposedly have studied the scriptures to the nth degree. But behold, they are but mere men with limited knowledge that is without bias. The Lord God is the ultimate teacher, He has sent his Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, and he is the teacher of all men. He not only teaches us knowledge about himself, but he is the instructor of good judgement. Knowledge is useless without good judgement. The reason God would teach us knowledge and good judgement is because we believe in his commands. The psalmist talks about before he was afflicted he went astray. We cannot be sure of his affliction, however the Hebrew word can mean many things depending in the context of its usage. Here it appears the better meaning would be humbled. It has the meaning of to be put down, or oppressed, or to be humbled. So we could say that before we were humbled by the truth of God, we went astray, we lived outside the ways of God, but know that he has humbled us, now that we understand our lowly state in our human condition compared to his holiness, his majestic qualities, we obey his word. God is the only good, and what he does is only good and therefore he is the only worthy one to teach us his ways. There are many types of arrogant within the world. There are those who smear our belief in God. There are those who have their own god and believe we are but infidels, they smear not just us, but the God of creation. There are those who have no god except of their own making, which in essence is themselves. They look to their own self as a god, their abilities, and their education, their power of thought, their wealth, and their position in society. There are those who are arrogant in the sense of believing they have all the answers to life, that science is the key to solving the universe. Then, it is even possible to have the arrogant within the church. We hesitate to include them within the body of Christ, for once a member of the body of Christ we know there can be no arrogance for he is the head and we are his body, doing only his bidding. But there is among the church those who again look to their supposed knowledge as of their own making. All arrogance, from wherever it comes, smears the true believer, the one who actually lives by faith, according to the word of God. Their smears are all lies, but we keep the commands of God in our heart, where he teaches us to live by faith in him. In reality all those who are arrogant have callous hearts without feelings. But our heart cannot be callous if we believe God, if we follow his ways, if we have humbled ourselves before him. It is a good thing to be humbled by God, so then we can learn from him. What he has to say is worth more than anyone or anything in this world. There is not enough money in all the world that can buy the truth he offers for free. What we place value in is our treasure. If we put value in money, education, success, material things, they become our treasure and therefor our god. But if we put value on God and his word above all else, then he is our treasure, this is where are heart is for wherever our heart is there also is our treasure. The words of his mouth are our treasure.