Psalms 119:158

The Bible says in Psalms 119:158, “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.”

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It is a great problem that men are sinners, but the greater problem is not that men are sinners but that so many when they do sin fail to repent and confess their sins to Jesus Christ. However, sin is not a problem for God. God is all powerful and God has solved the sin problem by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the cross to shed His blood and die for the sins of the world.

This verse in Psalms teaches us something very important about how we should respond to sin, or we could say transgressions which is the word used here in verse 158. Most people when they see other people sin their response is to accept it, to ignore it, to be politically correct. After all they don’t want to be accused of judging other people, they don’t want to offend other people’s feelings, they don’t want to embarrass other people. Most people simply accept the sins that other people do. I believe the philosophy is the saying that we all have the right to live our lives the way we choose too.

We see this attitude very prevalent today when it comes to the issue of sexual morality especially concerning issues such as homosexuality or transgender issues.

But a righteous person, a holy person, a person who loves God and loves the truth, a person who loves the things that are good and pure that God has created, and a person who loves the souls of other men as Jesus does, such a person will say in their heart just as the Psalmist said in Psalms 119:58, “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.”

O, indeed, we who love Jesus are grieved when we see the sinfulness of the world. We understand that whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap. Sin has its shallow worldly pleasure to it but in the end it only destroys and leads souls to hell forever.

A Christian should be grieved at the sins of others just as God is grieved. This does not mean we judge other people and think ourselves better than others. This does not mean we do not love them. But this means we should pray for them and instead of being like the world and acting accepting towards their sinful lifestyles we should reject it, separate from it, speak out against it and warn of the destructive consequences of sin and of the judgment of God on all those who turn away from the love of Jesus and reject Jesus love.

The Bible says in Psalms 119:158, “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.”

This verse says they kept not thy word. In other words they didn’t believe it. They choose to not have faith in Christ and in the promises of the Bible. The core root of the problem is always a lack of faith. The way life is meant to be lived is by faith in Christ. Any time a person responds to their circumstances in life without faith in God it is sin.

Most people in the world fall into the category of those who are described in this verse: They keep not thy word. It is always better to trust in the Lord than to not trust in Him. There are many practical reasons to trust in God and God’s promises and many benefits to doing so.

God is all powerful. And God is in control. God loves us. God wants what is best for us. God has a plan. And God’s great plan involves forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. Things will always work out in the long run, that is to say in the eternal scheme of things because of what Jesus has done on the cross. This being said those who have faith in God and keep their faith in God are the ones in this world come out on top, who win the victory, who has a successful life. Those who do not have faith in Christ, or those whose faith fails, such people are the ones who are the failures in this life, the ones who do not accomplish anything that lasts for eternity.

Unfortunately most people in the world fall into the category of those who keep not the word of God, those who do not live by faith in Christ.

Of course you can choose to be one of the few in human history, the few and the wise who trust in Christ for both forgiveness of their sins and eternal life and who trust in Christ each day, one day at a time to bring you through the challenges and the trials.

Why chose to be a failure when you can choose to be victorious and successful all it takes is to have faith in God and His promises.

Most people in the world do not even know the important of living by faith in Christ. They do not know the victory that comes through faith. If you do know, and if you do have faith in God and His Word then God has greatly bless you indeed and greatly and abundantly shed is love upon you and reached out and done a mighty and wondrous work in your life and in your heart. Therefore you can be thankful and confident in the love of God and in the truth that God has a great purpose and plan to use you in His gospel work in this world.

Because the gospel is what the world needs. People are lost in their sins. They are enslaved to the devil and if they die without accepting Jesus as their personal savior they will spend eternity burning in hell for their sins. A just punishment for what they have sown in their lives.

Psalms 119:59 says, “Consider how I love Thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to Thy lovingkindness.”

If you love God’s Word or precepts then you love doing what is right. And doing what is right is very closely connected to having life and having it more abundantly. This shows how foolish and ignorant most of the world is. Who doesn’t want to live life to the fullest and enjoy it. There is only one way to truly do that and that is through loving God’s word, believing it, obeying it, living by faith. Then and only then can you fully experience the lovingkindness of God without measure in your life.

Psalms 119:160 says, “Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.”

Now this verse is very interesting the way it is worded. It teaches us some very important things about God’s Word and about the nature of truth. Consider the first part of the verse which says, “Thy Word is true from the beginning.” What is interesting is that this phrase doesn’t just say thy word is true but it says thy word is true from the beginning. Of course the last half of the verse goes on to further explain with it says, “endureth forever.”

The Nature of truth is that truth is universal and truth is absolute. If something is true then it is always true. It does not change. For example sex out of marriage is always a sin. Another example would be it is always good and best and right to tell the truth and to never life.

God’s Word is true. God’s Word has always been true and pure and holy and accurate from the beginning. From the moment it was first written down on paper by men chosen by God and throughout all the centuries God’s Word has always been true. That hasn’t changed. It hasn’t become obsolete when advances in technology or changes in culture or the rise and fall of civilizations. The Word of God is just as true today as it was 2000 years ago and the Word of God is just as important in a persons life today as it was centuries ago.

“Thy Word is true from the beginning.”

Sometimes men look back and remember the past, or they fantasize about traveling in time to the past, or they dream about understanding and knowing the secrets of creation and the beginning of the universe.

If we could take a journey back in time to the beginning of all things there is only one thing we would find. We would find God there and His truth. That is what we would find.

If we take a journey into the future and the end of the world and the end of time what we will find is the same thing God and His truth.

Psalms 119:160 says, “Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.”

This world is temporary and is going to pass away. You life on this earth is temporary and is going to pass away. The kingdoms of men and the plans that men make for this life and the things they strive to gain and aquire are all temporary and are going to pass way. The wars, the lies, the sins, the sufferings, all of it is going to be gone one day and all that will remain is God and His truth and all those who whom have chosen to trust in and believe in Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God So loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Knowing these things what you should think about is your own eternal destiny. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But Jesus came and died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave defeating death. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants to give you eternal life. Jesus wants to cleanse you from your sins and free you from the guilt and the power of sin in your life. O how great and unsearchable is the love of God. Come to Jesus today. Believe on the name of Christ. Open your heart to the truth of the gospel and you will find love.

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