The psalmist writes in Psalm 119:29, 30, "Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me Thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me.'' This must not surprise us, even though he had from verse one onward revealed himself as a very spiritual child of God. Will such men walk in the lie and have to pray to be delivered from the way of lying?

Yes, they will. For no sin of any kind is very far away from the most faithful child of God. Here below we still have only a small beginning of the new obedience. With Paul we all trust say, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:24. And if we do not lie with our lips, we do by our deeds.

Think that over today. We go by the name Christian; but can Christ always be seen in our lives? Are we bearing a true or a false witness by our conduct? Do we clearly reveal that we are disciples of Christ? When we say that we were lucky or unlucky, or bet this or bet that, are we manifesting faith in God and the conviction that all comes out of His counsel? When we gamble with goods He gave us, are we using these things in the fear of His name? Are we glorifying Him with these items which really belong to Him and we have only so we may serve and glorify Him?

Well may we pray and learn to sing:

    Keep me from falsehood, let, Thy law
    With me in grace abide;
    The way of faithfulness I choose,
    Thy precepts are my guide.

All through the day there is reason to pray for that law to be in our hearts as our guide, and to be kept from falsehood. We need God's grace to keep us in the way of His law. Salvation is in every sense a gift; and we earn not the smallest blessing it contains. In fact, that we receive anything from God in His grace means that we deserve the opposite. God's grace is God giving blessings for nothing to those who deserve visitation in His wrath. It is for Christ's sake, not ours, that we are rewarded for the good works He enabled us to perform.

Read: Proverbs 6:1-19
Psalter versification: #324:3

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
II Samuel 2:12-32
II Samuel 3
John 13:1-30
Psalm 119:1-16
Proverbs 15:29-30

****
Quote for Reflection:

"... vow we made, too, when we united ourselves to the church of God. There was an understood compact between us and the church, that we would serve it, that we would seek to honour Christ by holy living, increase the church by propagating the faith, seek its unity, its comfort, by our own love and sympathy with the members. We had no right to join with the church if we did not mean to give ourselves up to it, under Christ, to aid in its prosperity and increase. There was a stipulation made, and a covenant understood, when we entered into communion and league with our brethren in Christ. How about that? Can we say that, as unto God and in his sight, the vow has been performed?" -- Charles H. Spurgeon