Thomas Scott said, “There is no better test of our true character, than the habitual effect of 'vain thoughts’ upon our minds—whether we love and indulge them, or abhor, and watch and pray against them.” Such thoughts shall intrude upon us; David himself sheds light on his own struggle. But to the new creature they are unwelcome and distressing. The vanity of our hearts should be a burden to us, a burden that drives us to cling to the pure thoughts of God. Even in the midst of his own vain musings, David could cry out, “But thy law do I love!” If man’s thoughts are vanity, God’s thoughts are verity. The man after God’s heart knew where to turn when his own heart betrayed him: the precious and purifying word of the Lord.
The carnal mind welcomes and delights to dwell upon fleshly imaginations and indulgences when the opportunity for gratification is not present, or when the person would not dare commit the act itself. But the mind set on the Spirit sees how vain thoughts divert him from what is good, opening the door to evil and drawing him away from God and His law (Romans 8:5–6). The spiritual mind cannot indulge wicked thoughts, for it understands that such thoughts do inevitably lead to the deeds themselves: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34), and “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. David turns to the only One who can provide him refuge from himself. When evil thoughts assail him and carnal musings tempt him, David seeks his God. Like a hiding place within our own souls, the Lord surrounds and comforts us when inward sins beset us. Faith, like a shield, quenches the enemy’s fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16)! As we trust in our compassionate Savior, our mighty Deliverer, He covers us with His grace and provides for us the way of escape: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. David bids bad company depart that he might continue in God’s way. True courage is resolution against sin, especially when that sin bears a friendly face. Familiarity with wickedness is an all too common ailment among believers, mainly due to its accessibility. We do not have to frequent places of ill repute in order to find ourselves in bad company. We simply need to turn on the television or pick up our phones.
Do we, like David, have the resolve to depart from that which stirs up our flesh and draws us away from the word of God? Do we recognize that the futility or vanity of our minds will inevitably lead to the giving over of our lives to sensuality and impurity (Ephesians 4:19)? May God give us grace to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24).
Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. David seeks God’s help, pleading for Him to uphold him according to His word—to let his practice match his profession. The vanities within are the gauge of our inability to achieve eternal life through our own strength. Christ alone is our hope! Only by God’s power can we stand unashamed before Him (Jude 24). Only God can accomplish the task of purifying our hearts and minds! It is a work of the Lord, a work of grace that gives dead things life (Ephesians 2:4–5) and makes the impure pure: “And I will…refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’” (Zechariah 13:9).
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Twice David pleads for the holy security of divine support. Without God, we are in constant danger of sin, the devil, death and hell. Without the Holy Spirit renewing our minds and planting new desires in our hearts, our respect and desire for God’s word surely wanes. But in the hands of the Almighty we are safe: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). We stand only as long as divine grace gives us strength, and we go only so far as God Himself carries us!
Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. The wicked David looks to as an example of what happens to those who stray from God’s words. And where do we first stray but in our minds? “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened…Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie…And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:21, 24–25, 28, emphasis mine).
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. The end of the wicked ought to drive us to seek God’s testimonies as the purgative force in our souls—driving out the corrupting dross that remains and leading us in the way of righteousness! Vain thoughts vanish in the light of God’s word. David has given us the answer to how we might keep our way pure: “By guarding it according to [God’s] word” (Psalm 119:9). Let our cry echo his in humble, flesh-crucifying dependence: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10)!
My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments. Fear of the Lord and His awesome power proves a great restraint from sin, both in thought and deed. Should we not look upon the wrath of God and tremble? Is it not fitting for sinful creatures to consider the ceaseless fires of hell and flee to the foot of the cross? Does not the perfection of God’s statutes, when juxtaposed with the depravity of mankind, strike a holy terror into the soul? Let the fear of the Lord be thy friend, sinner. Let it pursue thee straightaway into the loving arms of thy Savior!
Psalm 119:113–120