“Preaching and Practice”

Psalm 119:43-44 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth.  For I have hoped in Your ordinances.

 So shall I keep Your law continually forever and ever.

For the Psalmist, the declaration of God’s truth was both a duty and a privilege.  How do you view it?  Perhaps you responded to the Gospel, but you don’t want to hear it over and over, and you certainly don’t want to offend others so you stay silent.   That is not the attitude here.

The Psalmist here wanted not to give just lip service to the preaching of the Word, he wanted to fulfil the divine plan for the conversion of the world.

In the vow “So shall I keep Your law continually, forever and ever” the Psalmist says that what he preaches to others he will preach to himself.  He will cultivate the spiritual lives of others with the Word of God and also bring spiritual nourishment to himself.  The study and preaching of the Word should be an occasion for promoting our growth in grace.

The strength of powerful preaching is found in verse 44, and it is the fact that the Psalmist bases his hope totally in the Word of God.  When that hope is placed in God’s judgments, then you can be sure that you are on the rock, and that spiritual success is to be yours.  Study, read and pray today!