A Look at Psalm 119:118

Psalm 119:118 “You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their deceitfulness is in vain.”
 

To be rejected means to be downtrodden or put down. Those who stray from God’s decrees are proud people who will not bring themselves under God’s authority. In their disobedience they lift up self above God. Ultimately, they will be rejected by God.
 

“Their deceitfulness is in vain.” Proud people become rich and great by putting others down. They seem to have the world by the tail and appear to be happy, but in reality it is all false. Without obedience to God, one cannot have a clear conscience. Without a clear conscience, there is no true happiness.
 

A clear conscience comes through our continual pursuit of God. 2 Timothy 1:3 speaks about Paul’s clear conscience: “as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” Paul constantly remembered to pray. His consistency in prayer cleared his conscience.
 

A clear conscience is a necessity in life, and never more so than in a time of crisis. When we enter a crisis with a clear conscience, we will be able to pray our way through it. However, if we have failed to be constant in prayer prior to the crisis, we will experience great difficulty in our attempts to clear our conscience in the midst of that crisis. 

1 Timothy 1:9 teaches us that if we discard a clear conscience; we shipwreck our faith. Without faith it seems almost impossible to believe God for anything. Nevertheless, the mercy of God overlooks our faithlessness and He even comes to our aid in the midst of our struggles. 

Let me encourage you to take some time to meditate on this verse; as you do, pray this prayer, “Father, bring me down.” If you pray that prayer, you will never be rejected by God.   

Continued