I have thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
This part of Psalm 119 opens with a confession: the Lord Himself is the psalmist's portion. That confession sends him back over his own ways with honest eyes. The question is where such thinking leads the feet. (The writers below quote an older translation, which reads "I thought on my ways" where the ESV has "When I think on my ways.")
This verse does not stand alone. It belongs to a section that begins with a heart that has found its treasure, and one writer traces the whole chain from that starting point.
In this part (vv. 57-64) we have more of the affections that go with the word written in the heart: "You are my portion, O Jehovah." The heart has Himself as its source of joy and blessing. This must go together with purpose of heart towards God: "I have said." You cannot look to the Lord as your portion without purposing to do His will, for that would be not owning Him... I see the same desire here. It is not mere obedience, though obedience flows from it, but the meditation of the heart: "I thought on my ways" — the inward searchings of the heart, a needed and important thing for us — "and turned my feet to Your testimonies."
It is possible to keep rules without ever asking where your life is going. The same writer separates obedience by habit from a heart that is with God.
We may obey by instinct, almost carelessly, and with right intention, but in a way that shows the heart is not with God — not stirred, not anxious to please Him... But the saint who is right with God will review the purpose of his ways and their direction. He asks how far they match the purpose that the light God has given us points to. And if the purpose is right, he asks how far he is working it out in practice, truly and with earnest effort. For we may be outwardly blameless, in appearance even amiable, and unfaithful to the calling of God. Here, of course, we have to turn to God's testimonies, which are able to make the man of God complete, equipped for every good work.
A heart set on the Lord's favour cannot leave its own conduct alone. And when the answer comes, the feet do not drag.
The desire to obey the Word and to enjoy the favour of the Lord must lead to a searching of heart about his ways. Are they suited to one who has the Lord for his portion? So he says, "I thought on my ways;" and the practical result was that he turned his feet to the testimonies of the Lord — not reluctantly, but with eager haste.
Looking at yourself on your own, you will flatter yourself. One writer, commenting on a similar call, points to the one place where that stops.
If we heeded this call, it would spare us many an evil, many a breakdown, many a startling display of wickedness among God's people. It should be our constant and habitual work to consider our ways in the presence of God. There all delusions disappear; there, in the pure light of His holy presence, the deepest secrets of the heart come to light. Only there do we see our true condition and failures. And only there do we receive grace to judge ourselves by the perfect standard of God's glory.
One writer reads the second half of the verse as conversion itself. He then warns against stopping at the first half.
"And turned my feet to Your testimonies": this is conversion — the sinner makes a complete turn and judges his past... We must not stop at self-examination, though that is necessary in its time, but turn to Him, the object of our faith and the giver of grace and mercy.
Turning the feet often costs something. One writer answers a man who sees the right path but dreads the cost to family, needs and friends.
I know all that, but Satan will try to magnify these difficulties. Is not God for us greater than all these difficulties? I feel for you; I pray for you; God will be with you in His own path. (See Psalm 119:59-60.)
- Portion — it starts with a settled confession — the Lord Himself is your portion. That is the spring of every honest look at your life.
- Purpose — thinking on your ways means checking their direction, not just their surface. A person can look blameless and still be unfaithful to God's calling.
- Presence — consider your ways in His presence. There self-deception falls apart, and He gives grace to judge yourself.
- Pivot — thinking is only half the verse. The turn to His testimonies must be complete, and must not stop at examining self.
- Pace — the feet move without delay. If the turn costs family, needs or friends, God is greater than those difficulties.
I have made haste, and not delayed, to keep thy commandments.
In the verse before this one, the writer stops to weigh up his own ways. Here his feet move without a pause. The question is not whether we know God's commandments. It is how long we take between knowing and doing.
The haste follows a review of life. That review grows out of having the Lord as one's portion.
The desire to obey the Word and to enjoy the favour of the Lord must lead a man to search his own heart about his ways. Are they suited to someone who has the Lord for his portion? So he says, "I thought on my ways." The practical result was that he turned his feet to the testimonies of the Lord. He did not do it unwillingly, but with eager haste.
Not all obedience comes from a heart that is with God. The test is the direction of a life, measured against the light already given.
We may obey by instinct, almost carelessly, and with a right intention. But such obedience shows that the heart is not with God, not stirred, not concerned about pleasing Him. The path may not be evil, and yet the heart may be in a very poor state. The believer who is right with God does something else. He reviews the purpose of his ways and their direction. He asks how far they match the purpose that the light given to us leads to.
The verb is blunt. One writer goes back to the Hebrew behind it.
The Hebrew has: "I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments." Of course, keeping His commandments cannot save a sinner. But this sentence holds an important principle that belongs to a true conversion — total submission to His Word. A person must obey the Word that calls for "repentance." What is true at the start of our spiritual lives is also true for the rest of them. Never put off until tomorrow what you must do today. Prompt obedience is the secret of true spiritual growth.
This speed depends on the state of the heart.
When the heart is right, this gives diligence. It does not stop to consult flesh and blood. It has only God's favour in view, with purpose of heart: "I made haste, and delayed not, to keep Your commandments." I need not say how typical and all-important this is. It is the essential firstfruits and spring of a life true to God, as we see in the blessed apostle Paul.
One writer points to Abraham rising early in the morning as a picture of ready obedience. He sets it against acting on feeling.
"And Abraham rose up early in the morning." There is ready obedience. "I made haste and delayed not to keep Your commandments." Faith never stops to look at circumstances or to weigh results. It only looks at God… Acting on God's own word will always give our actions strength and steadiness. If we act only from impulse, the action will stop when the impulse dies down.
Delay is not a neutral pause. One writer weighs it against faith itself.
There will be no hesitation either, but a firm purpose to keep God's commandments at once (v. 60). If we give ourselves time to delay such obedience, this is not faith, but a dangerous risk.
Light that is not acted on does not wait.
Nothing can be more dangerous than to hesitate, when divine light shines upon the path. If you do not act on the light when you get it, thick darkness will certainly close in around you. So, as someone else has said, "Never go before your faith, nor lag behind your conscience."
The verse presses on things we have never changed, because we never looked at them in the light of Scripture.
Some believers today may stay in associations that Scripture condemns, simply because no one has set the Word of God before them about these things. Evil is no less evil when people miss its true character because they pay no attention to the teaching of Scripture. But once the Word is applied, God expects prompt action from His people.
One last word is about the heart behind the hurry.
There is real activity. There is no delay in setting the feet in the path of obedience to the Lord. This is because the heart is set on the Person of Jesus, and the motives are pure.
- Portion — Having the Lord as your portion starts the chain. Wanting to please Him makes you willing to examine your own ways.
- Thought — Haste comes after honest review, not instead of it. Weigh the direction of your life against the light you already have.
- Haste — The Hebrew is "I hurried." Total submission to God's Word marks the start of the Christian life, and also its whole course. Prompt obedience is the secret of growth.
- No Advice Taken — Real diligence does not stop to consult flesh and blood or weigh results. Obedience built on feeling collapses when the feeling fades.
- Delay — Delay is not caution but risk. Light refused hardens into darkness, so act as soon as the Word touches your life.