“Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments,
For I delight in it.”
Psalms 119:33-40 is one of my favorite passages. I pinned it up on the wall next to my desk in my basement study where I seek the Lord in the morning. I love this passage because it helps me remain utterly dependent on God. Each verse asks God to do something for me; teach me, give me, make me, incline me, turn my eyes, establish Thy word, turn away reproach, and revive me. God needs to do these things for me so that my life will become what it needs to be for His glory and my happiness. His taking action to do these things is the means by which I will persevere to the end, keep God’s word with all my heart, delight in God, not be greedy, not be vain, fear God, find God’s will and His word to be good, and long for God Himself. I want these things, and they all require God to do something for me so that I will be this kind of faithful person.
However, I have often wondered about verse 35. It seems to break the pattern of the other verses. All of the verses in this passage seem to cry out to God for Him to do something for me in order that there would be a corresponding response in my heart. For example, in verse 35 God needs to “teach me” so that “I shall observe His law.” My observing is dependent on God’s teaching. All the verses in this passage of Psalm 119 reinforce the pattern that my seeking God is dependent God doing something that enables my seeking; all of the verses that is except verse 35. Verse 35 seems to ask God to do something (make me walk in the path of Thy commandments) on the basis of “for” something that apparently already exists, that is, “delight in God.”
This change in order puzzles me, especially since I have come to experience God’s grace so much more deeply as a direct result of coming to know by experience how utterly dependent I am on Him for everything, including my feelings and desires. So how do understand this verse that seems to flip-flop the order from God doing something because I need something, to God doing something because I have something?
As I ponder this verse however, I begin to see how it is not really different from the others. In fact, it makes my dependence on God’s grace even more urgent. To see this I need to remember where my delight in God comes from. I do in fact have delight in God. But this has not always been true. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 shows where my love for God comes from and where it continues to come from, “and may the Lord direct your heart into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.” My delight in God exists because of the miraculous work of God. My love and delight in God is maintained by the supernatural work of God. I have no such thing as “delight in God” apart from God’s sustaining grace that keeps me in the love of God.
Having received a supernatural, God-given, grace dependent gift called “delight in God” I can now say as in verse 35 “make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it.” This prayer is no different from the others because the basis of my delight is no less dependent on God acting to give me delight, than any of the other prayers enforce my dependence on God. It does however intensify such praying. It intensifies it because it requires me to ask God to do something I need (make me walk…) on the basis of something I also need (delight in Him). A quality, for which, I am utterly dependent on God. In other words, to ask God to make me walk in Him needs to be based on my delight in Him. A quality which frankly, if not for a powerful ongoing work of God to produce such an affection in my heart, I would not have. If I did not have delight in Him I would not be inclined to even ask God to make me walk in Him in the first place. And even if I could ask God to “make me walk,” without actual delight, it would be a faulty an ineffective asking.
This places me in a desperate position. I need delight which I cannot produce on my own. Additionally, my experience of delight in God is often weak, fragile and ebbs and flows erratically. If this weak affection called delight is necessary for me to effectively ask God to do the other things that are necessary for the sustaining of my faith, I have desperate need upon desperate need for God’s grace and power. I am doubly utterly dependent on God to work on my behalf. I need Him to cause me to delight, and from this delight I need Him to motivate my heart to cry out for Him to do even more things like “making me walk” so that I might be steadfast in the love of God.
Now, if God were not a supremely powerful, faithful, trustworthy God I would be terrified at my double utter dependence on Him. But because He is righteous, gracious, and trustworthy I am able to count entirely on Him to do all that I need for my delight.
Since my experience has been that the more I learn how utterly dependant I am on God, the fuller my experience and joy in His grace becomes, such double utter dependence only makes me happier because I know is grace will be twice as rich a source of joy for my soul.
Oh Jesus I fall down before you undone. O Lord you are my delight. You are the source of my life, my hope, and my joy. Produce in me, by all means, those qualities and desires that will keep me dependent on you, longing for you, trusting in your grace, and eager for your appearing. I need you and want you, and I am happy that you have caused me to need you and to want you. Be glorified O Lord, be glorified. Amen.
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