A Look at Psalm 119:119

Psalm 119:119 “All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes.”
 

The Word of God is the only truly pure thing in the world. It is without hidden motive; it is undiluted love. Throughout this Psalm, we find David expressing his love for God’s Word. In this case, it is God’s statutes. In other places David spoke of his love for God’s commands, precepts, testimonies, or judgements. 

David tells us that every facet of God’s Word offers cleansing. The more of God’s Word we have in us, the purer we are. The Word serves as a refiner’s fire; it removes any dross. As believers, we are to subject ourselves to this fire willingly. To pray for a pure heart is healthy, even though it may hurt us to gain it.
 

The wicked will not willingly subject themselves to God’s refiner’s fire. Subsequently, their lives are full of dross. Dross is defined as scum, waste, or foreign matter (see Matthew 5:8). The wicked have no purity of heart because they will not allow God to inspect their lives. We are wise to openly ask God to inspect our lives and take us through the fire. The whole idea behind a trial is to purify our lives. The trial is the fire. Before we pass through the fire God works to remove the dross from our lives through His Word. That’s where the inspection comes in.
 

Before metal can pass through the fire, the scum at the surface is swept off. If it is not swept off first, it would melt into the metal as it passes through and the metal would not be pure at the end. Prior to the fire, the wickedness of our lives is discarded. That is the inspection or confession process. Then comes the trial or the test to see if we were sincere in our confession. The trial is the final cleansing process.
 

David said he loved the statutes of God. David realized that through following God’s statutes he was preparing (cleansing) himself for any trial that may come his way. 

I encourage you to take some time to meditate on this verse; as you do, pray this prayer, “Father, remove the dross from my life.”   Continued