Psalm 119:32 I will run the way of your commandments, when you shall enlarge my heart. The utterance of a man conscious of imperfect obedience to the will of God; and one who deplores his weakness. Also the expression of hope and confidence. A time will come when God will enlarge his heart. Also the hungering of joyful purpose: "I will run," etc. Two main thoughts. I. SPIRITUAL LIBERTY IS NECESSARY TO DOING THE WILL OF GOD. 1. It is freedom from the bondage of worldly passions and appetites. There can be no spiritual active obedience to the will of God as long as we are under the dominion of worldly principles and affections. 2. Spiritual liberty is freedom from the fear that springs from a sense of guilt. We must be free from the terror of guilt before we can serve God with joy and freedom. Remove Jesus Christ and his doctrine from between God and ourselves, and we stand in the presence of terrifying law; and have the feeling of helpless weakness. Faith is the instrument of our freedom: What we can perceive and trust in Christ by the faculties of the mind. 3. The highest liberty is found in love. Love to God and love to man. Here we ascend beyond faith to the loftiest pitch we are capable of - to the development of the most perfect freedom, and we run in the ways of God. The profoundest aphorism of Scripture is that "love is the fulfilling of the Law." II. THE PRODUCTION OF THIS LIBERTY IS A DIVINE WORK. "When thou shalt enlarge," etc. If God has laid upon us laws which his power must enable us to obey, how is our duty to be explained, and where lies our sin, if we fail in obedience? 1. God is the First Cause of all life; but man is a second cause. He "worketh in us to will and to do according to his good pleasure." It is his will and work that our will should coincide with his, and work towards the same holy ends. 2. But he does this by methods which impose duty and responsibility upon us. The principle on which God enriches men with increasing gifts of power and grace is - the use we make of them. The Divine teaching attributes to us the power of increasing the talents entrusted to us, so that future bestowments are made to depend upon our appropriation of those that have gone before. - S. Parallel Verses KJV: I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.WEB: I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. HEY |
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