The Lord’s Commandments

“I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.” Ps. 119:19.

We desire the Lord’s commandments because we sense that we are only strangers here on earth. As those who are poor in spirit in the midst of people who are rich and satisfied in spirit, we wish we could be somewhere far away. Those who are rich and powerful always serve lavish dishes, with the richest and choicest foods. That is what they speak about and what they sing about. I have tried to eat these dishes but unfortunately have found it all to be utter emptiness and deceit. It is just hot air, empty phrases, imaginations, and dreams of glorious things that do not exist. They promise freedom while under the bondage of sin, and they boast of riches, yet they are poor, blind, and naked. Rev. 3:17.

People say that the Lord’s commandments are bondage and that drawing closer to the world is freedom. Yet what did that man say who was after God’s own heart? “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. . . . And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” Ps. 119:45-47.

When we have come to the point where we delight ourselves in the Lord’s commandments, then His commandments are no longer bondage. But for the one who delights in the love of money and the riches of this world according to the flesh, the commandments of the Lord are bondage, and worldliness is freedom.

“You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me.” Ps. 119:98.

Tenacity and determination to press into God’s will and laws gives birth to wisdom. However, people have exchanged this for uninspired, repulsive, and superficial talk about a multitude of promises they believe they have received without ever having fulfilled a single condition. They believe they can receive everything in Christ without drinking the cup with Him, because they say, “Christ had to suffer in the days of His flesh, but we can simply enjoy life. Christ was always vigilant to find God’s will, so we don’t have to exert ourselves in the least.” No, He has become the way so that we can follow Him. On this way, we avoid sleeping our lives away in sweet daydreams. The whole “movement” has been lulled to sleep with dreams about freedom. The cross of Christ just gets in the way. Their progress has ceased because they have rejected the commandments of the Lord. Their worldwide revival no longer exists.

“I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.” Verse 99. Yes, blessed is the man whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Ps. 1:2-3. In other words, meditating on the Lord’s commandments is the way to wisdom, understanding, and happiness. Conversely, working day and night, trying to make the way freer, broader, and more comfortable is the way to apostasy. Any child who desires godliness can understand this. However, many of those who boast about having been baptized in the Spirit and having received spiritual gifts are unable to grasp these simple truths. Their vision is clouded, and their leaders are more interested in what they have in their wallet than what is in their heart.

Nevertheless, light will arise for the upright in heart, and the righteous will be freed from the power of the kingdom of death.